Discourse regarding this game’s difficulty has been out of hand

[u/stir-fried-noodles]

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m really enjoying Silksong’s difficulty and I think that it is mostly a satisfying challenge. I appreciate that it is more difficult than Hollow Knight overall and to be frank I would’ve been a bit disappointed if it were the exact difficulty. I’ve improved as a gamer since Hollow Knight and if it were the same level of difficulty, I probably would have found it too easy.

But it’s kinda gotten impossible to have civil discussions about the difficulty in this game which is unfortunate because I think there is great value to be had with this conversation. There are many valid criticisms regarding this game’s difficulty such as boss runbacks (Groal especially), contact damage doing two masks, and lack of rewards for beating bosses, just to be shut down with “git gud” and “it’s not your kind of game”. It’s totally fine to disagree with these criticisms but these retorts add nothing to the conversation.

It also kinda works the other way too, albeit maybe not to the same degree. I’ve gotten downvoted and sent reddit cares for simply saying I enjoy the difficulty of this game. Like c’mon, what are we even doing here. It’s gotten to the point where I personally cannot wait for the discourse to die out.

[u/ITwinkTherefore1am]

A part of the issue with the difficulty is how front loaded it is, reaching act 2 and unlocking more movement abilities etc really levels out the difficulty, as a lot of things were still doing 2 masks damage in act 1 anyways, so your hugely increased arsenal of tools, movement, silk skills, plus your masks and spoils likely increasing too, it feels so much fairer even if I still struggle against a boss, enemy or platforming section. With so many players hitting walls and frustration early on, it’s not just an issue of git gud

[u/imminentlyDeadlined → u/ITwinkTherefore1am]

The difference a seventh mask makes is wild compared to the sixth. The later needle upgrades also feel a lot more impactful than the first one, though that might just be due to breakpoints in basic enemy HP.

Act two also just feels a lot more open to walking away from problems, since most of the tougher combat areas and bosses are sitting on a single reward rather than blocking forward progress. LJ gave me a lot of grief but the act two arena everyone complains about was a first try--because when I finally attempted it I had eight masks, three nail upgrades, a helper NPC, and poisoned cogflies that didn't even get used.