Compare Hollow Knight: Silksong vs The First Berserker: Khazan

Reviewers found only a basic accessibility set: camera shake, HUD size, audio sliders, and remapping appear, but difficulty, color-blind, and repeated-input options are called limited or absent.

Reviews note an easy mode, summon help, and an arachnophobia toggle, giving players several ways to soften the challenge.

Animation is repeatedly praised as part of the hand-drawn presentation, especially Hornet's character movement and the many detailed environmental touches.

Enemy and combat animations are repeatedly praised as smooth, expressive, and satisfying in motion.

The art direction is a major strength, with reviewers emphasizing hand-drawn beauty, richer color, distinctive biomes, and a style that feels carefully authored.

The cel-shaded, hand-drawn-inspired presentation stands out as one of the game’s clearest strengths.

Pharloom's atmosphere blends beauty, melancholy, dread, charm, and danger, creating a world reviewers often describe as memorable even when it frustrates them.

A bleak palette and tense environmental presentation reinforce the revenge story’s grim mood.

Boss design is one of the strongest areas overall, with many reviewers praising choreography, variety, spectacle, and pattern learning while noting occasional slog or runback friction.

Bosses are widely seen as the highlight—demanding, readable, and memorable—though a few reviews still call out frustrating mechanics.

Technical issues seem limited overall, with one review seeing no glitches and another reporting only a few minor bugs.

Only one direct camera-related complaint appears, but it is meaningful: a reviewer says some high-speed boss movement leaves threats outside the camera bounds.

Camera impressions are mixed: some found it solid and helpful, while others mention occasional trouble in specific situations.

Hornet receives more explicit characterization than the Knight, and reviewers describe her softening through relationships, duty, and reactions to Pharloom's residents.

Khazan and the broader cast are often seen as underdeveloped, with arcs and growth that do not fully capitalize on the setup.

The supporting cast is repeatedly described as charming and varied, with bug NPCs, pilgrims, fleas, mapmakers, and side characters giving the world personality.

Checkpoint design is the most repeated concern: sparse, paid, trapped, or distant benches and long boss runbacks often turn difficulty into tedium.

Checkpoints placed right before bosses are a major quality-of-life win and sharply reduce runback frustration.

Combat is widely praised as fast, precise, rhythmic, and expressive, with Hornet's agility and tool options creating dynamic fights despite the harsh damage model.

Combat is the game’s defining strength, consistently praised for its speed, depth, and rewarding parry-dodge interplay.

Summoned allies can help as distractions, but their AI is often described as unreliable and sometimes wasteful.

Reviewers consistently point to a huge amount of areas, enemies, bosses, tools, secrets, and optional content, though some additions create minor clutter or friction.

Controls are generally praised for giving strong control over Hornet, maintaining flow, and supporting precise combat and traversal once the player adapts.

Movement and combat inputs are consistently described as smooth, responsive, and precise.

The Metroidvania loop of exploring, unlocking abilities, opening shortcuts, and returning stronger is described as satisfying and central to the appeal.

The mission-to-boss structure successfully recreates a satisfying soulslike loop even when it feels familiar.

The tool and shard systems add flexibility, but some reviewers criticize their resource costs and the way consumable repair needs can lead to grinding.

Crafting is straightforward and easier to understand than some genre peers, though its full utility opens up a bit later.

One long-play review reports a couple of crashes across roughly 60 hours, suggesting minor but real instability.

Dialogue is often praised for making Hornet and Pharloom's cast more engaging, though one reviewer found some dialogue dry at times.

Difficulty is strongly debated: most reviewers call it intentional, rewarding, and often fair, but many also highlight two-mask damage, early friction, and harsh runbacks.

The difficulty is rewarding for many, but boss balance is one of the most divisive parts of the game.

Resource balance is mixed to negative, with repeated complaints about rosaries, paid benches, tool shards, and farming interrupting the otherwise strong flow.

The game creates notable emotional peaks through hard-won victories, character moments, music, and late-game story beats, though some players feel relief as much as joy.

Reviewers describe substantial post-credits or alternate-ending content, optional bosses, zones, and secrets, making the endgame unusually large for the genre.

Enemy variety is broadly praised for giving biomes and combat encounters distinct threats, though flying enemies and monster-room waves annoy some reviewers.

Enemy variety is generally strong, though some later impressions say repetition can creep in over long play sessions.

Environmental detail is consistently praised through lived-in spaces, small animation touches, surface-specific sounds, and dense background storytelling.

Levels and locales are repeatedly described as detailed, attractive, and enjoyable to move through.

Exploration is a core strength: reviewers describe Pharloom as vast, secret-filled, interconnected, and rewarding, though a few completion and corpse-run frustrations remain.

Exploration offers worthwhile secrets and shortcuts, but several reviews still say stages are fairly linear or limited in optional discovery.

Reviewers generally agree Silksong honors Hollow Knight while feeling faster, bigger, and more colorful, with some preferring the original's simplicity.

Fast travel through Bellways and marked stations helps reduce backtracking, though some stations must be unlocked or paid for.

Returning to checkpoints or missions is convenient, and the hub structure makes travel between objectives fairly painless.

Frame-rate impressions are positive across Switch 2, PC, and video coverage, with reviewers citing 120 fps, 60 fps, and stable low-end performance.

Performance is usually steady, with little to no frame-rate trouble outside occasional rare drops.

Even frustrated reviewers repeatedly describe Silksong as fun, compelling, or worth pushing through because its victories and discoveries feel so rewarding.

Even skeptical or genre-weary reviewers say the game is consistently exciting and hard to put down.

The broader mechanics are praised for adding aerial combos, diagonal dives, tools, crests, and more agile traversal, though they raise the learning demand.

Graphics are a consensus highlight, with reviewers praising gorgeous hand-drawn visuals, richer color, strong biome identity, and platform-specific crispness.

Raw fidelity is seen as good rather than best-in-class, with visual appeal driven more by style than technical showmanship.

Grinding is a common caveat, especially around rosaries, shards, fetch quests, and repeated boss attempts that exhaust consumable tool resources.

Handheld suitability is positive: Switch 2 handheld and Steam Deck impressions suggest the game works especially well as a portable Metroidvania.

The one Steam Deck-focused review says the game is verified and plays very well on the device.

The game is not reviewed as pure horror, but reviewers repeatedly note frightening, cruel, eerie, or terror-filled spaces that give Pharloom tension.

HUD clarity is supported mainly through TechRadar's note that HUD size can be customized; no broader HUD praise appears.

Immersion comes through the dense world, ultrawide support, atmosphere, music, and the feeling of being pulled into Pharloom's secrets.

Reviewers see innovation in how Silksong builds on Hollow Knight through Hornet's movement, crests, tools, protagonist voice, and uncompromising design.

Khazan adds some smart twists, but most reviews still see it as heavily derivative rather than especially original.

The learning curve is steep because of diagonal pogoing, higher enemy damage, resource management, and a higher skill floor, but many reviewers find mastery rewarding.

Early bosses and systems can be harsh, and several reviewers say the game teaches its ideas abruptly.

Level design is strongly praised for purposeful rooms, seamless area transitions, shortcuts, hidden branches, and spaces that teach or challenge the player.

Level design trends positive overall, especially once the game opens up later, though some mission layouts can feel samey.

Loot and reward structure is one of the weaker areas, with several reviewers noting bosses may give little or no material reward after difficult fights.

Loot is plentiful but generally manageable, with enough gear and sets to support build tinkering without becoming overwhelming.

Lore depth is strong, with reviewers pointing to mysteries, world history, item details, subtle reveals, and connections between Pharloom and Hallownest.

Supplemental tools like the relationship map help flesh out the setting and backstory for players who want more context.

Map and navigation design is mostly strong thanks to pins, clearer direction, shortcuts, and story-rich maps, but completion tracking and map clarity draw criticism.

Mission maps and shortcut-heavy layouts are helpful, but backtracking and mission-reset behavior can be clunky.

Arena or mission-like encounter design is mixed, with some reviewers disliking repeated combat rooms and endurance-style waves that feel less creative.

Mission variety exists through wishes, hunting, collecting, fetch tasks, puzzles, and optional routes, though fetch quests are a repeated weak spot.

Movement feel is one of Silksong's clearest strengths: Hornet is fast, agile, expressive, and satisfying to control after the adjustment period.

Narrative quality is stronger than the original for many reviewers because Hornet speaks and the story is more explicit, though some still experience it as sparse.

The revenge premise and setting are engaging enough to keep players moving, but the story rarely matches the strength of the gameplay.

Onboarding is mixed: reviewers say the game works as a standalone entry and teaches some basics, but its opening hours create notable friction for new players.

Tutorials help, but the opening hours and early bosses do not always showcase or teach the game cleanly.

Originality comes from Silksong's confident, sometimes cruel identity, which reviewers see as distinctive even when comparing it to other Metroidvanias.

Pacing is mixed: exploration and progression can be absorbing, but punishing progression, long checkpoints, and structural ending requirements interrupt momentum.

Performance optimization is a strength, with reviewers citing smooth play on lower-end hardware, flawless-feeling performance, and strong PC/Switch handling.

Across platforms, reviewers frequently describe performance as polished, stable, and well-optimized.

Platform-specific support is meaningfully discussed through ultrawide PC support, Steam Deck suitability, and Switch 2 120Hz support.

Platforming precision is divisive: many praise demanding obstacle design, while several criticize diagonal pogoing and certain sections as inconsistent or punishing.

Polish is consistently praised through meticulous detail, precision, high production values, and the feeling of a handcrafted game refined over years.

Reviews consistently present Khazan as a notably polished release with strong presentation and solid overall finish.

Progression is strong overall, with frequent tools, abilities, upgrades, optional routes, and build-altering discoveries, though some requirements are opaque.

Lacrima rewards, skill growth, and multiple advancement layers make repeated attempts feel productive instead of wasted.

Hornet is widely liked as a protagonist because she is agile, voiced, heroic, confident, and emotionally connected to Pharloom's people.

Khazan’s setup is strong, but some reviewers still find him flat or emotionally distant as a lead.

Puzzle evidence is limited but present in special puzzle areas, Needolin interactions, mechanical puzzles, and path-solving through exploration.

Quest design is mixed: wishes and optional tasks give structure and reasons to revisit areas, but fetch quests and opaque ending requirements are criticized.

Replay value is high due to 100% completion, alternate endings, optional bosses, build variety, second runs, and reviewers wanting to return.

Replay value is decent thanks to NG+, weapon differences, and build experimentation, though customization limits cap long-term variety.

Nonlinear freedom is strong: reviewers describe multiple routes, optional bosses, different paths to objectives, and broad freedom to leave hard walls for later.

Autosaving appears dependable, with one reviewer specifically noting that crashes did not cost meaningful progress.

Side characters are a strength, giving relief, charm, pathos, and recurring interactions across Pharloom's towns and hubs.

Supporting characters are often described as underused or too slight to leave much of an impression.

Weapon-specific trees are a major strength, offering meaningful abilities, combos, and build direction.

Sound design receives strong praise for surface-specific footsteps, detailed audio, and atmospheric effects that make areas feel alive.

Weapon impacts, combat audio, and environmental sound all earn strong praise for adding weight to fights.

The soundtrack is a consensus highlight, with reviewers praising Christopher Larkin's orchestral, haunted, dynamic, and boss-specific music.

The soundtrack is well-liked and effective at supporting bosses and dramatic moments.

The tutorials are clear, helpful, and generally unobtrusive.

Upgrade systems around crests, tools, abilities, and silk skills add major build flexibility and playstyle changes.

Gear and character upgrades are broad and useful, though some reviewers note they come online a bit later than ideal.

Interface design is mixed-positive: journals, tracked quests, pins, sliders, and tool categories help, though map and compass limitations remain.

Reference tools like the compendium and encyclopedia make systems easier to parse and support experimentation.

Value for money is excellent across the reviews, with multiple reviewers citing the $20 price and huge amount of content.

Reviews that address price directly frame the game as worth buying at full cost.

Combat and boss effects are repeatedly highlighted as a good match for the game’s stylized presentation.

Voice acting is a consistent positive, with several reviews singling it out as strong or believable.

World-building is one of the strongest consensus areas, with Pharloom's history, class structure, religion, silk, architecture, and inhabitants reinforcing the setting.

The DNF setting, factions, and supernatural backdrop help the world feel broader than the revenge plot alone.

World interactivity appears in subtle touches such as water preventing map use, Needolin interactions, NPC events, and changing locations.

Writing is praised for stronger dialogue, clearer story beats, and emotional character interactions, although a few reviewers find parts dry or sparse.

Writing impressions are mixed, landing between entertainingly edgy and formulaic.