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Long-awaited metroidvania game Hollow Knight: Silksong is already proving to be a victim of its own success.

The unbearable hype surrounding its storefront-destroying launch, combined with the simultaneous release into the eager hands of both critics and players, has created a uniquely voracious narrative.

There’s a sense that one must devour Silksong all at once, or else risk being left behind and out of the loop on what is surely one of the biggest gaming events of the decade so far.

The problem is, Silksong is not a game to be binged. It’s a sprawling, complicated, and brilliant sequel that demands patience above all else. Only then does it fully reveal itself as a game that’s much more than the conversations around difficulty would have you believe.

Review information

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: September 4, 2025

Not even two weeks into its life, developer Team Cherry’s Silksong has largely been misrepresented and mislabelled as an impossibly difficult and sadistic continuation of 2017’s brilliant Hollow Knight. Of course, Silksong is a very challenging game; I agree with that wholeheartedly. It’s so much more than that, though.

As the dust settles, and now looking back on my first completed playthrough, I believe it’s going to take years for the collective player hivemind to truly unpack exactly what Silksong does well, and where it falters.

Rough starts and Bellharts

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

I made the decision to play the first five hours of Hollow Knight alongside those of Silksong’s. This is where the two games differ most drastically. Hollow Knight is much more generous with checkpoints, resources, and clear tutorial sections than Silksong.

Enemies hit hard from the get-go in the sequel, while Hollow Knight gives you some softball encounters to practice on before its first proper boss fight. These are very different games, diverging from one another almost immediately and taking very different paths towards completely different conclusions.

The opening hours of Silksong are likely to be where players find the most friction. Enemies frequently deal two full health segments of damage, though you’ll have more freedom in how you heal thanks to main protagonist Hornet’s increased speed and aerial options. Instead of a simple down attack, Hornet dives in diagonal needle drops. This in itself requires hours to master, and it’s made very clear that bouncing between enemies without touching the ground is the strongest strategy available to you at first.

Your main special resource in Silksong is the silk meter, which is primarily filled by hitting enemies. Upon collecting enough silk, you’ll need to make a quick decision: heal, or unleash a special attack to hopefully end a fight earlier. Risk vs reward is hammered home again and again in Silksong, and it's the first few hours where you’ll need to experiment with how you want to play. Eventually, you’ll get to the first town area, learn how to purchase items from merchants, and the currencies that you’ll have to focus on seeking out.

Rosaries are the main ones, but they’re also lost upon death, wrapped in a cocoon that must be retrieved in order to get them back. Shell Shards are somewhat supplementary, used to craft tools and open up your combat options.

My wallet is filled with moths

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

The economy between Rosaries and Shards is a tricky one to make the best use of. Silksong doesn’t give you many opportunities to get Rosaries consistently until a few hours in, while Shards aren’t particularly useful until you’ve bought tools and crafting kits from later merchants.

Tools become vital against flying enemies, bosses, and mobs of enemies, leading to one of the game’s key frustrations. To craft tools, you need Shards. To reliably purchase Shards, you must earn Rosaries, which come from exploring or, more reliably, killing enemies.

Many of the difficulty spikes I hit in Silksong completely cleared out my tools. I’d then have to travel elsewhere to farm Rosaries just to have enough tools to have another go at what was besting me. It’s reminiscent of the awful Blood Vial farming required for some bosses in Bloodborne, taking the player away from the action for repetitive bouts of repeated enemy hunting.

Unfortunately, this never really goes away in Silksong, and if anything, it becomes more common as you progress. The Shard vs Rosary reward balancing is ever so slightly off, making certain areas more and more difficult to progress through.

Shall we take a detour?

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Silksong offers the same approach to problem-solving as seen in Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, in that you’re supposed to go and find something else to do when a perceived skill wall presents itself. Silksong’s map is vast, and much of it is completely optional.

Best bit

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

The Needolin is an upgrade that turns Hornet’s needle into a musical instrument. You simply hold down a button, and Hornet plays along to nearby or ambient music. It’s used to unlock secret doors, interact with NPC events, and even open up new paths that are linked to the final ending of the game. It’s very ambiguous as to what the Needolin can interact with, so experimenting while exploring becomes its own intriguing side quest. I bet there’s even more the Needolin can do, and it’s going to take players years to find out all of its hidden functions.

Many times, I’d find myself throwing Hornet into the same repeated encounter, as I grew increasingly tired of losing the same fight over and over. At a certain point, however, it clicked that I simply needed to open up the map, look for new paths, and follow them forward. Every single time I did this, I happened upon something that made my build stronger – be that secret bundles of Rosaries, new move sets and upgrades, or non-player characters (NPCs) that could be brought into particular fights alongside Hornet. I developed a mantra to live by: if a section took me more than five tries, I needed to go somewhere else.

Once I opened myself up to Silksong’s non-linear progression paths, I started to meet less friction. Side quests are smart new additions that gently nudge players towards points of interest: An old town built into caves of gold, silver, and bronze bells; a decrepit medical wing filled with Lovecraftian horrors and a few allies to meet; a new encounter at the starting village that changes its topography and makes use of music to deliver sorrowful worldbuilding.

Kicking over a log in the woods

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Playing Silksong makes me feel itchy; I’m not sure how else to describe it. Anyone else who spent their childhood wandering around rain-soaked woodland and muddy river banks will know the feeling. You find a rotten piece of wood, roll it over, and jump back at the writhing cities of grubs, bugs, and spiders you’ve unearthed.

Stepping into every new area always feels like a log turned over. You’ll hear the scritch-scratch of tiny legs from somewhere in the shadows. Tiny gnats will whine nasally as you approach. There’s a griminess to Silksong’s initial zones that’s made all the more potent by the golden gleam and religious opulence of late-game areas.

All of this is achieved in a 2D game, mind you. Somehow, Team Cherry has managed to make even the simplest passages feel thick with dirt, fog, and dust. Light is expertly used to add extra volume and scale to the standard side-scrolling formula used in other modern Metroidvanias.

In comparison, the map is one area where there’s been the least innovation. You still need to purchase them before you’ll see certain areas; there’s still a Compass that takes up a Crest slot, and pins can be used to mark key information.

Given the added variety and scale of Silksong, it’s unfortunate that the map isn’t really up to the task of leading you through the game. There frankly needs to be more information on NPCs, added options for pin types, and a reworking of the way the compass works to measure up to the changes made in this sequel.

Sting like a Hornet

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Playing as Hornet is a wildly different experience when compared to the silent Knight of the first game. Hornet has dialogue. She’s confident, empathetic, and sternly protective of her personal space. There’s also a concerted effort to contextualize Hornet within the world of Pharloom. You get the impression that she has a personal connection to the bugs you meet, and a genuine desire to help them.

I’m impressed by how well-rounded Hornet is as a protagonist, which makes the combat and boss fights all the more impactful. Silksong is once again filled with an expansive lore and world history. Having Hornet be a part of that lore is a master stroke that elevates the sequel above the first game.

Let’s dance

(Image credit: Team Cherry)

Silksong is at its best when you’re fighting a boss. Every single one is memorable: equal parts deadly and stunning, with clear design motifs bolstered by bespoke musical accompaniment. Many of the boss battles are intricately choreographed affairs. One early game fight with a needle-wielding foe plays out like a synchronized dance routine, all death-defying dives and sparking slashes of sharpened steel.

I’m struggling to remember another game that’s so filled with best-in-class bosses as Silksong. With enough patience and a bit of time spent exploring for upgrades, none of them feel unfair. The loop of slowly learning patterns and then executing daring counters is what all great boss fights are about. Silskong delivers again and again and again in this respect. I can’t wait to jump back in and face the gauntlet of bosses with new tactics, builds, and strategies, and there isn’t a single boss I’ll be skipping in a second playthrough.

Silksong is every bit the sequel that Hollow Knight deserves. It’s the spoils of a team going the extra mile. It’s challenging, yes, but take your time and explore the vast world of Pharloom, and you’ll be rewarded with yet another masterpiece. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Team Cherry, as it’ll never be a team that settles on delivering ‘just more Hollow Knight’.

Should you play Silksong?Play it if...

You’re looking for a challenging, but rewarding 2D side-scrolling action game
Take your time with it, look up the locations of extra health and other upgrades if you need. This one can be beaten, and even if there is a part you can’t beat, just go and explore somewhere else, preferably via side quests.

You’re a fan of Hollow Knight
While Silksong is a very different game from its predecessor, there’s the same emphasis on dazzling boss battles, subtle world-building, and rewarding exploration. You don’t need to have cleared Hollow Knight’s hardest tasks to jump into the sequel, though you may find some added fun exploring Silksong with at least a passing knowledge of the first game’s story and lore.

Boss fights are your one true love
Silksong has perhaps the best suite of boss fights in any game I’ve ever played. There’s a firework-shooting showman, a dance-themed fight with mechanical cog-robots, and even tense 1v1 showdowns with needle-wielding warriors.

Don't play it if...

You don’t have time to fully submit to Silksong’s non-linear structure
Silksong is a game that’s very easy to get lost in. You can find yourself repeatedly banging your head against a wall, unless you have the time and desire to venture off the beaten path. You can beat Silksong in 30 hours, though it’ll be infinitely more difficult, and a lot less rewarding, if you just rush through the main path.

Accessibility

Silksong offers the option to turn off camera shake and customize HUD size. There are audio sliders for individual tracks, and you can remap controls. This is a very limited offering, with no color blind, difficulty, or repeated button input options available.

How I reviewed Silksong

My first playthrough of Silksong lasted 36 hours, and I spent a while doing every side quest available before the final boss fight, not counting courier missions. I still haven’t explored the two final sections of the map, and there are plenty of secrets and locked doors I didn’t get to before the end of the credits. I played Hollow Knight back in 2018, completing the main story and some of the first DLC. I intend to go back and play Silksong a second time, focusing on a different Crest, and making use of a completely different set of tools.

I played Silksong on Nintendo Switch 2, making use of the 120Hz mode when docked. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller was perfect for this game, though d-pad users may want to go for an alternative controller (the d-pad on the Pro 2 is very subpar when compared to other options like the 8BitDo Ultimate).

I ran Silksong on my LG UltraGear 4K gaming monitor (27GR93U), making use of the extra refresh rate options. Generally, I played Silksong docked, though I did play about five hours handheld.

First reviewed September 2025

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Light spoilers follow for Gen V season 2 episodes 1 to 3.

It's crunch time for Gen V season 2. Like the superpowered freshman students who populate the The Boys' college-based spin-off, there wasn't much pressure for Gen V's debut season to contend with.

Sophomore year is a whole different game, though. With the Amazon TV Original's second installment acting as a primer for The Boys' fifth and final season, plus Gen V season 1 being a hit with myself and countless other viewers, the weight of expectation on its eight-part sequel is unmistakable.

Thankfully, Gen V season 2 doesn't collapse under the pressure in its three-episode premiere – at least, not fully. As gleefully gory and riotously raunchy as its predecessor, season 2 is also a thematically darker follow-up whose opening salvo falls shy of earning top marks.

Back to school

Emma is one of two returning characters we're initially reunited with in season 2's first episode (Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video)

Set several months after Gen V's debut season and The Boys season 4, season 2 initially reunites us with the Ant-Man-like Emma (Lizze Broadway) and gender-shifter Jordan (London Thor and Derek Lu), two of four Godolkin University (God U) first-year students incarcerated at Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center at the end of Gen V season 1's finale.

Unexpectedly, the pair are whisked back to God U, which now operates as something of a surveillance state, where they're forced to help cover up events in last season's finale. Namely, the fact that the college's deceased dean Indira Shetty was responsible for the Supe civil war that erupted on campus in season 1's last chapter, and the creation of a Supe-killing virus that was secretly tested on students in an underground facility called The Woods.

Season 2 raises the stakes even more, with Marie and company facing arguably bigger problems.

But, things aren't rosy for Emma and Jordan, nor their fellow Supe students Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann). The latter pair are heroes among their college kin and the general public for their roles in the campus battle, which led to a summer internship at Vought International under America's new shadow president Homelander, so you might expect this duo to have an easier time of things.

Nonetheless, with a new autocratic and secretive Head named Cipher (Hamish Linklater) assuming control of God U, the emergence of new secrets concerning jailbird and former student Marie (Jaz Sinclair), and the ongoing trauma of what happened to them between seasons, Gen V's superpowered teens must make peace with their recent suffering and learn to trust each other again to solve more God U-based mysteries.

Jordan spends much of season 2's early entries feeling betrayed by Marie, and rightly so (Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video)

Gen V 2 wastes no time tackling the first of said puzzles in the shape of The Odessa Project.

A flashback sequence involving Doctor Thomas Godolkin (Ethan Slater), the university's founder and right-hand man to Vought International founder and Compound V creator Doctor Frederick Vought, immediately sets the stage for this enigma-filled storyline that seems like it'll play a central role in this season's overarching narrative.

Marie is convinced to return to God U for reasons I won't spoil here (Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video)

Season 2 doesn't dangle this plot-based carrot in front of us before snatching it away, either. Indeed, its first three episodes give us plenty to chew over regarding The Odessa Project and how it involves Marie; a far cry from other shows that delay important character and/or plot beats for no reason.

Speaking of Marie, Gen V doesn't drag out her first appearance this season. Again, another TV series may have withheld the return of its primary protagonist to generate anticipation among viewers. Pleasingly, Gen V's writing team knows better than to make us wait, with Marie, who's initially only interested in finding her younger sibling following her escape from Elmira, reintroduced just 16 minutes into episode 1.

A Chance to reflect

Chance Perdomo's ghost looms large over Gen V season 2's three-episode premiere (Image credit: Brooke Palmer/Prime Video)

The same is true about the off-screen demise of Andre Anderson.

Chance Perdomo, the actor who portrayed the metal-manipulating God U student in season 1, died in a motorbike accident in March 2024. Following this tragedy, Gen V's creative team announced that they wouldn't recast the role of Andre and that they'd "recraft our season 2 storylines" to honor Perdomo's work on the show.

This season's three-episode premiere sensitively handles the loss of Perdomo in a manner befitting the talented young actor and the heroic character he played in one of the best Prime Video shows. From episode 1's 'in memoriam' title card, to the heart-wrenching and tender scenes between Gen V's tight-knit cast, the weight of Perdomo's loss is palpable.

In that sense, it's an opportunity for the show's cast, crew, and audience to grieve, reflect on Perdomo's life and career, and truly start to individually and collectively heal after an emotionally devastating 18-month period.

Gen V season 2 sensitively handles the loss of Chance Perdomo in a manner befitting the talented young actor

Understandably, Andre's in-universe passing has as much of an impact on the show's other characters as Perdomo's death did on its cast. Indeed, Andre's demise looms large over season 2's opening chapters and, coupled with the explosive events from last season's finale, injects a tangible tension into Gen V's primary friendship group that's subsequently shattered amid said tumultuous events.

Season 1 wasn't devoid of teen- and college-based melodrama; but the loss of a popular actor and character, and the keen sense of betrayal felt by various characters towards their classmates, raises the stakes even more, with Marie and company facing arguably bigger problems.

Curriculum clichés

Hamish Linklater shines as the new Head of Godolkin University (Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video)

The breakdown of some dynamics allows new amusement-filled and heartfelt relationships to blossom, too. The establishment of a surrogate/odd-couple bond between Andre's father Polarity (Sean Patrick Thomas) and Emma – Broadway would be my MVP of season 2 so far if not for another actor's performance – is particularly striking. An endearing reconciliation between Jordan and Sam suggests that there might be a way for Gen V's core crew to not only forgive one another, but also band together to tackle a shared antagonistic figure in Linklater's Cipher.

Gen V season 2's early entries spin their character development wheels a little too much for my liking

And, based on episodes 1 through 3, what an adversary he is. As dangerous as he is mysterious, Linklater is wonderfully sinister, mesmerically manipulative, and captivatingly forthright as God U's new Dean and self-appointed Hero Optimization course tutor.

Linklater has revelled in other TV roles, including FX's Legion, Netflix's Midnight Mass, and Amazon's Batman: Caped Crusader, but, if his performance in Gen V 2's first three episodes are anything to go by, I think Cipher might be the role he's had the most fun playing. Keep up this acting display and, in my view, it'll be his best work yet.

Cipher isn't the only entertaining element of this season. Sure, season 2's thematically darker narrative is indicative of the nightmarish turn its parent show took in its fourth season, but Gen V doesn't disregard the edgy humor that The Boys universe is renowned for.

I'll admit that some of this humor is starting to lose its appeal or effectiveness, but the franchise's whip-smart and unsubtle takedowns of real-world establishments and sociopolitical issues, coupled with a sprinkling of awkward teen comedy, ensures that Gen V's jokes still land more often than not.

Sean Patrick Thomas' Polarity has a larger role to play this season (Image credit: Jasper Savage/Prime Video)

Considering that it bridges the gap between The Boys season 4 and its forthcoming final installment, Gen V 2 is packed with references to the last season's story and obligatory cameos from the main show's cast roster. Some of those moments are more brazen than others – Annie January/Starlight's (Erin Moriarty) appearance, which was teased in Gen V season 2's first trailer, is used to drive a specific plot point forward, but I feel it would have worked just as well without her – but, by and large, they serviceably aid the world-building of this franchise.

The same can't be said of this season's jarring tonal shifts and chaotic pacing. Okay, the former is born out of Perdomo's death and other weighty subject matter this season deals with. However, the conflicting nature of the latter makes for a breathless and sluggish watch – sometimes in the same scene – that upset its stride. Add in the occasional toe-dip into old storytelling territory, and Gen V 2's early entries spin their character development wheels a little too much for my liking.

My verdict

Sticking with the show's education backdrop, I'm inclined to give Gen V season 2 a B grade. Despite its obvious flaws, it's still a compelling watch, and a worthy companion piece to its parent show that seems like it'll lay some important foundations ahead of The Boys season 5's debut.

However, it's this setup, coupled with the issues I outlined earlier, that prevent Gen V 2 from passing with flying colors. Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Gen V seems like it's getting bogged down in establishing the groundwork for bigger and more explosive storylines to come, especially in the main series.

There's bound to be crossover between the shows, and I'm not averse to that. But, based on its three-episode premiere, there's a sense that, as with numerous MCU TV shows on Disney+ that fans have to stay on top of so they know every conceivable character and storyline, a similar creative pattern has crept into Gen V's latest season. In that sense, it'll be homework for fans of The Boys to complete before the latter returns sometime in 2026.

With five more episodes to go, I hope Gen V irons out its creases and proves me wrong, because when it's fully focused on telling its own story, it easily shoots to the top of its teen-drama genre class.

Gen V season 2 episodes 1 to 3 launch on Prime Video on Wednesday, September 17. New episodes air weekly until the finale on October 22.

Gen V season 2 is The Boys season 4.5 in all but name – and that's not always a good thing.