As much as I’d like to be, I’m not very good at Hollow Knight: Silksong. It was inevitable, really. I struggled my way through Hollow Knight, and my strongest memory of playing it is the soul-destroying experience of trying to fight the Traitor Lord. And failing. Many times.
It’s pretty much the same story in Silksong. I’m still early on, and I’ve had many, many stupid deaths. I’ve accepted that I’ll never be skilled at its Soulslike gameplay, and I certainly won’t be getting all of its achievements, so here’s what I’ve been doing instead of being good at the game.
Scrambling For Rosary Beads Out Of Sheer Desperation
Capitalism Is Silksong’s Final Boss
I’ve never felt more broke than I do in Silksong. Why is Pharloom a capitalistic nightmare? Everything is expensive, and there aren’t anywhere near enough rosary beads to go around. Maybe Team Cherry is saying something about the current state of the world, huh…
So, I’m always desperately trying to get more rosary beads whenever I can. Even if that means attempting to fight enemies I know will give me a rough time. I need the rosaries so I can buy a map and see where I am, please. I’m begging you.
Thinking An Enemy Is Cute And Immediately Getting My Butt Kicked
If So Cute, Why So Spicy?
Team Cherry always absolutely nails character designs, even down to the random enemies who don’t really have anything special going on. However, this is also to my detriment.
Every time I enter a new area and see an enemy I’ve not encountered before, my mind initially fixates on how cute it is, rather than remember that I need to, you know, fight it. So, I almost always end up getting my butt handed to me whenever I see something new. These bugs are definitely proving you can be cute and strong.
Falling All The Way Back Down To The Beginning Of Moss Grotto, Again
It’s A Long, Long, Long, Long, Long Way Down
I would like to have a word with whoever it was at Team Cherry who decided that the main hub area in the early game should have a giant, gaping hole in the middle of it that sends you tumbling right back to the very beginning of the game. And that word would be: why?
The number of times I’ve fallen back down this hole is unbelievable. I’ll miss a jump while exploring the area just above Bone Bottom, and suddenly I’m plummeting miles and miles down into the earth. Talk about humbling.
Wondering Why I Didn’t Practise For This With Hollow Knight
Oh Yeah, I Was Bad At Hollow Knight Too…
Somehow, I managed to bumble my way through Hollow Knight a couple of years ago. Now that I’m playing Silksong, and it’s much less merciful, I find myself constantly wondering, why didn’t I spend all those years waiting for Silksong practising my skills in Hollow Knight like everyone else?
I could be blasting through these platforming challenges and bosses if I’d done that. No, instead I decided to play new games. All those hours wasted…
Wanting To Pet The Bell Beast
Who’s A Good Bug?
As I said earlier, I’m a sucker for cute designs. One of the cutest of them all is easily the Bell Beast. After defeating it early on, it will be your ticket to fast travel around Pharloom. Despite being a bug, it acts distinctly dog-like, so I have to ask, why can’t we pet the Bell Beast?
Every time I go to the Bell Beast, it just seems so excitable and loving. I want to give it a little pet, maybe even some treats. This should be a priority for the first update to the game, in my opinion.
Checking The Map I Still Don’t Have
Yep, Still Blank
I am well aware that I’m low on rosaries and haven’t purchased the maps for every area I have access to. Will I stop checking the map, when I evidently still don’t have it? No, I won’t. Each time I do it, and the little no map symbol shows up, it’s like a little reminder of all my failures.
I’m even so attached to pulling out my map, I’ve done it by accident during boss fights. Not sure how a flimsy little map is going to help me fell this humongous beast, but apparently my subconscious wants to try it. Map only run, anyone?
Brute Forcing My Way Through Bosses Because I Don’t Know When To Quit
I’ll Get It This Time, No Really, I Mean It
I’m playing Silksong with my partner, and we both have extremely different approaches to when we get stuck on a boss. She, the smart one, will try the boss a couple of times, and if she can’t do it, take a break and explore a new area instead. Maybe even try to find hidden mask shards or grind for upgrades to up her chances.
Me? I’ll keep throwing myself at the boss over and over again out of sheer stubbornness. Beating it with an upgrade, when I’ve already got so close a bunch of times already, doesn’t feel like the same win.
Hitting Every Wall Hoping It’s A Secret Room
Spoiler, It’s Not
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Hollow Knight, it’s that Team Cherry loves a secret room. If the corner of the room looks at all like it’s crumbling away, you bet there’s a secret there. In my infinite wisdom, I attack the corner of every room, just on the off chance there’s going to be a secret there.
Most of the time, there isn’t. I just make Hornet look like an idiot, attacking literal thin air. But every time there is a secret, I feel vindicated, so I’ll keep on doing it.
Learning Everything The Hard Way
If You Can Even Call It ‘Learning’…
I love to go into games completely blind and only look up guides if I’m truly stuck and lost. For games like Silksong, that means I make a lot of mistakes.
I’ll flail at a boss or a tough platforming section, but my sheer stubbornness and pride means I’ll keep making that mistake until I learn what I’m actually supposed to do the hard way. I can’t tell you why I make myself suffer like this. But I can tell you I won’t be finished with Silksong for a long, long time because of it.
10 8.5
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Follow Followed Metroidvania Action Adventure Soulslike Systems
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Hollow Knight
- Number of Players
- Single-player
WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- PC Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Wiki
-
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