Hollow Knight: Silksong can unsettle players who expect to carry their old combat instincts straight into Hornet’s adventure. Hornet moves differently, Silk makes healing a resource decision, and Tools and Crests can reshape how attacks work. Those changes make relearning combat a reasonable source of frustration—but they also give you more ways to adapt. Team Cherry describes Hornet as mastering “a whole new suite of powerful moves to survive” on its official game page.
Why does Silksong combat feel different from Hollow Knight?
The key shift is that Hornet is not simply the Knight with a new animation set. Her movement and abilities change how you position yourself, while Silk and her equipment affect how you choose to attack and recover. Xbox Wire’s Joe Skrebels, writing about a Gamescom 2025 demo, described Hornet as faster than the original protagonist and characterized combat as involving purposeful evasion, attacks and parries. That is an observation about a demo, not a guarantee that every encounter in the released game works the same way.
Movement changes your spacing
PlayStation Blog describes Hornet as more acrobatic, able to grab platform edges and move between ledges quickly. That mobility gives you different ways to approach space than in Hollow Knight. You may need to think not only about when an enemy can be hit, but where Hornet can move next and whether a ledge or a quick reposition can help you avoid danger.
Enemies may disrupt familiar rhythms
In its mechanics overview, PlayStation Blog describes enemies that feint, guard, backstep and counter. These are behaviors reported in that account, not a claim that every enemy uses them. Still, they help explain why a familiar pattern of attacking whenever there is an opening may not always feel reliable: some opponents may make you wait, reposition or respond to what they do first.
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#1 Best Overall
![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- 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 do Silk and Bind change healing?
In Hollow Knight, healing uses Soul and leaves the Knight stationary while the action completes. PlayStation Blog describes Silksong’s Bind as a Silk-powered heal: Hornet gathers Silk by hitting enemies, and when the Silk meter is full, Bind heals three points while consuming all of that Silk. Silk also powers strong abilities.
That makes healing part of your combat timing. Using Bind means spending the resource that could fuel an ability, so the decision is not just “heal now or later?” It is also whether recovery is more valuable than keeping Silk available for offense. The three-point heal and full-Silk cost are details reported by PlayStation Blog; the useful takeaway is the trade-off between recovery and Silk-powered actions.
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.
What do Tools and Crests change?
Tools and Crests give you options for changing how you approach a fight rather than prescribing one universal strategy. PlayStation Blog describes Tools such as traps and throwing knives, and says Crests can change Hornet’s attack style and range as well as Bind effects. Xbox Wire’s Gamescom demo preview also describes equippable Tools.
- Tools: add options such as a trap or a thrown attack, giving you alternatives to relying only on direct strikes.
- Crests: can alter attack style and range, changing how you engage enemies.
- Loadout choices: let you experiment with a way of fighting that suits the situation or your preferences; the cited sources do not identify a single mandatory build.
How do I get used to Hornet’s combat?
The available accounts point to adaptation, not one correct way to play. A practical approach is to treat movement, Silk and equipment as parts of the same decision: where you can move, what the enemy is doing, and whether to spend Silk or use a Tool all affect what makes sense next.
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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..
- Relearn spacing before forcing attacks. Use Hornet’s movement to change position and watch how an opponent responds instead of assuming the Knight’s old timing will transfer.
- Read the enemy before committing. PlayStation Blog’s examples of feints, guards, retreats and counters are reasons to observe an opponent’s behavior and respond, rather than attack automatically.
- Track Silk as both recovery and offense. If you Bind with a full meter, the reported effect is a three-point heal that spends all Silk. Consider that cost alongside the abilities you could otherwise use.
- Try different Tools and Crests. If your approach is not working, the documented options include traps, throwing knives and Crests that change attack style or range. Adjusting your loadout is a supported alternative to insisting on one pattern.
- Expect a learning curve rather than instant mastery. PC Gamer’s post-release review describes a challenging experience and a learning curve; its reviewer reported spending more than 25 hours with the game. That is one reviewer’s experience, not a measured completion time or a prediction for every player.
Is the frustration the point?
There is no evidence here that all players will find relearning combat frustrating, or that frustration is a universal response. The title’s “drive me nuts” is best understood as a personal reaction. The factual basis for that reaction is clear: Hornet uses a different move set, healing consumes a resource that also supports abilities, and the cited coverage describes fast, tactical encounters and configurable equipment. Those systems ask returning players to revise habits, while leaving room to find a style that works for them.
Team Cherry’s current game page describes “Over 200 ferocious foes,” while Nintendo of Canada’s September 4, 2025 launch page says “Over 150 all-new foes.” The wording and counts differ, and the available sources do not explain why; neither figure establishes how many enemies will challenge any particular player.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- 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.
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