5/5 ★ – DanteSnowcone's review of Hollow Knight: Silksong.

I’ve been waiting for this game ever since the E3 demo in 2019. I got married, bought an apartment, started and finished grad school, bought and used an entire Costco-sized box of q-tips, all before Silksong finally came out. I was very worried that my expectations were built too high by years of anticipation. But the wait was so worth it. Team Cherry did such a good job of building on the gameplay of HK without making the same game. Crests and tools create a lot of variety in how to move and fight, and even though I feel like I didn’t take full advantage of those mechanics I can see how many ways you can change your style to suit a given challenge. If I got stuck on a boss I would go through my arsenal and try something new, which always helped. Movement and traversal are similar but much cleaner and require more mastery. It’s easier to get around the map and to dominate the airspace during combat. And of course I love her little puffy dress. Controversial take but I love the diagonal pogo, it takes some getting used to but is the ideal way to create a chain of motion. Thanks to Hornet’s elevated movement, enemies and bosses got improved movement to match. Early fights are slower, which is to be expected, but once you reach the end of act I things really start to pick up. Fights like First Sinner, Karmelita and LL showcase all that they’re able to accomplish with enemy design, and the highs of these fights are in my opinion even higher than those of HK. Giving Hornet a sprint feature gave the devs a lot more freedom to create a sprawling and extensive world, and Pharloom is just unbelievable. There is so much to find and to explore. Every new area sent a chill down my spine, waiting to see what new challenge I was about to witness. Art direction has always been a forte for Team Cherry, and looking at HK and Silksong side by side makes it so obvious how much they improved on an already beautiful style. And of course, I cannot talk about the world of Pharloom without also talking about the music. Christopher Larkin cannot be stopped. The soundtrack has it all: beauty, emotion, grandeur, intrigue, tension, adventure … it’s all-encompassing. The music of the Citadel especially stands out with some gorgeous tracks, but the whole score is full of incredible moments, and his use of harp for the Needolin is inspired and enchanting. There are a few characters from HK that I love, but there are a BUNCH of characters from Silksong that I absolutely adore. There’s so much personality in their design, and everyone’s journey is well told from beginning to end. Sherma and his song will stay with me forever, he has my whole heart 🥰 I was despondent for a whole day after I finished. I’m already watching speedruns and thinking about going for the achievement. I can see what makes Silksong not for everyone, but the game resonates with me very strongly, and it’s a game I know I will come back to multiple times in my life. It’s an all time great, full stop. Time Played: 52 hours Played on Steam Deck