When Hollow Knight was released in 2017, it became a critical darling and fan favorite among Metroidvania maniacs. It had an original art style with fun designs and impressive graphics, considering it was a game developed by fewer than five people. The size of the game impressed, veering on JRPG lengths of epic scope and content density. The fan following was organic and earned; a true, independently made, crowdfunded success story.
This was a beefy and challenging 2D action game that was steeped in decrepitude and was surprisingly bleak for a video game with such cutesy character designs. The story was cryptic and told mostly through item descriptions, half-remembered dreams, and the ruins of a decaying bug civilization. The vague narrative made it ripe for speculation, which has kept it discussed years later.
Hollow Knight‘s developers were such class acts that they gave away free content updates for the core game. These were originally stretch goals as part of the original crowdfunding campaign, and among them was the promise of a second playable character. Hornet would never get to be implemented as part of Hollow Knight’s core game. Instead of being a second character, Hornet’s quest would become the sequel.
After about seven years of refining and polishing, the boys at Team Cherry finally released one of the most hotly anticipated games of 2025. For a 2D metroidvania, this was an abnormally long development, but it’s here and it’s real. Has it been worth the wait? Find out in our Hollow Knight: Silksong review!
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Developer: Team Cherry
Publisher: Team Cherry
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: September 4, 2025
Price: $19.99
Most people who have played Hollow Knight consider it one of the best metroidvanias ever made. Admittedly, I am not one of those people. While I found Hollow Knight to be a good game, I felt that the level design was overly complicated, with very similar areas that made it difficult to commit to memory. Additionally, the combat didn’t feel quite right; there was excessive bounce-back, and the downward attack felt delayed.
The story was hard to follow, but this was intentional, as it encouraged players to piece things together on their own. The protagonist, known as the Knight, lacked a distinct character, which made it challenging for me to become invested in his journey. If the Knight doesn’t understand what’s happening around him or lacks motivation in the events, it’s hard for anyone to care.
Hollow Knight: Silksong addresses many of the issues I had with the gameplay and narrative of the original. The story begins with Hornet being captured by a group of mysterious, veiled bugs wielding staffs adorned with bells. Trapped in a cage, she is transported from Hallownest to Pharloom, a towering, vertical realm filled with coral forests, mossy grottos, gilded cities, misty moors, and fiery lakes.
Pharloom is controlled by a mysterious force linked to silk production and mind control. At its peak stands a massive Citadel, which serves as a central religious institution that requires its inhabitants to make pilgrimages. Unfortunately, a magical silk has been used to bind the force, depleting its powers. Driven to uncover the truth behind her abduction, Hornet begins a Protean pilgrimage to ascend Pharloom’s heights and confront the secrets of the Citadel.
If you’ve played Hollow Knight, you know what to expect. The differences in gameplay may seem minor at first, but they accumulate, resulting in a more substantial and engaging game.
It quickly becomes evident how different Hornet is from the Knight. She wields her needle with acrobatic grace, weaving traps and executing dashes in a captivating dance of lethal artistry. Her combat and movement are more expressive than anything seen in the previous game. Hornet is faster, more responsive, and more reactive, making her feel better to control, thanks to impressive animations and impactful audio design.
The deeper gameplay experience in Silksong goes beyond Hornet’s moveset and overall playability. Hornet features a crest system that acts like a badge load-out mechanic, which also changes her combat style. This badge system enhances her playstyle, allowing for customization options that help players discover what works best for them. This is particularly important since Silksong presents a significantly greater challenge than Hollow Knight.
Some new additions are the two currencies at play. Bone chips are sometimes spent on quests, but mostly serve as raw materials to replenish Hornet’s tool stocks when resting on a bench. She never loses these after death, but the trade-off is that it has a low capacity (which can be expanded).
Rosary beads serve as the primary currency used by pilgrims, allowing them to purchase items, keys, or maps. Functionally, these beads represent “souls.” Hornet drops these beads upon dying, but they can be recovered as long as she does not die again while trying to retrieve them… and you will lose your rosaries… all of them.
Yes, it’s true, Silksong is a challenging metroidvania. While it isn’t as insane or cruel as Aeternum Noctis, you can expect many instances of retracing your steps to rematch a boss or obstacle that utterly squashed Hornet.
It can be a huge sting to your ego to tirelessly make a mad dash to get back to the scene of the crime, only to do it again due to overeagerness, making you play sloppily. Still, the game’s difficulty is balanced and fair.
Hornet can regenerate her health infinitely, provided players can land enough hits to generate silk for restoration. The most challenging bosses exhibit clear patterns, complete with distinct wind-up animations, audible cues, and precisely defined hitboxes. When bosses summon basic enemies for support, it might feel intimidating, but this actually creates opportunities to generate more silk.
With Hornet’s exceptional mobility and high skill ceiling, players can often navigate through challenges by simply dodging attacks. There is a hidden parrying mechanic that not only looks impressive but can also turn the tide in combat, though it’s risky for timid players. Those who become reckless by overextending their attacks will get caught off guard. Instead, players should focus on studying patterns and striking decisively when the moment is right.
Exploration and navigation are more challenging than combat. Pharloom is mind-bogglingly massive, and stumbling into a new area means not having a map and aimlessly feeling your way while contending with new threats or area-specific gimmicks. Finding Shakra is always a relief since she is always selling maps of the new areas.
The only real problem is wandering into an arena room and being forced to fight waves of enemies. Silksong is plenty challenging as is, and being locked into battles in a game that already has plenty of battles seems forced. It happens far too often, and it gets annoying every time.
Silksong is a hell of an audio/visual tour de force. The music is a somber and melancholic march into oblivion, bolstered by lush and illustrative background art. Impressively, there are no noticeable repeating tiles. The entire game feels like one massive living illustration with fluidly hand-animated characters. The art and designs are more refined and stylish than they were in Hollow Knight, which is in itself an ambitious achievement.
It’s no wonder that Silksong took around seven years to develop. It is a jaw-droppingly designed game with impeccable art and tight gameplay. The value within eclipses most $70 AAAA games and will keep players going for dozens of hours and beyond due to the high replay value and engrossing gameplay.
Silksong isn’t perfect, but you won’t find a better modern metroidvania out there. This was a labor of passion made by people who refused to settle, and you can feel it every step of the way. Everyone working on it was on their A-game, and they held nothing back.
Hollow Knight: Silksong was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code purchased by Niche Gamer. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Hollow Knight: Silksong is now available for Windows PC (via STEAM), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
