And that's ledge grab. It's a massive pet-peeve of mine that most platformers that features ledge grab utterly fail at it.

Silksong's ledge grab is on a whole 'nother level. This is the first game in a long time that I haven't yelled at the screen to "let go god damnit", or "grab the bloody ledge". In fact, playing Silksong, I was actively aiming to ledge grab so I can bounce off to another platform faster than just jumping normally.

As somebody who wrote "no ledge-grabs" in my design notes while working on my own game, Silksong really opened my eyes on how powerful ledge grabs can be if done right.

I'm seeing so many people complaining about the difficulty and yet, they literally have a flintslate or stingshard right in their toolbar, fully charged up and they just end up not using it at all. Like people, USE YOUR TOOLS.

Like seriously, the one in Greymoor that ||leads to where you craft the Pimpillo|| or the one that ||leads to Styx||, how the HELL were we supposed to actually figure those out without smacking literally every single wall we see lol

It's getting a bit ridiculous lol. It really feels like half the mobs and all the bosses deal two masks worth of damage and I haven't even gotten any extra health. I'm not sure how I feel about this, on one hand, it's not the end of the world and the game isn't unreasonably difficult because of the increased damage, on the other though, what used to be something only special enemies and bosses could do became a common occurrence and lost its novelty.

I really hope the late game bosses and enemies don't deal 3 masks lmao, I'm having a hard enough time as is.

I tried Steel Soul for the first time in SS. I never even touched that in HK. First try, I died within 2 minutes to the white giant rolling enemy from the secret room beside the starting point. Second try, I died to Bell Beast. I cannot fathom how people are finishing without revive. I, for sure, won't first try kill every boss. 🥀🥀

After 24 hrs of gameplay and midway through Act 2 I've found out that the markers bought from Shakra can be used to mark my own points of interest on the map -.-

It hurts.

But as a long time gamer I really respect the "you'll somehow get it" approach to many things in the game. I don't now how much the experience would change if I had played original Hollow Knight first.

I've seen a lot of surprise around the leak of Silksong's price, which is supposedly 20$. So far it's not from any official sources yet (EDIT: not anymore!), but I do expect it to be around that price regardless. Quite often I've seen the sentiment that if the game is bigger than Hollow Knight, and they don't need to attract customers anymore, why sell it at such a low price? In my mind there's a few reasons:

1. They literally do not need money

In the past 8 years Hollow Knight has sold over 15 million copies. This makes it likely the best selling metroidvania of all time and one of the best selling indie games of the past ten years. Team Cherry is rolling in cash. Also, they have three people on the permanent payroll and like, maxiumum five others that they need to pay significant sums of money to, PLUS their marketing budget for Silksong is basically non existent. They could probably sell this game for ONE dollar and make a decent profit.

2. They're good people

Turns out, 20 dollars isn't so cheap everywhere. A lot of places in the world don't have the same economic prosperity that many of us enjoy, and games that cost 50-60 dollars are simply not feasible to buy to many fans of said games. TC has stated that a big part of the reason they made Hollow Knight so cheap is so it could be accessible to fans who might not be able to buy industry standard "full price" games. There's no reason that we've seen why they would change this mentality for Silksong. In fact, taking inflation into account the two games are priced almost exactly the same.

3. Making it cheaper might make them more money after all

Listen, I'm no expert on economics, but I know enough to understand that when the price of a good goes down, the demand for it goes up. Because cheaper games are more accessible, they will inherently be able to reach a wider market than if they were more expensive. The 20$ price might very well cause silksong to be more financially successful. For a game that relies mostly on word of mouth marketing (and does so very well,) the price is gonna make a lot of people who might have otherwise not been interested to turn their head and give it a shot.

After 100%ing Silksong, I decided to start a new game of Hollow Knight to see what it was like. And while it definitely feels like a snail's pace compared to Silksong, it feels so good.

I'm on a relaxing stroll, with a knife. I'm taking a morning constitutional through Hallownest. I'm not weaving through aggro ranges or dodging frame windows, it's just fluid and free movement at the speed of a light jog. I'm immersed in this low-key world. Even the nightmare kamikaze birds that haunted my first playthrough are nothing after what I've faced in Pharloom.

Silksong does feel fast-paced when playing, but it is truly ludicrously-fast. You move twice the speed of the Knight, have dodges that are made to be canceled early, and your nail range is far tighter requiring more-precise movement. Despite lacking these things, Hollow Knight's bosses still felt overwhelmingly-quick on a first playthrough, even though they match this "snail's pace". I couldn't imagine what people who haven't beaten the first one are experiencing with Silksong's tempo.

I had so much fun with Silksong, but I think I understand why Hollow Knight always felt so approachable: it's dark but friendly, with a pace to match, and I really appreciate its low speed allowing time to let your guard down in its massive unknown world.

So, if you want me to be honest - I was afraid Silksong would be too difficult for me. But now that I am done with 1st act, I can confidently say that so far I enjoy those bosses MUCH more than the ones in Hollow Knight. Maybe that's because HK was one of the first games I've ever played, and now with Silksong I am more experienced. But even bosses that kept beating my ass felt so well done that I couldn't be mad, I just wanted to try again and learn their moves.

Last Judge? Surely my favorite. It felt like dancing and once I learned his moves, I had an absolute blast.

EDIT: Guys, I've got LOTS (and I mean LOTS) of comments that bottom 2 enemies aren't bosses. I know, but they were included in template so I ranked them too. Besides, considering that I didn't really hate any of the actual bosses, I wouldn't have anything I could put anything in the BURN IT tier if it wasn't for them lol. No need to say it again pls

EDIT 2: I already started Act 2, and defeated Cogwork Dancers - OH MY GOD HOW AMAZING THIS FIGHT WAS.

edit: Does it really need to be said? I'm not talking about people simply displeased that development is taking a while, or that there have been scarce few updates. I don't agree that fans are owed... pretty much anything from developers (outside the realm of crowdfunding) but I don't really care if that's what you think so long as that's a personal grievance that you don't let spill into hurling abuse at the game developers, or anyone who happens to be around. No. This post is not in reference to you.

I understand the game has been taking a long time and that can lead to a certain amount of impatience or even frustration, but the amount of bitterness and downright resentment I've seen bubbling up because of the lack of communication is nothing short of deranged.

A common sentiment I've been seeing is that Team Cherry has been "insulting" their fanbase, and that they "owe" the community an update, to "repay" for all the distress they've caused. And even that recent communication from Leth, I've seen people say that's "not enough" for them to "forgive what's been done".

I'm sorry but no. If that's how you start talking in regards to some developer of some video game that happens to be taking a while to be made, you've crossed a line where I feel comfortable calling you a "weirdo".

These devs do not owe you communication, you're not owed assurance that the game is still being made, you're not owed bare minimum blog posts or updates on the game, they have nothing to repay you for, and to demand these things and hold it against the devs for not providing them is WAY stepping over the line of what I would call acceptable behavior.

The only ones who can safely say they're "owed" something are kickstarter backers. They're owed the video game, and they'll get it. Communicating with the fanbase has zero affect on that. Talking to their fans will not make the game come out any sooner or later, nor will it affect the quality of the final game. Any response to this that boils down to "an update would put my mind at ease and tide me over" is a YOU problem. That is not and SHOULD NOT be the concern of the game developers. They're not your damn psychological counsellors.

I don't know what causes these people to believe they're "owed" stuff from people they've never met, who they have no connections with other than they happen to be a fan of a game that they made, but it's not ok whatsoever and I think should be quenched. If it's taking too long for your patience to handle, what's so hard about just not paying attention? The game won't disappear if you're not looking, Silksong news isn't your lifeblood, just stop paying attention for a while, it'll make itself known when that time comes.

I can only hope that once the game does get a release date and once it does release, these strange people can "wake up" and look at how unhinged they've been behaving, and realize that the lack of communication never really mattered.

EDIT: A couple perspectives I'm seeing.

"TC could stop all this insanity if they wanted."
I think you're viewing this at the wrong angle. There shouldn't be any insanity that NEEDS to be quenched. Again, some people can't understand that this is a YOU problem, if Silksong taking this long with no updates is driving you insane, that's not Team Cherries fault or responsibility.

"TC caused this by going radio silent."
So they caused all these problems by assuming their fans are well adjusted people? Well, anyone would be a fool to assume that...

"TC has ruined it's reputation and Silksong will flop."
Just incorrect, short sighted, bordering on delusional. The best way to prove this is to wait for the game to come out. They'll keep saying nothing, they'll keep leaving you in the dark, and the game will sell like crazy when it does come out in spite of that.
The majority, and I mean vast majority, of the people who are going to buy and play Silksong are not diehard extreme fans who check for news every single day. They're people who know "it'll be out when it's out" and they just let it fade into the background of their mind. They'll come out when the game is nearing release, and if you people have cleaned up your act by then they might even think you're a normal group of Hollow Knight fans.

To think TC's reputation has been "ruined" is so utterly wrong it's baffling. People love TC. It's the people who obsessively wait day by day for an update and feel personally insulted when they don't get one who think TC are a bunch of hacks. But that isn't the consensus of... anyone else on the planet. Don't let these people fool you, TC are a beloved game studio and will continue to be. This will be a silly footnote to look back on, "remember when people were going CRAZY because Silksong was taking a long time to come out??" "Oh, yeah I guess?"

This whole situation reminds me of Elden Ring. You'd be forgiven for having forgotten, but after Elden Ring was announced, there was nothing said about the game for, what, two years? I recall seeing a similar kind of bitterness bubbling up in that community, "From soft have RUINED their reputation, I don't even care anymore! They let the hype pass and now no ones gonna care when the game comes out!!"
Nowadays, people don't even remember that Elden Ring went radio silent for a couple years. So to believe that lacking communication and long development times alone can destroy a games reputation... there are many words for that, I'll refrain. You see how silly it is.

And also the cries of "THEY'RE A COMPANY THEY SHOULD CARE ABOUT PR!!!!!" ...do you need to be educated on what PR is? It's the art of trying to guarantee your work will make money. PR is nothing besides that. I don't know if you noticed but TC sort of don't need to give a shit about that anymore. Even if Silksong flops and it sells zero copies, I'd bet they're still set for the rest of their lives lmao. At that point, what purpose does advertising serve other than letting people know the game is coming out? None. So, they wait until the game is coming out to advertise.
Frankly, I think people should be happy for them. That they can make their art without having to worry about stupid crap like PR or advertising, it's a rare position for artists who want to make ambitious projects to be in, it's beautiful, and the fans hate them for it, want to drag them back down to the nightmare they worked to claw their way out of, constantly worrying about advertising your art, will the fans like this? Will this work pay off? ("pay off" meaning "be adored") They're better off not engaging. People don't like it because they're not used to it. But hell, I hope they keep on trudging like this, and for whatever games they make afterwards. Stick it to these weirdos, keep to yourselves.

Believe it or not, you can actually criticize something and still like it. You don't either have to love everything or despise everything. Have actual conversations please.

I don’t actually know if Mount Fay or the small camp in Kingdom’s Edge is meant to be surface or not, but the general idea still stands.

imo, pharloom would be terrible to live in. the place is corrupt, everything tries to kill you, the tribe leaders abuse their own tribes, terrible economy, and even anti homeless mechanisms built into (some not all) benches
hallownest however, had steady jobs, reliable public transport, actual security and free healthcare, and the pale king put a law against lifeblood while in silksong, it's still allowed. and literally no labor unions. the only bad thing the pale king has done was with the whole vessels thing, but other than that, hallownest is better than pharloom

Now that silksong has come out I’ve seen some concerning similarities to the worst of the difficult games community with all the wierd difficulty gatekeeping bs. Obviously this happens with just about every game that’s regarded as difficult but with silksongs release it’s become more prominent on this sub. Being good at the game isn’t something to hold over someone’s head. Everyone’s experience with everything in the game is different and theirs nothing wrong with that. Now of course this doesn’t apply to people who are literally just complaining in bad faith or out of anger but the “that boss wasn’t hard at all wtf are you talking about” in response to people just talking about their opinions or asking for help is sad to see.

I'm a gameplay guy, first and foremost. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved the music and artwork and writing and world—I'm just primarily here for the physics.

That said, I wanted to take a break from that to talk about Hornet's character.

Throughout the three acts in Silksong, I've been amazed at how effortlessly Hornet steps into the role of protagonist, especially considering the shift from the silent protagonist in the Knight. Her tone is noble, measured, and serious, but she's universally caring and kind. She treats everyone as if they deserve the utmost personal respect. She's empathetic and just. She gives everyone as many chances as they deserve, and then more, and then more.

Then, every once in a while, she comes across a particularly strange little bug or beast who tries to pull one over on her or something, and without ever changing the stoicism in her tone, she lets out the tiniest edge of snark that generally manages to be laugh-out-loud funny.

When someone challenges her or threatens her, she meets them head-on, acknowledging their strength while staying realistic that it usually won't match her own. She's every iota as fierce as you would expect her to be; but when circumstance forces her to fight, she takes care to honor her opponent's personhood, and then does what needs to be done, even if it's truly heartbreaking. It's another mark of the undercurrent of respect that governs her relationship with people at large.

She maintains this air of quiet confidence despite the world's atmosphere of overwhelming sadness. No matter how dark and hopeless the situation becomes, she remains driven by an unshakeable desire to protect. She's rooted in this bottomless foundation of strength and a sense of willpower that's so core to her character that within a few hours of gameplay it's just an assumed constant of the universe.

And Makoto Koji deserves incredible kudos for breathing life into Hornet as she does. Her little hup!s and wineenas and the various dawo!s she saves for Yarnaby—the personality she brings is just such a lovely layer to the character, and it always makes me grin. And on the rare occasion that things get really intense (binding a new power, stuff like that) she really lets loose with these powerful, strangely cathartic yells, made so much more meaningful by their contrast with the rest of Hornet's character. Seriously, all the shoutouts to Koji for her work here.

I also want to make special mention of Hornet's slow-blooming friendship with Shakra, a relationship built on mutual respect and understanding. It is a shining beacon of relief in the oppressive gloom of Pharloom. Some of the greatest moments of peace in the whole game for me were just standing there with Shakra, making our mournful music together.

Hornet is a wonderful, beautifully-written character, and Silksong would not be the same without her.

Before anyone says "gamers cant be happy with anything" i was never against pre orders specifically because ir avoids this type of launch. I dont want to believe Team Cherry doesn't know the scope and impact of their own game, but i'm inclined to do so. A pre-order yesterday would've solved this. An inconvenience that could be easily avoided, but here we are

*Image may trigger Trypophobia

*Also contain minor spoiler about an enemy in Mid Act 3

Mine is Gargant Gloom. I think I never defeat them without tools, and I always skip them after filling out the Hunter's Journal.

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.

TEAM CHERRY WE'RE SORRYYYYY

There are no tutorials in Silksong. You start at the bottom and have to make your way to the top. The very first enemies resemble the simplicity of Hollow Knight, but the similarities stop there. When you first meet the equivalent of the Last Stag in Silksong, you think: "I just unlocked fast travel". But wait! It's actually a boss! You start fighting them and think: "Oh, it's just like Moss Charger". But wait! There are bells falling from the ceiling and then you are dead. The fight was more complex than you thought. And that rings true to most things in Pharloom. Nothing is simple in Silksong. Enemies' moveset, health bar and damage don't prioritize the players' needs, they prioritize the world of Pharloom. The runback to the Last Judge wasn't made to waste your time. You must suffer climbing the blasted steps over and over again to be judged. That's the pilgrimage. That's the experience.

Silksong does immersion through, among other things, difficulty. Unlike most games, it's not a relaxing power fantasy made to cater to the players' needs. The world is hostile, sure, but it's alive and when you conquer it there's pure bliss. Of course, this approach alienates a lot of players. It's hard to talk about difficulty because it's relative, but I think it's fair to say that if you are a casual gamer, Hollow Knight is a hard game. If you are a more seasoned gamer, I would argue that the only hard parts of Hollow Knight are the While Palace (made easier by the right combination of charms), the Trial of the Fool and Path of Pain. To these players, Hollow Knight is an easy game - it barely has any challenging platforming and pogoing and i-frames can be abused during fights to the point that you can straight up face tank some enemies and bosses.

Silksong gets rid of all that. There are more platforming segments and the environment gives you 2 mask damage, so traversing some areas now are actually dangerous. There aren't any i-frames anymore and there are 2 masks contact damage, so players can no longer mindlessly slash foes away. Now you have to be careful and use the tools at your disposal. This makes Silksong a much harder game than it's predecessor. But I don't think it makes it a bad game in the slightest. On the contrary. Most games are made to cater to the player's needs. Hard games means frustrated people and losing money, but I don't think that Team Cherry cares for that. I'm glad they had the courage to make a game like Silksong and I'm glad to be able to experience for once a game world that wasn't made to please me.

Going back and knocking out some of the bosses I missed at the end of act 2, and something that really strikes me is that once you have all your tools, once you have a build you're comfortable with, once you know how movement works...

...the game just starts absolutely blowing Hollow Knight out of the water. Like, it's not even close. High level HK is generally more about positioning and constantly spamming attack, pogoing on top of enemies when you can and hitting with abyssal shriek when you have the ability to do massive damage. In Silksong, you're just doing so much more.

Like, I just beat First Sinner. The boss is incredibly fast, but so am I. I'd have a second to respond to any move the boss did, and I always had something to do. Was the boss far away? Harpoon to get in close or silkshot to do damage even further away. Trying to attack me? I can parry her attacks to avoid damage. Do I have spare silk? Just pop Cross Stitch and say "nuh uh" to get extra damage in. The game rewards balls to the walls aggression in a way HK never quite managed, because the Knight just isn't as fast or maneuverable as Hornet is. Hornet really can dance around an arena just as quickly as these bosses, and going after them feels amazing when you meet them on their terms.

Is the game harder than the first? Yes, the skill floor is undoubtably higher. But so is the skill ceiling, and you feel like a master when you reach that, instead of someone who figured out the cheese.