Hollow Knight Silksong Review: Team Cherry Matches All Expectations

This review for Hollow Knight: Silksong covers how Team Cherry has masterfully crafted a sequel after years of anticipation.

Silksong was once considered a myth by many. A game that would be talked about for a long time, but perhaps would never be released. However, the long-awaited sequel finally launched on September 4, 2025, crashing all the major gaming platforms. After booting up the game and playing through it, I can safely say that this wait was well worth it. Hollow Knight Silksong will likely feed your Hollow Knight addiction for years to come.

The game has a bigger map, more secrets to find, more combat options, more mobility, and much more besides. If you were a fan of the original Hollow Knight, then Silksong will not disappoint. In this review, I will go over what makes Silksong one of the best Metroidvania games of all time.

Silksong Takes What Hollow Knight Does and Dials It Up To 11

There are many ways in which Hollow Knight: Silksong improves upon its predecessor. The map is larger, there are more options for combat, and various mobility upgrades you can acquire to help you traverse this enlarged map.

The movement might feel a little slow at the start; however, this all changes within the early hours of the game. Once I acquired the Swift Step Ancestral Art (Ancestral Arts are techniques that improve mobility and combat), I was able to sprint and dash everywhere within reach. This mobility just keeps increasing throughout the game, as I acquired the other Ancestral Arts like the Clawline and Cling Grip. 

Silksong has a more complex toolkit compared to the original. This lets Hollow Knight veterans jump into this game, and still let it feel like a brand new experience. At the same time, the game doesn’t feel unfair for beginners as well.

The dual combination of Crests and Tools being utilized in Combat allows for more build variety, while also streamlining many things in the process. This review will cover various aspects that stuck out to me, including the good, the bad, and everything in between.

You Know Just As Much About Pharloom As Hornet Does

Pharloom is a completely new kingdom that you can explore. This new region stands on its own two feet, without needing any prior knowledge of the previous game.

Making it a completely new setting ensures that you can jump into Silksong without being familiar with Hollow Knight. At the same time, there are various references made to the past game that are sure to appease the veterans of the franchise. Hornet’s lineage is referred to multiple times, and there are various abilities that reference her original moveset from Hollow Knight, like Thread Storm.

Silksong starts with Hornet being brought into this new land of Pharloom by mysterious pilgrims. She is eventually able to break free from her captors, but has lost a lot of her power in the process. Being in a new land is an enjoyable experience for both Hornet and the player. Neither of you knows where to go or what to expect.

The game starts off by putting you in the vibrant grassy regions, from where the journey takes you across diverse regions such as the Marrow and Deep Docks. Both of these have a very unique aesthetic, which sets them apart. Deep Docks is a fiery region where the Marrow has a more rocky terrain.

I eventually made my way through Pharloom while acquiring various Ancestral Arts, Crests, and Tools. This journey was made all the more colorful by the many characters I met along the way, each of whom helped the world feel more alive. Some prominent ones which stood out were Lace, Shakra, and the widely popular Sherma.

The Precise Combat is a Major Selling Point

The combat in Silksong remains as smooth as you probably expect it to be. The simple mechanics of jump, move, and attack remained the core part of this system. However, Hornet’s combat prowess depends heavily on her equipment as well.

The new Crests system lets you change your attack patterns while also equipping Tools. Each Crest has a different moveset and Tool configuration. Thus, it lets you experiment and create your own ideal build.

One of the few gripes some people might have regarding the game was its difficulty. This was mainly troublesome in the starting areas of the Marrow, since I did not have access to a lot of Tools or Ancestral Arts to assist me. However, once you start to acquire Tools and get your build going, Hornet is capable of dishing out large amounts of damage in a small time frame.

The pogo jumps were another thing that the game changed in contrast to the original. Instead of doing a downwards attack, Hornet attacks diagonally downwards. This, in particular, makes it quite difficult to stay on top of enemies. However, you can fix this by using certain Crests to completely alter your moveset.

Team Cherry Had Fun Making Hollow Knight Silksong, and It Shows

When Team Cherry was first interviewed regarding the time it took to develop Silksong, they said that they had a lot of fun making it. After playing through the game, it is easy to see why they made such a statement. When I started the game, I initially thought it wanted me to go right. However, curiosity led me to explore the opposite side first. Lo and behold, there was a secret room.

Satisfied with myself, I exited the room. However, it was only later that I realized that the room was housing another secret room with an enemy inside, which I had completely missed. Immediately after that, I was able to discover another hidden passage housing some Shell Shards. This confirmed my expectations within the first five to ten minutes, and set a tone for what to expect for the rest of the 30-40 hours.

I walked around for a majority of my run, hitting walls and roofs, and found secret rooms upon secret rooms everywhere. These rooms contained new abilities, Rosaries, more enemies to fight, and even keys to access whole new areas sometimes. 

Exploration is Tough But Rewarding, Especially With the Wish System

Silksong does not hold your hand from start to finish. It simply drops you into Pharloom and tells you to have a fun time. I was able to explore tons of new locations and find many secrets in these places through the rest of my playthrough.

One example that comes to mind includes the Thread Storm ability within Greymoor. I was stuck in a room that kept spawning waves of enemies. After a few tries, I eventually managed to clear it, which unlocked a path to various rooms. One of these led to the powerful Thread Storm ability, which was key in defeating various bosses later on.

This is one of its greatest strengths. As soon as you start your quest through Pharloom, you are never told what to do. However, that isn’t to say that it leaves you to your own devices when it comes to quests and such. Silksong helps you in this aspect by providing you with a Journal that updates every time you progress a quest.

This mechanic is extremely necessary for Silksong in particular. The main reason for this is that Act 3 is tied to completing many other quests. This would be quite difficult to remember for most players without an in-game log book.

This Wish system is a great addition. It lets you take notes of tasks you have picked up and how much progress you have made regarding them. This is quite helpful when you want to check how many items you have collected for a certain quest, or if you forgot about an important task to finish.

The Art Style Shines Throughout the Game

This review would be incomplete if I did not talk about the gorgeous art style that is used to design the environment, characters, and the menu. Team Cherry has designed a beautiful world from end to end. There are plenty of differing areas, all of which have a very unique feel from each other. 

You see the lush and vibrant Mosslands compared to the dark Greymoor and notice the various changes that every region has. For instance, the Sands of Karak have constant sandstorms that affect your mobility and visibility. In contrast, Greymoor has rain, but it doesn’t affect your gameplay by any means. Similarly, Wormways has worms constantly falling from the roofs to make mobility slow and tougher.

Meanwhile, there are regions like the Deep Docks, which glow with fire and lava everywhere. Every area’s environmental traps also feel adjusted to suit these regions. The difference between these areas lets you easily understand the intent and passion behind each region. Pharloom truly feels like a vibrant and diverse kingdom, with differing regions, each filled with unique species of bugs. 

Traps Are Present At Every Step

Survival is the main theme of the game in Silksong. If you die, then you must retrieve your cocoon to get back your Rosaries, lest you lose them forever by dying another time. However, this is not as easy as it is to state.

The world of Silksong is filled with dangers that pose a threat to Hornet. You need to be vigilant while exploring, because even a slight misstep could cost you. There were many instances where I would let my guard down, thinking I was fine, only to get hit by a very purposefully placed trap.

One of the most famous examples of these would be the rigged Bench in the Hunter’s Marsh. If you attempt to rest at this station, you activate an unexpected trap instead, which damages you further. You will never be able to trust Benches after this one. 

The most obvious of these traps would be spikes or lava below long falls. They say ‘look before you leap,’ and this is very true for Silksong. However, apart from these, the more niche traps that will catch players off guard include environment traps or enemies in disguise. An example of this includes the Splinter enemies found in Shellwood. They will disguise themselves as innocuous reeds. If you are not careful, they will catch you off guard and shred you to pieces. 

However, once you understand these traps, you can use them to your advantage. You can use the bear traps in Greymoor to kill many tougher enemies instantly. This works the same with any other trap. If you can knock an enemy into lava or spikes, they are instantly defeated.

The Ending Can Be Dark and Hopeful

Finally, we get to the ending of Hollow Knight: Silksong. There are a total of four endings, and a hidden one, which is based on performing a set number of tasks. Needless to say, this section will discuss spoilers, so just skip to the conclusion if you want to avoid them.

The way Silksong goes about the endings is great, as they depend on various choices you might have made throughout the game. One of these even involves having a curse that you acquire in the middle of the game. Most players would likely choose to cure themselves as a priority task. However, Team Cherry has clearly thought about players who would beat the final boss with this curse.

Other than that, the final battle (regardless of which boss you fight) is a spectacle. Whether your final battle takes place at the peak of Pharloom or down in the Void, you will likely walk away with a feeling of satisfaction.

None of the endings are particularly ‘happy’ in a traditional sense; however, hope is not lost.

In Conclusion

The combat is punishing, but extremely satisfying when you conquer a challenge. Silksong knows what it wants to do and sticks to it. That is what makes it a great and consistent experience. You don’t feel bored with the exploration because the entire game is filled with secrets to uncover and lore to unravel. At the same time, it doesn’t let you explore this world freely. Getting from point A to point B is a challenge that you must overcome with skill. 

Hornet, being a talkative protagonist compared to the Silent Knight, is another point of contrast between the two games. This simple ability of ‘talking’ gives a whole new layer to these bugs (and Hornet), which would not be possible.

You might quit a boss out of frustration, but eventually beating them will give you a sense of accomplishment like none other. Pharloom will draw your hands to the controller, weave your fingers with Silk threads, and leave you tangled in its world for hours.

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We provide the latest news and create guides for Hollow Knight Silksong. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles or catch us playing games on YouTube:

• Hollow Knight Silksong: Best Early-Game Build Guide
• Hollow Knight Silksong: Rosary Farming Guide
• All Hollow Knight Silksong Crests (And Where To Find Them)
• Hollow Knight Silksong: Best Endgame Build Guide
• Hollow Knight Silksong: All Endings and How To Get Them
• Hollow Knight Silksong: Best Keyboard Controls