Hollow Knight: Silksong Garners Widespread Acclaim Amidst Difficulty Debate

The long-awaited follow-up to Hollow Knight was released on September 4, 2025, to immense fanfare, breaking digital storefronts globally and surpassing half a million concurrent players on Steam within a day. According to Alinea Analytics, it sold over three million copies on the platform in just three days. Despite the lack of review codes prior to its release, impressions have been flooding in, with the game currently boasting a score of 92 on Metacritic for the PC version. Critics have been introduced to Silksong's protagonist, Hornet, who was initially a recurring boss in the original Hollow Knight. PC Gamer's Tyler Colp, who rated the game 90 out of 100, praised the thrill of playing as Hornet, stating that it anchors Silksong as a brilliant action game. The game's graceful movement and gorgeous motion have also been commended by VGC's Ashley Schofield, who noted that every input flows cleanly into one another. However, the difficulty of the sequel has been increased to match Hornet's more powerful combat abilities, with some critics feeling that the implementation is a bit blunt. Rock Paper Shotgun's James Archer felt that the way Team Cherry implements this difficulty is a bit blunt, noting how enemies have a larger pool of health and bosses hit twice as hard. In contrast, Dualshockers' Monica Phillips reveled in Silksong's increased difficulty, stating that it's a test of skill, knowledge, and patience. The game's worldbuilding and exploration have been major highlights among critics, with Rock Paper Shotgun's Archer describing Silksong's worldbuilding as an example of how well Team Cherry can effectively beckon players to danger. While some critics have found the difficulty spike in Silksong to be a positive aspect of the game, others have been more skeptical. Archer noted that for every moment of frustration, there are five of relief, joy, or beauty. Colp had a similar experience, stating that Silksong will beat you, burn you, rub your face in the dirt, and then dazzle you with another piece of a haunted clockwork world. However, Schofield was critical of Team Cherry's approach to merging two genres – Metroidvania and Soulslike – together for Silksong, stating that they are fundamentally at odds with each other. She concluded that Silksong ends up with a playable identity crisis, with the tiring and demotivating nature of its sadistic approach to challenge rippling throughout the entire experience of exploration and combat.