When a person thinks of an indie game, one of the first things to come to mind is Hollow Knight.
Way back in 2017, a little indie developer studio known as Team Cherry released their game, an expansive platformer called Hollow Knight. It was a great game, one I have played myself, beaten and reached 104 percent completion.
However, after two years, in 2019, Team Cherry announced that, instead of a DLC focusing on fan-favorite character Hornet, she would get her own game. That was when Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced.
Unfortunately, six years went by without any news, and the fanbase descended into something they dubbed “silksanity”, but suddenly, in August 2025, a trailer dropped. It teased certain aspects of the game, and gave the release date of Sept. 4. But when the game was released, a question came up: would Silksong be worth the wait?
Yes. It was definitely worth the wait, and I speak from experience. Coming with an intriguing story, deep lore, beautifully crafted characters and environments, the world of Silksong certainly did its job, and I say that without even mentioning the action, enemies and variability.
While the combat aspect of Silksong does follow the relatively “easy to learn, hard to master” style of the first game, Team Cherry added plenty of new builds and strategies to use against the obstacles in Hornet’s path. When faced with the fire-wielding boss known as The Last Judge, some might choose to prioritize offense, equipping as many weapons as they can carry to unload as much damage as possible, while others might choose to play it safe by using the Magma Bell, which protects Hornet from fire.
Another good point of Silksong would be that just about every enemy and environment is different. In places like the high-society Citadel, Hornet will have to face off against enemies that employ trained strikes and parries, while in areas like the rainy Greymoor, the player has to avoid the frantic movements of the Crawbugs.
The high point of Hollow Knight was the bosses. Silksong did not let itself be beaten in the slightest. Bosses in Hollow Knight were certainly difficult, but fans were not kidding when they called Hollow Knight “Silksong’s Tutorial.” In Hollow Knight, there was the Massive Moss Charger, which had a very simplistic moveset of either leaping, or, well, charging at the player character. The Silksong equivalent of good old MMC was the Bell Beast, who employed largely the same moveset…except she also dropped bells from the ceiling whenever she moved. I died numerous times to both bosses, but less so on the Bell Beast. Maybe it was because I beat the “tutorial!”
Hollow Knight: Silksong is something that can only be truly experienced by playing it. No matter how many people defeat a monster on YouTube, the excitement of watching it is nowhere near the feeling one gets when doing it themselves. I myself can hardly wait to continue playing, as I have only just begun the second act of the game. I’m really excited to play the rest of this game, and the real question is: what will Team Cherry do next? (Fingers crossed that Zote shows up in future content).
