maurog.earth

Note: This post doesn't contain any spoilers

I don't know where to begin to tell you how much I love Hollow Knight and how much I think it's one of the best games ever made. Let's leave it for another day. Here are some observations during my first ~5 hours of playing the long awaited Silksong:

• Everything in this game feels like it's been considered carefully. Almost as if the develepers took their time to make sure it was perfect 😏 Everything is familiar and new at the same time. The atmosphere of the bug world pulls you right in immediately, but the new mechanics keep you on edge. You think you've been here before but you haven't, and the game punishes your muscle memory and false sense of confidence.

• The presentation is absolutely gorgeous with vivid colours, backgrounds full of layers and little details that make everything feel alive. The music is subtle but always knows when to come in at the right time. The animations of Hornet are silky smooth (forbidden adjective from now on) and the camera seems to be closer, making her look glorious.

• The gamechanger is Hornet's set of skills. Her needle sword feels a bit slower than the Knight's sting so every hit feels more considered (this could be my imagination). The pogo is substituted by the signature diagonal slash that allows you to fight acrobatically and to traverse the world, serving as a double jump if there's something to hit. Team Cherry are masters of showing you the possibilities of mechanics in an organic way. Early on there's a platform that is too high to jump, but if you lead an enemy to the right spot, you can vault it and reach it. It's genius because it mirrors a moment in Hollow Knight (just before your first fight with Hornet in fact) where speed runners used a trick to reach a high platform faster. These moments when you see how they took what they learned from the first game and perfected it are incredibly rewarding.

• Combat feels a lot more positional and tactical, you can't get into exchanges of blows. Enemies and the scenario where you meet them are designed to be approached carefully and using Hornet's skills appropriately. The game is very clever at adding little extra patial challenges to battles. You see a lot of enemies that are waiting for you at a really awkward spot on platforms. The Knight would struggle to get the first hit in, but Hornet can grab a ledge, jump and hit diagonally. The healing mechanic is a lot more high-risk/high-reward, which raises the stakes even in fights with common enemies. Finding a moment to heal in the middle of combat is hard and it exposes you a lot more.

• All the bosses I've encountered so far have been great, like improved versions of their Hollow Knight equivalents. In these moments it's where you feel the most at home and your experience kicks in: analyse movements to predict attacks, bait for the attack you want and punish, find the right distance to keep. The beautiful dance is as good as in the original, but you feel like they know you know how to play the game and always throw a little surprise into the mix.

• The platforming has been the toughest part so far. The new diagonal slash and the air manouvers required to position yourself for the next one require a high level of precision from the very beginning. I've only had to do 2-3 consecutive jumps, but I'm scare of what's to come.

• I'm in the classic Metroidvania spot where I'm not sure where to go or what to do. There're lots of places I can't access yet and I'm scared of going into uncharted areas with new enemies. What's clear from the very start is that Team Cherry are masters of their craft. They made arguably the best Metroidvania ever and, so far, Silksong seems to be the perfect sequel to it. I'm so excited to keep exploring (and dying).