Silksong is exactly what you'd think it would be - More Hollow Knight, but with a different spin. Hornet is a more precision platforing lancer character, with a longer range and 45 degree pogo (although, "Seek" the right crest and you can restore the old system.) There's also more shops scattered about, making it actually strategic how you spend money. Otherwise, it's a welcome return by Team Cherry.
Gameplay wise, this is on par with Pirate's Curse. Additional movement progression stacks with AOE spells and purchasable weapons to create an ecosystem of fluid movement/platforming. Bosses, however, aren't all that intuitive and while they can be challenging are simple to learn. The larger issue, however, is the monster cards. I literally broke the difficulty by equipping a card that regenned mana and another that boosted the healing spell and spammed melee at all the bosses (and most of the enemies) until they died. Besides that, however, I did get a good kick out of playing for the most part. Presentationwise, again there's ups and downs. It looks beautiful- with the new cutscenes and continually good art style it's the best one yet. However, there's a lot of issues. The story is near moon logic when you break it down to the beat by beat- and not in the normal quirky way Shantae is. The returning cast has been boiled down to their worst quality (for example, Squid Baron is selfish and apperantly an otaku?) New characters are equally bland (for the most part) minus the new genies and come out of nowhere for the most part. It doesn't feel bad to play through given how each beat leads to new areas that are genuinely fun to play- but reflecting on it feels hollow. Maybe if this were an anime that didn't have to tie gameplay sections together this'd have been better. But Pirate's Curse remains, sadly, the magnum opus of the franchise so far.
