Hollow Knight: Silksong: ‘This is a game for gamers’

Hollow Knight: Silksong makes me proud to be an Australian.

The fact that this masterpiece was crafted by three blokes in Adelaide is testament to their vision, skill and ambition.

Millions around the world have been obsessed with exploring the world they created since the game launched to huge demand on September 4; crashing the Steam, Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox stores in the process.

I have been equally obsessed.

Team Cherry has created an exceptional piece of art.

The character designs, music, level design and atmosphere of Hollow Knight: Silksong are second to none; and combine into a rich foundation for its impeccable controls, precision platforming and combat to shine.

This is a game for gamers.

If you’ve never picked up a controller before, Hollow Knight: Silksong is not for you.

Online, people are complaining about its difficulty and yes it is hard. Play for long enough though, and you’ll realise the challenge it throws at you is far from insurmountable.

I’d spend hours dying against brutal bosses, barely getting a hit in until something would click. I would learn, improve and memorise their patterns to the point that, when I finally was ready to defeat them, they’d be dead and I had barely been touched.

Those moments leave you with a feeling of achievement most games can only dream of.

It matters because it’s hard.

It matters because the game doesn’t hold your hand.

It matters because Team Cherry challenges you to get lost and explore and learn at a time where answers and directions are too readily available on smartphones.

Silksong demands you get out of your comfort zone; and I love it for that.

Like Hollow Knight before it, Silksong’s story requires a PHD to interpret.

Fans will be picking apart the poems that allude to Pharloom’s history for years. For everyone else, all that matters is that you play as Hornet, a princess captured from her home and taken to a new land by religious zealots for an unknown reason. It’s your job to travel to the Citadel above and discover why.

That climb is as thrillingly varied as it is vast. The game has three acts and if it finished at the end of act one, you’d still feel like you got your money’s worth. Instead, you’re invited to keep pushing and the game somehow gets better.

The more you play, the better it gets. And Silksong is the first game I’ve played in a long time that I’ve wanted to spend every waking second in its world.

I love its combat. I love the way Hornet moves. I love the way Team Cherry introduces you to new mechanics and “crests” that change your fighting style without ever getting bogged down in tedious tutorials.

There’s a lot to learn and a lot to find. Tools can make your life infinitely easier and experimenting with them can help overcome tougher fights, but none of them are necessary.

If you’re good enough, you can beat any boss and any challenge room with the basics.

Yes, at times the game can feel unfair.

There’s a challenge room in High Halls with ten waves of enemies that I spent hours struggling against, and I never would have beaten the boss of Bilewater, Groal the Great, without looking up a guide to find a secret bench closer to the fight.

Running back to a boss can be as hard as the boss itself but, with the exception of Bilewater, they are part of what makes overcoming Silksong great.