“Hollow Knight: Silksong” is one of the best game sequels this year, surpassing the beloved “Hollow Knight,” Team Cherry’s first game. Silksong has upped the difficulty, making it a nail-gritting slam your controller on the desk, crying tears of frustration, difficult. Not to deter players, as the game Silksong has much to offer, including enchanting music, smooth gameplay play and an interesting storyline with three acts. 

“Silksong” does a marvelous job with its world-building. It doesn’t disappoint with graphics either, with smooth gameplay and beautiful 2D style. Team Cherry absolutely put the cherry on top with “Silksong” as it builds upon the skills the developers learned from the first game, honing their craft.

The game takes the player to the Kingdom of Pharloom. At times, an unrelenting environment with a beautiful atmosphere as the player walks through each area in the map. The map and the compass are the player’s best friends, as Pharloom is enormous. These items can be purchased in-game with in-game currency of rosaries.

The player traverses the game as Hornet. A bug who is kidnapped for the power she possesses. This is showcased in the introduction cutscene of the game. Her prowess and her ancestry represent great interest in those around her, as the land she currently resides in is connected to herself. With her needle as a weapon and silk as her power source for healing and other combat abilities, Hornet advances through the Kingdom to find out the real reason why she was kidnapped.

Before reaching this area there are a few bosses that must be defeated before continuing. When Hornet reaches bone bottom she is given the quest to reach the Citadel

Team Cherry does not hold back its punches when developing these bosses. Each boss enthralls the player with aggravating yet quick thinking combat. The music sets the stage and after being defeated a few times each attempt becomes a rhythmic dance as the player remembers the repeating movements of the boss and how to counter and attack in a way to achieve victory.

When “Silksong” first launched there were some concerns with the older fanbase as popularity grew so did the fandom. With newer people playing there were complaints on how the game was “too difficult” for casual players. The older fans have a running joke of saying to those people a line that Hornet says in the first game where it sounds like she is saying get good.

The success of “Silksong” came first from “Hollow Knight”. “Silksong” was originally going to be downloadable content before the creators decided to make a complete game. Leaving anticipating fans waiting since 2019. 

According to THEGAMER, “Hollow Knight: Silksong” that released on Sept. 4, crashed all gaming platforms it was available on because of the amount of people who were trying to play at once. The game is estimated to have sold over 3.2 million copies in just the first two weeks of its debut. The game’s price is a bargain deal for $19.99 digitally on almost all gaming platforms. Compared to other mainstream games that cost about $50 and up. 

“HollowKnight: Silksong” falls under the genre of metroidvania platformer. Metroidvania is a subgenre of action-adventure game characterized by nonlinear exploration and guided progression. Back tracking is necessary since players acquire specific items and abilities to enter new areas and unlock new areas in the ones already explored.

If there are plans on playing “Silksong” there is strong advice to play “Hollow Knight” first. The difficulty is less demanding, and you understand some deeper lore and how it’s intertwined with Hornet’s path. Even if Silksong isn’t for you the soundtrack is a delight and can be played as background music! When doing assignments I love the soundtrack, especially listening to the boss fights as an encouragement to help keep me focused.

“Silksong” is a masterpiece of metroidvania and sets the stakes high for newer indie games with interesting gameplay, sound design and characters all for an affordable price. “Silksong” lives up to its legacy and holds its ground for one of the best metroidvania.