Hollow Knight: Silksong

⭐10/10

Like Tim, this was one of my most anticipated games of all time, especially because that anticipation grew year after year with every tease. I love Hollow Knight, and would rank it among my favorite games of all time, and yet my thoughts still differ from his namely because I don't enjoy always being angry during my leisure time. So for those who haven't played, this is a 2D indie action-platformer that is known for a lot of things: beautiful art, brilliant design, satisfying combat, and punishing, punishing difficulty. I do think the difficulty is worth discussing because so much of your enjoyment of this game depends on your pain tolerance... but also simply your skill level. Tim beat it in 50 hours, I beat the same thing in 75. This is skill-privilege and it will not be tolerated on Weview. 

So I'll start this review with the difficulty to get it out of the way. I really, really wanted to give this game lower than a 10 to highlight the absurd lows this game makes you experience. It can ruin your day. It's not that it's just hard, though it is, but also often incredibly punishing, setting you back to a far off check point and draining you of your resources. You can feel utterly defeated. And it's not just that it's hard here and there, but it truly never lets up. Hour 70 was as hard as hour 40 was as hard as the first real boss. It can be utterly exhausting to bang your head against the wall the time it takes you to beat this game. 

But not only that, but this game goes out of its way to frustrate you. Little things like hidden traps, or simple enemies placed in very awkward spots when you are platforming. There are gauntlets that last several minutes, and the game allows for such a slim margin of error. At times, this game feels like it sets out to embarrass you, humble you, make you feel silly. I constantly risisted the urge to throw my switch or break it over my knee. I swore more this month than in any since Elden Ring. So how does it still maintain a 10? 

Well it's obvious to say that the difficulty is the point, but it's true. The lows can feel abysmal, but the highs are that much more satisfying. Often there is little reward at the end of a boss, and yet you don't feel disappointed because the reward is the pride you feel seeing it explode at the end of your needle. I know it's silly, but these are the games that remind you that you can overcome intense challenges if you put your mind to it (there are actually tons of studies about the value of Souls games for depressed people). The nice thing about this game is that it teaches you if you are willing to learn, constantly stretching you, and by the time I was deep into Act 3, I knew I was experiencing a part of a game that not everyone would see, and that's a cool feeling. 

Anyways, that's my contribution to the reams of writing on difficulty. And I don't want to stop there because this game is so, so much more than the difficulty. This game is brilliant in every regard, and that's worth highlighting. The art is completely gorgeous and unique, something that is nice to look at throughout. That, combined with the music paint a picture of a crumbling, fallen kingdom that is evocative every time, every new map you discover. It almost always has a terrific sense of melancholy, which is different then the sense of dread and horror from most souls games. It is a sad, dignified beauty, and one of those soundtracks I'll go back to when I'm in main character mode. The Cogworks and Choral Chambers were highlights for beautiful melodies, and the Blasted Steps and Bilewater for the dread (though I never want to step foot in Bilewater again). 

I would also like to mention the writing, because although it is similar to Souls, I think they've crafted something wholly unique, and I think that is doubly impressive because they have no specified writers on staff. The two guys who did the art also designed the combat, crafted the maps, thought up the concepts, and wrote this super cool, old-timey dialogue that is mysterious and a bit cryptic, but also perfect for this setting. The warrior poets of Team Cherry! The story is mostly nonsense to me, but it's an instance that I'll forgive purely "atmospheric storytelling" because you get the idea and everything is so damn charming. 

I do think I could go on and on. The map design is brilliant, the gibberish voice acting is consistently a highlight, the charms/ upgrades leave a lot to customization, though I'll admit I didn't experiment at all. I guess I should mention that the combat, since it is central, is immensely satisfying when it isn't driving you crazy, but the best thing I can say is that it (mostly) always seems fair (when it's not a gank fight or that bitch Groal). The final gauntlet at the choral towers drove me crazy, and yet at the end I kinda wanted to do it all over again. 

I know I will play this game again. I do think it was amazing, and yet I'll admit this game won't belong on my Mount Rushmore because it tries so hard to piss you off. Yeah that's right, screw you Groal, screw you Hunters March, screw you fricken flea juggle, screw you bastard Bilewater, screw you random moss berry that I forgot about, screw you flying bitch bird with darts, screw you diagonal pogo... I would also say screw you 2 damage platforming hazard, but those are mostly all removed.... This game is a 10, though at times I thought it was an 11. 

But seriously, probably top ten for me. Also shout out to the abyss escape, my favorite moment in the game and a memory I'll cherish forevermore.