Song of Silk

CWs: nonzero Silksong spoilers, caveat legens

Well, if you’re a gamer, you’ve likely heard about Hollow Knight: Silksong being released on 04 September, after a wait of 5-6 years. I didn’t think it would ever come out; it seemed like vaporware for so long. But it finally came out, and wow, was it worth the wait. I was immediately enthralled and obsessed. I loved Hollow Knight; by the time I finally got around to playing it, everyone else had been recommending it for years. I explored everything very thoroughly, and completed basically everything, but couldn’t figure out Godhome and its ridiculous boss rushes, though I am in awe of anyone who can get through all of that. But I beat The Radiance and got a pretty decent ending, so I was happy with it. Now my gamepad won’t really behave with the game, so I haven’t played it since then, but I’d already beaten the game, so it’s cool. I moved on to other games after that, but Hollow Knight has stayed with me for years now; at very least I listen to the soundtrack pretty regularly. It’s funny, I kept confusing Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight for years, and I finally played the latter and ended up absolutely loving it.

So again, I was very surprised when Silksong actually came out. I bought it pretty quickly after it released, and fired it up. It’s definitely the same kind of game, but also very different. Firstly, your downward strike for pogoing? It’s diagonal, not straight down. That took a lot of getting used to. However, you eventually gain the ability to do a standard downward thrust. I haven’t really gone back since then, since I find it really hard in an already hard game. Most of the controls are the same, but you’re playing as Hornet, not the Knight, so it is necessarily different, and she is a lot lighter and quicker in some ways. And we’re in the land of Pharloom, not Hallownest, so it’s a very different place. Some of the areas feel similar (Greymoor reminds me a lot of City of Tears; Moss Grotto is similar to Greenpath; Wormways is like Deepnest; &c.), but we’re definitely elsewhere.

There’s a real definite tonal shift once you get a little further. In Act 2 (oh, yeah, it is split into “Acts”; I think there are 3 from what I’ve heard), which starts after you gain access to the fabled Citadel, far above where you start the game, you reach The Grand Gate, but are immediately flung down into a dark, industrial space called Underworks. But the whole game, you run across various “Pilgrims” who are striving to reach the Citadel; they are basically religious fanatics. They are as enthralled as the bugs in the original game were by the Pale King, but it is unclear who they’re following in Silksong. The currency is Rosaries, and for the first part of the game, they’re very few and far between (that changes a little bit later, though). You also gain metal shards, which are used to restock your Tools (such as throwing knives, etc.). But let me back up for a sec. Just before you finish Act 1, you have to traverse a really scary area called Blasted Steps. Wind is almost constantly blowing, and apparently sands, and there are numerous bugs you must avoid on the ground that look like sandworms (I can’t remember their names). The music is a really harrowing choral theme, evoking religious awe and terror. True mood music for a desolate pilgrimage. Benches to rest on are often colocated with large columns of bells, looking almost like a holy shrine. Instead of Stagways, you have Bellways for fast travel. Oh, and also, you have to pay Rosaries to unlock some benches, and basically every Bellway. That part is not so fun.

On the other side from Blasted Steps, there’s a terrifying dungeonlike area called Sinner’s Road (fitting, I suppose). Lots of metal cages, spikes, and other hazards, and lots of flying enemies. It’s an extremely difficult area, and it took me awhile to get to the Bench for a rest/save point, but was well worth the difficult platforming. The boss there is a real pain, and even has minions as a prelude to the boss (not as bad as another one down the road, in Bilewater, where there are about 3 rounds of enemies before the actual boss, every time!). I made it through, with enough effort. Keep in mind that there is an area called The Mist, which is full of Silk-sapping ghosts. You can access it via Sinner’s Road, and then go through Exhaust Organ to get to Choral Chambers (see below), or you can get to Choral Chambers by fighting Last Judge at the Grand Gate. I thought Last Judge was really difficult, but other bosses have made that fight look easy!

Anyways, once you make your way through Underworks, you have some choices on where to go, but if you go upwards, you end up in an area called Choral Chambers. This area is golden, ornate, and looks like the halls of some grand castle, or even a church. All of the enemies have religious garb on (more pilgrims), and some spontaneously come to life and attack you out of the blue. It’s a really unsettling place, but also really gorgeous. This is your first proper glimpse at The Citadel and the fanatics within. A locus amoenus in which terrifying things lurk, a holy place that is unholy, a light that is darkness, a home that is not a home (for that, there’s Halfway Home in Greymoor, haha). I honestly think Choral Chambers has one of my favorite area themes ever. It’s really lovely.

There are many, many other areas. Cogwork Core. Wisp Thicket. Sands of Karak. High Halls. Putrified Ducts. The areas get weirder and weirder. Honestly, though, from a gamedev standpoint, I feel like the later areas weren’t quite as polished as the earlier ones. They’re still cool and interesting, but High Halls and Putrified Ducts in particular felt lacking, somehow. Memorium, though, was very cool. The area is intended as a monument to Pharloom, and it’s a mishmash of a bunch of different areas as a result. It was pretty cool. And the bridge from Memorium heading over to Putrified Ducts had a breathtaking background! Really, I am floored by this game, around every corner, and still floored that it was developed by a team of 3, just like Hollow Knight.

I don’t really know how to describe how much I have loved this experience. I’ve put nearly 70hrs in and I’m maybe 3/4 through the game. I showed a video review of the game to my spouse, to try to express how and why I love the game. They’re not a gamer, so it was mostly lost on them, but they were happy for me. I just wish I had more people to talk about this with. The retro gaming podcast I listen to, Classic Gaming Today, put out a Patreon-exclusive episode about Silksong and how great it is. So I have at least one person who I think understands my love for it! I just bought the soundtrack and I need to tag it up and add it to the collection.

Of course I’ll keep playing it and I’m excited to see how it ends, and hoping to get the “true” ending. I am not looking at too much info about it since I do not at all want to be spoiled, but I am using a FAQ here and there as needed. Mostly trying to explore on my own, though. Right now I am in the endgame of Act 2, and have been tying up loose ends before I head towards a couple of major bosses. I don’t think I’ve been this obsessed with a game since the original Hollow Knight, but I did really get into the Borderlands games recently, and just finished The Pre-Sequel not too long ago. This is one for the books, though, and I’m so glad it finally came out.

If you’ve played it, I hope y’all absolutely love it as well. There is so much to explore! It’s a ridiculously hard game, but really, it never feels unfair. I have just kept practicing and getting better, and eventually I’ve kept beating whatever obstacles come up. It rewards you for putting time in.

Thanks for reading my rambles about the game! <3