It’s real, folks. After years of development hell, false hopes, and shattered dreams, I played Hollow Knight: Silksong at Gamescom 2025.
The original is one of my top five games of all-time, so to say I was excited about this elusive pseudo-sequel is an understatement. I’ve been part of the community who have long donned the infamous clown make-up during every single showcase, grew excited about every minor Steam update, and prayed for this game’s arrival every night before I sleep, and I’m happy to report, though it simply felt like more Hollow Knight, it’s good. Really good.
I Queued For Two Hours For Ten Minutes Of Hollow Knight: Silksong, And It Was Worth Every Second
I optimistically thought that, by having an appointment booked at the Microsoft booth for 9am, I’d be able to stroll in and play Silksong whenever I liked. I was wrong, everybody had the same idea, and by the time the booth opened to the press and creators, the queue was already two hours long. Of course, I waited.
I was offered the opportunity to play one of two areas, or both if I could whizz through them in time: Moss Grotto and Deep Docks.
I opted for Moss Grotto first and was greeted with an eerily familiar, perfectly atmospheric environment, strikingly similar to that of Greenpath from the original Hollow Knight. Grassy ledges were punctuated by little bug enemies and I felt right at home within seconds.
The Hornet controls much like the Knight. She’s quick, nimble, and able to traverse the world around her, but her attacks are slightly different. While attacking to the side is the same, a downward jump attack sends the Hornet in the direction you’re facing, rather than straight down. It’s a slight adjustment, but one that caught me off guard multiple times as I tried to attack an enemy located beneath me, only to whiff it and completely miss them. Occasionally, I’d even get hurt on the way down as my sideward trajectory flung me into an enemy.
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After a few minutes of exploration, I went face to face with the area’s boss: Moss Mother. She’s a flying critter that has the ability to make rocks (or other enemies) fall from above. The fight was nothing groundbreaking, but there was enough going on to keep me on my toes at all times.
After dispatching her, I entered the next area, only for the Hornet to mysteriously collapse in front of a shadowy figure, and thus the intrigue began, and the first part of my demo came to an end.
A Brief Journey Through The Deep Docks
I still had a couple of minutes left to play following my Moss Grotto demo, so I jumped into the Deep Docks. This was evidently a slightly later part of the game with tougher armored enemies to confront alongside access to a couple of new skills.
The Docks themselves were far more industrial than Moss Grotto, lit by an ominous orange hue, but still well in keeping with the Hollow Knight universe’s aesthetic. While I didn’t have access to any new traversal skills or abilities here, the Hornet could now throw her sword and kunai, adding some welcome ranged options to combat. Unfortunately, that’s all I got, and I was abruptly moved on so the next lucky player could jump in.
Hollow Knight: Silksong, I’m pleased to report, is more Hollow Knight. During my brief time with the game, I saw nothing to suggest it is reinventing the wheel, although I don’t doubt there will be more than a few abilities to differentiate things. In my humble opinion, this isn’t a bad thing. Hollow Knight is such a unique Metroidvania, that another story in that world is fine by me.
After the eternal wait, we’re agonisingly close to playing Team Cherry’s next adventure, and it already feels like it was worth the wait.
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania, Action, Adventure, Soulslike
