I'm huge fan of Hollow Knight 1 and Dark Souls. However after 20 hours in Silksong I gave up. Difficulty level is absurd and nonsense. Dont buy it unless you are prepared for real tedious challenge.
..."punishing" is a more accurate description.
[Spoiler-free]
The end of Act 1 is where I think I've come as far as I can without doing something to my Steam Deck I'll regret later. I think it's time to put it down. (But will I be able to?!)
There were many parts of Act 1 that genuinely brought back some of those feelings I had during my Hollow Knight playthrough. The exploration is not nearly as good as it was there, but good enough. It felt more linear for sure, but parts that opened up later ended up expanding into a much larger area than I'd initially expected, and that feeling of awe returned. Some of the earlier boss fights were also challenging and fun; they felt well-enough balanced for the powers you had at that point (or lack thereof).
But this is where Act 1 failed me as I kept advancing. The platforming challenges kept increasing in a way that didn't feel unfair, because you actually got better at it and platforming in and of itself does not require your abilities to expand - not counting areas that are ability-gated of course - but the boss fights absolutely did feel more and more unfair. You just don't feel powerful enough to take them on and they feel more and more like a slog. The game offers you little reward for overcoming some of the harder bosses. And don't get me started on those enemy-spawn rooms.
Honestly I should have realized I was not going to get what I wanted out of it when getting past the two major bosses before the final boss of Act 1 required me to take a break out of sheer frustration after the former and (kinda) cheesing part of the latter. But a part of me just kept saying "keep going, it's bound to click and you'll enjoy it!" Sekiro felt this way and that's the game I'm coming from, so hey, maybe this one will click too. But at this point, I don't see that happening. The reviews I'm reading online only talk about the increased difficulty as you progress. I don't think that's something I'm going to find fun if it keeps going this way. It's a shame because the platforming sections were actually lots of fun and that's the part I'll miss. The combat arenas, not even a little. But maybe that's just me.
All in all, I think the 40 or so hours I've put into it don't feel like an utter waste of time. But the metroidvania trope of exploring your way out of a boss-sized problem doesn't feel rewarding enough after a while.
If you like metroidvanias, and enjoy ARPG boss fights like DMC, Dark Souls, and the Kingdom hearts series, there's a lot to love here. All the fun platforming and bosses of the first one, but dialed up to 11.
HOWEVER...I mean 11. I feel like TC made this game specifically for people who JUST finished smething like PoH in the first game and are at their best ready for the next challenge....Is what I WOULD say, however some of the difficutly is more "frustrating/unfair" difficulty. In the first game, the first time you see one of the fly trap enemies there's a geode deposit just past it, you naturally run to it, and see the fly trap snap after you move off it. Great game design to show the player "this exists, if you get hit by one now, its your fault" That does not happen in silksong. Many enemies are placed SPECIFICALLY to hit you when you don't know they're there or what they do. Often enemies withbouncing or explosive attacks are placed in small tight areas. Bosses hitboxes do massive damage to you even while they're staggered, and Hornet's movement may be more "fluid" than The Knight's, but that leaves the game feeling less "tight." Along with plenty of frustrating boss runbacks that have annoying enemies placed with platforming, that overall makes the game more "annoying/frustrating" than just "harder" in my opinion.
I also don't enjoy the equipment system as much as I do the first one. It seems hornet is far more limited in "builds" so far. I currently have 3 of the crests, and all in all, there's less to equip so far and you're very limited on how you can equip things. I'm pretty sure you DO unlock more later in the game, however at this point in the first one I was very much able to put together a basic "build"
The platforming suffers from the same as enemy difficulty...sometimes seeming "unfair"
HOWEVER. All the negative in this review is only to show that literally everything else about the game is a 10/10. Overall, fantastic, if a bit frustrating.
one of the most difficult games I've ever played and I am mostly enjoying this game. I wish they would patch it so that random enemies won't hit you for two health damage and that certain bosses need a rebalance. I will try my best to continue playing this amazing game until I either finish or I admit the bugs have won...also 15/10 sountrack, makes the pain worth it
The good:
-Looks beautiful. The details are astonishing and the flow of the animations feels incredible.
-Fast paced gameplay: you are fast and you are suppossed to take advantage of it. That doesn't mean that you can just blindly hit enemies, there's a risk-reward system when it comes to healing, but combat is definitely quite agile.
-Huge map with lots of secrets.
-Challenging but fair bosses. The game is tough but I can't say it's not fair. With
enough practice you can persevere.
-Since Hornet can talk, she has an engaging personality.
The bad:
-Everything Bilewater related is not something to enjoy, I'm, not sure why developers keep on including certain mechanics.
-The road to the bosses is usually harder than most other metroidvanias out there. You're going to die a lot before you even get to the boss. And by the time you do, you'll realize that you have to kill several enemies again when you respawn.
-The quest system...is uneven. Some missions are fun and engaging, but others feel too much like errands.
Is it a perfect game? Definitely not. But it's a really good experience and a worthy contender for the title of best metroidvania.