YouTube - Particular Extras
- Review score
- 3.9
Hollow Knight: Silksong Review
Bottom Line
Choose Silksong for a gorgeous, demanding Metroidvania with superb movement, bosses, music, and secrets. Skip it when long runbacks, sparse checkpoints, resource grinding, or limited accessibility options would turn challenge into frustration.
Best for
Best for players who enjoy demanding Metroidvanias built around mastery, exploration, precision movement, and repeated boss attempts. Completionists also benefit from the dense map, optional endings, and many hidden routes.
Not for
Not for players who want generous checkpoints, broad accessibility options, low-stress exploration, or frequent material rewards after every challenge. Reviewers repeatedly warn that runbacks, currency loss, and early friction can sour the experience.
Verdict
Across the supplied reviews, Silksong emerges as an exceptionally crafted sequel whose strongest traits are movement, combat, exploration, art direction, music, and world-building. Reviewers repeatedly praise Hornet’s speed, the dense map, choreographed bosses, and the sense that Pharloom rewards curiosity. The tradeoff is that the same conviction also creates friction: sparse benches, runbacks, punishing two-mask damage, resource pressure, and some opaque progression can make the game feel cruel or exhausting. It is widely treated as a top-tier Metroidvania, but not a frictionless one; its best moments depend on a willingness to learn, retreat, experiment, and endure.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
62 reviewed features- Very positive 4.5-5.0 65% 40 features
- Positive 3.5-4.4 15% 9 features
- Neutral 2.5-3.4 11% 7 features
- Negative 1.5-2.4 10% 6 features
- Very negative below 1.5 0% 0 features
Pros
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Art direction receives near-universal praise for hand-drawn beauty, color variety, style, and a distinctive visual identity.
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The soundtrack is one of the clearest strengths, repeatedly described as magnificent, excellent, world-class, and emotionally fitting.
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Environmental detail is repeatedly praised, from dense small touches to rooms and backgrounds that make Pharloom feel lived-in.
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Atmosphere is a major strength, described as surreal, haunting, dreadful, beautiful, and full of wonder and horror.
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Graphics quality is praised for a stunning hand-drawn world and a visual style that feels playful, dark, and richly realized.
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The core loop is praised as pure Metroidvania satisfaction: tough encounters, discovery, and rewarding progression through new areas.
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Sound design earns strong support from praise for surface-specific details and top-notch audio touches.
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Writing quality receives strong praise where reviewers call it top-notch and tied to Hornet’s conversations and character insight.
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Animation quality has limited but strong evidence, with reviewers noting gorgeous animation within the hand-drawn presentation.
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Endgame content receives strong support from optional endings, zones, bosses, and post-credits discoveries.
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Frame rate stability has limited but positive evidence from a Switch 2 review calling 120fps performance perfect.
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Immersion is strongly supported by one review’s comment about Pharloom lingering after play.
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World interactivity has limited but strong support from one review that praises evolving locations, reactive hubs, and organic backtracking.
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Hornet’s movement is one of the clearest consensus wins, with reviewers praising her speed, agility, sprinting, and dance-like traversal.
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Value for money is exceptional across reviews, especially because of the low price, large content volume, and long completion potential.
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Level design is strongly praised for seamless area flow, purposeful rooms, thoughtful platform placement, and dense Metroidvania structure.
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Hornet is consistently praised as an excellent, charismatic, well-rounded protagonist with stronger presence than the silent Knight.
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World-building is one of the strongest areas, with reviewers praising Pharloom as immaculate, complex, sad, and worth exploring.
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Lore depth is praised for hidden mysteries, optional heritage threads, and deeper history that rewards curiosity.
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Control feel is strongly praised, with one review emphasizing complete control of Hornet and another calling the Switch 2 Pro Controller perfect.
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Performance is praised on lower-end hardware, Switch platforms, and 120fps contexts, with only minor visual caveats.
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Handheld suitability has positive evidence from Steam Deck performance and battery life comments.
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Polish is praised through meticulous design and presentation, though only one scored review directly supports the attribute.
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Combat is a major strength, described as fast, precise, tense, dance-like, and rewarding, though some reviews tie its highs to demanding difficulty.
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Faithfulness to franchise is strongly supported by reviews saying it captures, continues, and improves on Hollow Knight while standing apart.
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Emotional impact is strong, ranging from adrenaline and triumph to reviewers saying they shed tears or were moved by events.
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Character development is praised for Hornet softening through Pharloom and for character arcs that counterbalance the harsh world.
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Narrative quality is praised as more focused and engaging than the original, helped by Hornet’s voice and guided exploration.
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Originality is praised where Silksong is seen as firmly on its own path rather than a simple copy.
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Side character depth receives positive evidence from a review praising Pharloom’s supporting characters as charming and motivated.
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Fun factor is high overall, with reviewers repeatedly saying they had great fun, wanted to return, or found the game compelling despite pain.
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Content variety is praised through multiple game-like challenge types, many systems, and plentiful options, while remaining tied to high difficulty.
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Horror tension receives limited positive support from the dream/nightmare tone described in one review.
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Platform-specific support has positive evidence from ultrawide support that improves immersion.
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Exploration is a standout, with most reviewers praising dense secrets, rewarding routes, and curiosity-driven discovery, though a few disliked sparse rewards or risk pressure.
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Boss design is broadly praised as memorable, choreographed, varied, and exciting, though some reviews dislike spongey health pools, rewards, or runbacks.
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Replay value trends high for completionists and build experimenters, though one reviewer said they were glad to play it only once.
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Mission design earns positive evidence where missions give players reasons to revisit areas and make NPC discoveries feel more purposeful.
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Puzzle design receives limited but positive evidence, with one review saying Silksong makes puzzle-solving and hidden-path discovery feel effortless.
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User interface design has limited positive evidence around attractive mission HUD illustrations and attention to detail.
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Crests, tools, and upgrades are widely seen as flexible and creative, though a few reviews found early limitations or resource-linked tool use frustrating.
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Innovation is positive but measured: reviewers praise new directions and system changes, while one calls it evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
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Dialogue is mixed-to-positive: one review calls it shockingly good, while another says it can feel dry at times.
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Review evidence frames the broader mechanics as more complex than the original, especially through Hornet’s expanded combat and movement options.
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Progression is generally praised for fresh upgrades and satisfying forward motion, but one review criticizes opaque true-ending requirements.
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Fast travel is praised in one review for reducing backtracking tedium through well-marked routes.
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Map and navigation design is mixed: several reviews praise map structure and direction, but others dislike incomplete map support and 100% cleanup.
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Enemy variety is strong in scope, but evidence is mixed because flying enemies, monster rooms, and certain mobs can feel annoying.
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Difficulty is the most divisive attribute: many reviewers call it rewarding and intentional, while others find it cruel, too punishing, or unfairly frictional.
Cons
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Platforming precision is mixed: reviewers admire Hornet’s acrobatics, but several criticize the diagonal pogo or inconsistent bounce feel.
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The learning curve is steep, with reviewers noting hours of mastery and occasional git-gud walls, but also rewarding skill growth.
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Pacing has a notable concern around long checkpoint placement that interrupts practice and repetition in challenging sequences.
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Quest design is split: some reviewers like wishes and missions as structure, while others criticize boring or grindy fetch quests.
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Onboarding is a weak spot for some, especially in the opening hours where resources, checkpoints, and tutorial clarity are less generous.
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Tutorial quality is criticized through comparison with Hollow Knight’s clearer early tutorial structure and more generous opening support.
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The rosary and shard economy is the most repeated systems complaint, often described as stingy, grindy, or slightly misbalanced.
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Camera and hitbox-adjacent behavior draws criticism where bosses or damage windows appear from off-screen or feel overly generous.
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Checkpointing is a common concern, with long runbacks, sparse benches, paid benches, and poor placement repeatedly criticized.
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Crafting has negative evidence where shard requirements pull the player away from action into repetitive resource hunting.
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Grind level is criticized where resource depletion and boss attempts can push players toward needless grinding.
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Accessibility is criticized as limited, with reviews noting the game is not trying to be accessible to everyone and lacks broader options.
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Loot and rewards are a weaker point, with reviewers complaining about bosses or difficult paths that provide little or disappointing material payoff.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in endgame content, writing quality, value for money, below average in accessibility options, checkpoint system, crafting system.
Summary
8 compared features- Above average 0.4+ pts higher 50% 4 features
- Same as average within 0.3 pts 0% 0 features
- Below average 0.4+ pts lower 50% 4 features
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| accessibility options | 2.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| checkpoint system | 2.2 | 3.8 | -1.6 |
| crafting system | 2.2 | 3.8 | -1.6 |
| loot system | 2.0 | 3.6 | -1.6 |
| endgame content | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| writing quality | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| value for money | 4.9 | 3.9 | +1.1 |
| movement feel | 4.9 | 4.0 | +0.9 |
FAQ
Is Hollow Knight: Silksong harder than Hollow Knight?
Most reviewers say it is harder or more punishing, especially early on. Several still argue the challenge is intentional and rewarding once players explore, learn patterns, and experiment with tools.
What do reviewers praise most?
The strongest praise goes to Hornet’s movement, combat, exploration, boss design, art direction, soundtrack, and world-building. Reviewers repeatedly describe Pharloom as beautiful, dense, and rewarding to uncover.
What are the most common complaints?
The recurring complaints are long runbacks, sparse or paid benches, heavy two-mask damage, stingy currency and shard balance, occasional grind, and limited accessibility options.
Does the sequel stand on its own?
Yes. Reviews say prior Hollow Knight knowledge enhances callbacks and context, but Hornet’s story and Pharloom’s world can be understood as their own adventure.
How is Hornet as a protagonist?
Reviewers are very positive on Hornet. They praise her speed, charisma, dialogue, and stronger narrative presence compared with the silent Knight.
Is there enough content after the first ending?
Yes. Reviewers mention optional endings, additional zones, bosses, secrets, and completion goals, though some criticize how opaque certain requirements can be.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
gamesradar.com
- Review score
- 3.5
nintendolife.com
- Review score
- 4.8
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Elden Ring
- Compared: difficulty assists The reviewer compares Silksong's walling difficulty with Elden Ring's imperfect boss-easing tools.
- Similar: problem-solving through exploration The reviewer says Silksong asks players to leave walls and explore, similar to Elden Ring.
- Compared: punishment and difficulty The reviewer frames Silksong as less willing to relent than even Elden Ring.
Dark Souls 2
- Compared: respawn-point placement The reviewer likens Silksong's sparse, inconvenient benches to Dark Souls 2-style respawn placement.
- Compared: runbacks The reviewer compares Silksong's runback discourse to Dark Souls 2's notorious runbacks.
Animal Well
- Compared: genre evolution and identity The reviewer says Silksong still feels distinctive despite wondering whether Animal Well had moved the genre forward.
Consider This Instead
If you want better accessibility options
Choose Saros. It scores 4.6 vs 2.0 for accessibility options, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better tutorial quality
Choose Pragmata. It scores 4.5 vs 2.8 for tutorial quality, with a 4.1 overall score.
If you want better checkpoint system
Choose Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. It scores 5.0 vs 2.2 for checkpoint system, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better economy and resource balance
Choose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It scores 4.5 vs 2.5 for economy and resource balance, with a 4.3 overall score.
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