“SILKSONG”
Developer: Team Cherry
Genre: metroidvania
Released: September 4, 2025
Rating: 9/10

The wait is over! The game is here!

“Silksong” has finally been released after 2 years of teasing. But how does it hold up against its previous game?

“Silksong,” is the sequel everyone has been waiting for ever since the creators of “Hollow Knight”
released a statement that they would be making a game following one of the recurring characters in
the original game.

In “Hollow Knight,” the Hornet shows up twice, once when the player gets to the second main map of the game and another further in. She was loved by fans, even though she only made a short appearance. This led Team Cherry, the game creators, to start working on their sequel. Originally announced in 2019 and because of several pushbacks, fans had to wait until 2025 to see their beloved Hornet become playable.

But was it worth the wait?

There have been a few noticeable changes from their previous game, but overall it holds a similar aesthetic as the original. With similar art styles and music, the game can be played off to being a direct sequel. But don’t be fooled. This game is much harder than the original, through more limited resources, a harder time healing and more difficult bosses.

Instead of collecting soul like in the original, players now have to produce silk and in order to heal, they must use the full spindle. While it does heal three health like in “Hollow Knight,” it limits the player’s ability to use it when needed. Paired with mini bosses still dealing two masks of damage every attack, it can be extremely frustrating waiting to be able to heal after only being hit twice.

The bosses follow the original game. They have set attack moves and usually have a rhythm that players can find, even if it might take
twenty tries of testing out timing.

It doesn’t end with the mini bosses however. Now a lot of the mob characters can also have these major attacks that deal two masks of damage. If players are not careful, they will easily be taken down by an unexpected charged attack.

It is also harder for players to use the extra abilities given to them. Instead of charms like “Hollow Knight” had, Hornet has tools that she gains. These are limited, however, to the amount of notches she has open depending on her attack type players have chosen to use. Some attack styles only have one notch open for a specific type of tool, (since tools are separated into a few different groups). It can be irritating
curating the correct combination of fighting styles and tools for each mini boss, only to forget that the tools exist because it is hard to make them work.

While there are many things that this game does that can be very frustrating, “Silksong” stands out in comparison to the big brand names that they are competing against. Team Cherry also hosts a variety of unique and fun NPC’s that the players can interact with. Each
character has their own personality and unique style of talking, making the players attach to them. They excelled at this in this game, maybe even better than in the first. With the larger map, Team Cherry was able to add NPCs in every
aspect of the game.

What’s even more fun, is that a lot of them are recurring. The player might decide to help these cute characters out early on, like opening a locked door for them or releasing them from prison, and will find them in unexpected places further on.

Another aspect that they were able to expand into was side quests. Each gathering area that the player comes to has a wish board. This way people can have fun exploring the local area if they get stuck on a particularly hard boss. It was always a struggle to find things to do in “Hollow Knight” so it was nice to see that Team Cherry added in extra things to combat the endless wandering around maps hoping to find something new to do.

Another aspect that always catches the eye of fans are the hidden passageways and secrets that are woven into each location.
From walls that are needed to be broken to switches flipped, Team Cherry always does a good job of hiding rooms in plain sight. This, paired with their tricky puzzles, always seems to lure players back.

While players might be a little less than impressed with the art and music at the beginning, as they get more into the game, they are exposed to a variety of beautiful locations and music. The world comes to life as they explore anywhere from the stagnant, infested marsh of bilewater to the gilded walls of the high halls. The music perfectly reflects each location, giving a beautiful composition both visually and audibly.

While only three full time employees have worked on the game “Silksong,” Team Cherry still has done tremendously well against their large scale competitors. They did so well in fact that they crashed several platforms that their game was being sold on the first day of release because of how many fans were waiting to buy and play their next masterpiece.

This game isn’t recommended to someone who is just starting off playing video games. For those players looking for a challenge (and have way too much time on their hands), this game is for you.

This game is a 9/10.