The Biggest Changes We've Noticed From Hollow Knight To Silksong
Almost seven years after it was first announced, Silksong is finally here. It still feels a little surreal. After all the waiting, Hollow Knight built up a legacy that’s carried over to Silksong, but how different are the two games, really?
While the majority of Hollow Knight’s charm is still present in Silksong, a lot of changes and adjustments have been made to the sequel as well. That’s natural, of course, as the developers want to make it a fresh experience. These are the biggest changes we’ve noticed so far, though.
Much Harder Early Game
Though Hollow Knight is also a difficult game in its own right, it eases you in, at least a little bit. The early bosses can be troublesome for the uninitiated, but they’re not unfair, and, mercifully, they only do one mask of damage.
Silksong, though? It throws you right in the deep end. There are no easy bosses like the Gruz Mother, so you had better practise your skills with the needle and pray you ‘git gud’.
It makes sense for Hornet’s character for there to be this much of a challenge at the beginning, since she’s much more skilled than the Knight, but it’s still a learning curve.
Tutorial? We Don’t Know Her
Most games, even if they’re designed to test you and be difficult, come with a tutorial. Hollow Knight had one, teaching you how to jump and attack at the very least. The early areas could even be considered tutorial areas because of their lower difficulty.
Silksong, though? Nope. Nothing of the sort. Team Cherry expected you to have played Hollow Knight and learnt how to play from that, I guess. It’s pretty funny, really, that the game just sticks you in the thick of it and tells you absolutely nothing.
Normal Enemies Hit Like A Truck
Even when you’re just exploring in Silksong, enjoying the atmosphere of a new area, you have to be on your toes. While this was much the same in Hollow Knight, the regular enemies weren’t always much of a threat. Team Cherry upped the ante in Silksong, though.
Lots of regular enemies deal two masks of damage, when this was more of a rarity in Hollow Knight. They also have more diverse movesets to catch you off guard, whether they jump in from above like a boss would or throw projectiles at you.
Everything. Costs. So. Much. Money.
When I play Silksong, I now look back fondly on having so much more geo in Hollow Knight. In Silksong, it feels like breathing costs rosary beads, and I constantly have no rosary beads to my name. Want a map? A key? A compass? Sit on a bench? Hundreds and hundreds of rosaries, please.
Sure, there are some rosary strings littered across the map, but nowhere near enough to comfortably buy things. You know any type of enemy that drops rosary beads hates to see me coming, because I’m going to be killing them over and over again.
Where Are The Mask Shards?
Just like Hollow Knight, if you want to upgrade your health bar and get more masks in Silksong, you have to collect mask shards. I felt like I was collecting mask shards at a much faster rate in Hollow Knight now than I am in Silksong. In the first few hours, I found exactly two mask shards, and one of them I bought in Bone Bottom. That’s not even enough for an upgrade…
Seriously, where are the mask shards? They seem to be much more well hidden in Silksong, which makes the bosses and even some normal enemies dealing two masks of damage feel that much more brutal.
Pharloom Is Much Livelier Than Hallownest
If I had to describe the atmosphere of Hallownest in one word, it would be ‘haunting’. Most of the bugs are dead, or reanimated by the infection, which makes traversing the kingdom feel like you’re one of the very few beings left alive. There are much fewer NPCs, and they all fondly remember when Hallownest used to be a lively place.
Silksong’s Pharloom, however, has many more NPCs, and the place isn’t littered with reanimated husks. Since Hornet can speak, unlike the Knight, you naturally feel more connected with the NPCs as well, especially as you can complete Wishes for them and learn more about who they are and what they’re doing.
Hornet Has A Much Wider Toolkit
The Knight had some tricks up its sleeve with Nail Arts and spells, but Team Cherry has expanded the repertoire you can use with Hornet in SIlksong. You can find new crests and choose which one suits your playstyle best, and customise these crests with different tools.
As some tools are locked to specific crests, you have to be strategic in what you equip and decide what to prioritise. It’s much more like a traditional ‘build’ system than Hollow Knight, so you can decide how you want to play.
If you’re like me and really struggle with the diagonal strike, you can get the Wanderer’s Crest in the early game, which allows you to strike straight downwards, just like in Hollow Knight.
You Have To Look Everywhere
Hollow Knight had lots of secret areas, typically discovered by attacking the edges of rooms with your nail. Silksong uses this mechanic too, but because it’s much bigger in size, you really do want to look for these secret rooms everywhere.
Very early on, you can even find a secret room within a secret room. I can easily imagine Team Cherry giggling to themselves about that one. So, if you want to discover everything in Silksong, don’t let your guard down. Ever. Even if you think you’ve discovered the secret, keep digging, and you might find another.
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Like Follow FollowedHollow Knight: Silksong
Metroidvania Action Adventure Soulslike Systems 9.8/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 92/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released September 4, 2025 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood Developer(s) Team Cherry Publisher(s) Team Cherry Engine UnityWHERE TO PLAY
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