Hollow Knight: Silksong is a full sequel starring Hornet, but its opening asks players to adjust rather than simply reuse what they learned in Hollow Knight. A launch-day first-hours report describes an atmospheric, more hostile-feeling beginning, a steeper early challenge, and movement and controls that take time to learn. Those are attributed impressions—not a guarantee that every player will find the same hour difficult or that every platform performs identically.
What the opening hour suggests
Team Cherry’s sequel follows Hornet into Pharloom, a kingdom described by the developer as ruled by silk and song. It launched on September 4, 2025. The official description emphasizes acrobatic combat, crafting weapons and mechanisms, quests, and exploration; it also advertises more than 200 foes and more than 40 bosses. Those enemy and boss counts are publisher claims, not independent measurements. Team Cherry’s official game page sets out the premise, while the Steam listing gives the release date and feature description.
The most useful account of the opening comes from Nintendo Life’s launch-day first-hours preview, which includes separate perspectives from three writers. Jim Norman describes having to adjust to Hornet’s movement and the Bind input. Alana Hagues says the game felt harder from the outset and that Pharloom’s opening areas seemed more hostile than Hallownest. Together, those observations suggest a sequel that may feel familiar in atmosphere and broad form, but not immediately comfortable in the hands.
That distinction matters if you are expecting to carry over the same rhythm you developed in Hollow Knight. Norman’s account points to learning Hornet’s movement and Bind as part of the initial adjustment, rather than treating the controls as a transparent copy of the previous game. Hagues’s impression of greater early difficulty is a personal report, not a measured comparison of the games or a universal difficulty rating. Read the full attributed account in Nintendo Life’s first-hours preview.
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- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
How hard is Silksong?
The available opening-hour impressions lean toward challenging: Hagues found the start harder, while Norman describes a learning curve around movement and Bind. Steam also displays a “Difficult” user-defined store tag. That tag is metadata rather than an official difficulty classification, and the preview does not establish a precise difficulty level, accessibility profile, or how the game changes later on. If you enjoy learning unfamiliar controls and adapting to demanding early encounters, the opening may appeal; if you want a gentle continuation of the first game’s feel, expect some adjustment.
Where you can play it
Team Cherry currently lists Silksong for PC, Mac, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check the publisher’s games catalog for its current platform list, since availability can change. The evidence cited for the opening-hour impressions includes one writer’s Switch 2 session: PJ O’Reilly said it looked good and ran smoothly for him a little over an hour into play. That is one person’s observation on one session, not a performance guarantee or comparison across platforms.
Rank #2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
- Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.
Is there a physical edition?
Yes. Team Cherry links to a Fangamer physical-edition listing for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. The listing describes a 32-page Team Cherry manual and a 9-by-12-inch poster illustrated by Rubén Molina. For Switch 2, it says the package includes the Switch game and a Switch 2 upgrade pack; the Sea of Sorrow DLC is not on the game media and is to be downloaded for free. When accessed in 2026, the listing showed the item out of stock and said the preorder would not ship until October 16, 2026. Stock and shipping details can change, so check the Fangamer listing for current status.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Music and soundtrack
The game’s score is orchestral, and the separately listed official soundtrack is downloadable content composed by Christopher Larkin. Steam lists 53 orchestral tracks. That establishes a digital soundtrack release; it does not establish a physical CD or vinyl edition. See the Steam soundtrack listing for its current details.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Rank #3
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
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