By Amelia Williams, Staff Writer
Six years ago, Team Cherry – the development team behind the hit indie game Hollow Knight, announced their first sequel: Hollow Knight: Silksong. On September 4th, 2025, it was finally released to the public. The hype surrounding the game was so high on release day that it crashed every single digital store it was on for several hours due to so many people checking out at once, and it still has a high concurrent player count days later. Now the question is, after all these years of people waiting, is Silksong worth your time and money?
A Brief Overview of the Game
Silksong, much like its predecessor, is a game in the Metroidvania genre named after the Super Nintendo classic, Super Metroid. As with other Metroidvania titles, the game is a platformer/action hybrid in which the player gains new abilities to progress through interconnected 2D spaces made for easy back-tracking later on in the playthrough. These games are often difficult and require the player to die a lot. I have spent hours of my life dying over and over again to bosses, making the feeling of relief much stronger once I beat them.
For those that struggled with Hollow Knight I’m sorry to say that Silksong is much harder, especially for someone that’s not too familiar with the overarching Metroidvania genre like myself. However, the hand drawn graphics and amazing music by Christopher Larkin (returning after his work on the first game) make this game a must buy.
The art direction for the game is absolutely stunning, taking the bleak and monotone vibe from the first game and making it much more colorful.. Both are very pretty in their own way, yet also very different.
The Plot
Set after the events of Hollow Knight, a bug named Hornet is captured and taken to a far away kingdom called Pharloom and is tasked with reaching the citadel upon its highest peaks. On the way, she must fight off various bosses ranging from a manic fencer who nearly made me crash out or a big flying bug that really should not be as hard as it is.
She eventually ascends the citadel to figure out why she was captured here and to figure out who is causing the madness that has afflicted it upon the lands – as well as to find (and kill) the person attempting to kidnap her.
Other than recognizing some landmarks and characters, it is not required that you play the games in order, as both can be enjoyed on their own. However, it is helpful to play Hollow Knight beforehand to both help with the skill level needed and to truly complete the game, as the game expects you to have the skill level of someone who’s beaten the predecessor.
The Verdict
The short answer is yes. The long answer is the game is worth your money due to the affordable price, the challenging yet rewarding gameplay, the amazing visuals and soundtrack (seriously, listen to it, it’s amazing), and the availability of it. Team Cherry has, in my opinion, revolutionized the gaming industry with only 3 people a part of the team. There’s so much respect for them that even pirating communities are telling people to go buy Silksong instead of pirating it. Plus, it’s only 20 dollars – a far more reasonable price than the games triple A studios such as Nintendo are trying to sell in this day and age.
The game is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems via Steam, Switch and Switch 2, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. It’s also a part of Xbox Game Pass.
