Hollow Knight: Silksong Review – Did Hornet Live Up to the Hype?
My Review After Finishing Hollow Knight: Silksong
Yeah, I know – I’m a little late to the Silksong review party.
But unlike some of the content creators out there who either wrote a tear-filled review after failing to pogo correctly for the 131st time or those who just sprinted through the early parts of Pharloom and dropped their “hot takes” within 8 hours – I actually wanted to play through all of the content that Silksong had to offer before putting pen to paper.
That means story, bosses, hidden content, the whole silk-covered package (with the exception of bashing my head through Steel Soul’s permadeath gamemode). Now that my hands are still twitching from pogoing every surface in sight, I’m ready to talk about it.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's Story and Narrative
Let’s be real: the OG Hollow Knight’s story was so beautifully rich you could drown in it; lore stacked on top of lore until every bug had a tragic backstory.
Silksong feels tighter.
Hornet gets kidnapped and dumped in Pharloom, a kingdom wrapped up in silk, corruption, and delusion. She isn’t a silent void like the Knight.
Her history as “the Gendered One,” part Weaver and part Pale One, gives the narrative teeth.
Pharloom itself is a decaying web-ridden mess. Naïve pilgrims march off to the citadel thinking they’ll find salvation, while others rot away tangled in silk. Act 1 builds this atmosphere beautifully, culminating in the climb to the citadel, where in Act 2 you start ripping apart the lies that hold this kingdom together. It’s satisfying, creepy, and powerfully compelling all at once.
Act 3, though…?
Without spoiling anything, it honestly just felt like a DLC that was just slapped in. Yes, it adds more fights, tougher scaling, and some new lore nuggets, but it lacks the mystery and depth of the first two Acts. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but I do feel like it subverts the closure you get from finishing Act 2.
That being said, in a report by Dragon Age: The Veilguard shill, Jason Schreier, there are already plans confirmed by Team Cherry for additional DLCs to expand the story further. Considering Hollow Knight got a whopping four content-rich DLCs, I’d bet good money that we’ll see the same treatment here.
Gameplay & Challenge
Some critics cried that Silksong is “too hard.”
But honestly? That’s the point.
This is a game that beats you down, teaches you patterns, and rewards you for adapting. After the first time I fought the Last Judge at the end of Act 1, I barely made it back to the arena half-dead and stressed out of my mind. But by the time I actually beat the fight, I was flying through the level like a caffeinated speedrunner, dashing and pogoing without a scratch.
That’s not unfair difficulty – that’s growth, baby.
Image: Crawfather Boss Fight | Hollow Knight: Silksong | Team Cherry
Are some run-backs to bosses annoying? Yeah, sure (I’m looking at you, Groal, you maggoty bastard).
But they also force you to refine your movement until it’s second nature. Critics who whined about the difficulty probably just wanted to Netflix and chill their way through Pharloom without sweating.
Silksong doesn’t hold your hand. It teaches you to slap it away and sharpen your needle instead.
Silksong Tools & Customization
Okay, here’s where I do get a little nitpicky – tools are a mixed bag in Silksong.
Some are absolute game-changers, while others might as well be decorative paperweights. And with limited tool slots, I feel like it simply creates an illusion of robust customization rather than fostering actual experimentation.
You can try out other loadouts, sure, but when the going gets tough, there’s a world of difference between the “good” crests and tools vs. the others. That makes build diversity feel a bit shallow in a game that otherwise thrives on creativity.
Audio & Atmosphere
Voice acting? Nah.
We’re still rolling with bug-speak grunts and text dialogue. And honestly, that’s just fine.
It keeps the vibe consistent with the original Hollow Knight and still conveys the tone across perfectly. If you were holding out for AAA-style voiceovers, go boot up an RPG or something.
Image: Text-Based Dialogue | Hollow Knight: Silksong | Team Cherry
The real star here is Christopher Larkin’s soundtrack. Haunting, subtle, powerful – the kind of music that doesn’t just sit in the background but worms its way into your skull. The silence between notes carries as much weight as the crescendos.
Pair that with Pharloom’s grotesquely beautiful visuals of web-choked settlements, eerie caverns, lush yet rotting forests and you’ve got an atmosphere that’s equal parts mesmerizing and unsettling.
Silksong Length & Replayability
For a measly twenty bucks, this game might as well be committing daylight robbery.
The map is huge, the boss count is more than generous, and the flood of side quests just keep piling on content. And once you finish Acts 1 and 2, you unlock Steel Soul mode, which is permadeath. Not my cup of masochism, but hey, it’s there for the lunatics who think dying once and restarting the entire game sounds like a super-funderful weekend of torment.
I think I’ll pass, but more power to you.
Image: Length and Replayability | Hollow Knight: Silksong | Team Cherry
Multiple endings, hidden quests, and challenge modes mean there’s plenty of reason to dive back in. Even if Act 3 feels like extra credit, it’s still content, and given Team Cherry’s track record of dropping extra DLC content – there’s no way this is the last we’ll see of Pharloom.
Silksong's Verdict?
Hollow Knight: Silksong isn’t perfect, but damn if it isn’t close.
The story doesn’t hit the same sprawling, enigmatic highs as Hollow Knight, and some tools feel like they belong in the trash. But the gameplay loop, the challenge, the world design, and that suffocating, gorgeous atmosphere make this game, undoubtedly, one of the best releases of 2025.
To me, this game gives the kind of pain you actually want to thank afterwards and I think that feeling is highly unappreciated.
Final Score: 9.5 / 10
If you want a game that rewards persistence, punishes laziness, and makes every victory feel like an ovewhelming personal achievement, welcome to Pharloom. If you’re having trouble – we’ve got plenty of Hollow Knight: Silksong guides and news to help along the way!
Grab your needle, slice up some silk, and prepare to sweat – in the best way possible.
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