Don’t get lost in the Marrow. Here are 5 things you should know before starting Hollow Knight: Silksong this weekend.

Hollow Knight: Silksong has been all over the news in the past few weeks, and if you’re like plenty of gamers, you might be curious about what the game is about and may have already added it to your cart or your list to play over the weekend.

Well, if it’s your first time in Pharloom, or you haven’t played something similar in a while, you might want to know a few things before you dive in.

Here are five things you should know before you play Silksong:

Silksong is supposed to be hard

Not a cosy game: Silksong requires your full attention and concentration.

If you’re playing the game because all your friends are playing it and you want to see what’s going on, here’s an early warning: Silksong is not a cosy game, nor is it something you can casually play on the side.

The game is a Metroidvania and a sequel to the first title that set the standard for many other platformers in the genre. So while it is beautifully drawn in 2D, expect to shed sweat, blood, and tears, as much as you would in an average Metroidvania or even a souls-like, sometimes even more.

In fact, if you’ve never played Hollow Knight before, it might be good to try that game first before diving into Silksong, so you get the hang of not just the mechanics, but also the story.

That said, Team Cherry have said that Silksong can be played as anyone’s first Hollow Knight game, so the choice is yours.

Stay curious: there are lots of hidden areas

Did you find the hidden area at the beginning of Silksong?

In games like Silksong, some items aren’t as blatantly interactive as others, and there are plenty of hidden areas.

It’s always best to be observant and poke around when something looks suspicious. One way to do this is to keep pushing or attacking, especially around new walls or items that feel like Hornet could break them with her weapon. Sometimes, it’s a hidden area, and you can find important items such as beads, which matter because these are used to buy things in shops.

Buy the maps from Shakra early

If you're thinking of passing up on these Pharloom maps from Shakra please reconsider.

If you’ve never played Hollow Knight before, you might be thrown off by the map system, or what feels like the absence of one. There is a map, but the way you unlock it works quite differently compared to most games in the genre.

About an hour into Silksong, you’ll stumble upon Shakra in The Marrow, and you’ll know you’re close when you hear his faint singing drifting through the caverns. Strike up a conversation and he’ll offer to sell you a bundle of map-related tools, though at first you might be tempted to shrug it off.

Unlike other Metroidvanias, in Silksong you have to buy not only the maps but also some map markers to get information about where you are, what resources to find, and other useful details like the ever-important rest places.

If you’re not in a rush you can actually farm currency

Mosshome is home to many annoying but farmable monsters that drop currency.

One of the main complaints some Silksong players have is that the availability of currency feels low, making it hard to farm the resources needed to get through the game. However, there are ways to deal with this, especially if you’re not in a rush to finish.    

If you’re patient, you can find certain areas where Rosary beads can be farmed. These areas usually contain enemies that respawn often and drop the precious currency when defeated.

This will take a lot of patience, and players who just want to power through the challenge might not want to do it. However, in some cases it’s worthwhile, particularly if you want to buy maps early on.

What you have to do is reach one of these areas, defeat the enemies, move around the map, and return so they respawn. Then you kill them again and repeat the cycle. It’s not a requirement, and it can be tedious, but it’s handy when you’re short on currency (or in Pharloom’s case, beads).

One such area is close to Shakra, near Bone Bottom. After passing by his shop in The Marrow, you’ll reach a greener, brighter zone called Mosshome. This is filled with some rather annoying monsters. As irritating as they are, they drop both beads and another type of currency, and they respawn after a short time.

So with patience, you can ease the currency problem and stockpile what you need, as long as you’re not in a rush to finish the game.

Stay calm: it takes patience, practice, and listening to the music to power through

We mentioned earlier that players should expect sweat, blood, and tears when playing Silksong. With that in mind, it is worth remembering that a lot of progress in the game will come down to patience. That is the case with any platformer, or really any game, that sets a high level of difficulty.

Most of Silksong’s boss fights are designed almost like a dance. Each boss has a rhythm and a set of patterns you need to figure out, sometimes after one or two attempts, sometimes after many more depending on how tough they are.

If you are the type who usually plays with the sound off, Silksong is one game where you will want to keep it on. The soundtrack is fantastic on its own, especially during boss fights, but it also serves a practical purpose. Paying attention to the music helps you recognise the beats and shifts in each encounter, which can make the fight flow more smoothly and also helps you appreciate how the design of the battle ties into the atmosphere.

Hornet's battle against Lace and many other bosses can be quite challenging.

The same applies to escape sequences. What at first feels like pure chaos is often matched carefully to the music, and tuning in can help you pick up on the flow.

Of course, even with practice, there will be moments where frustration takes over. When you find yourself stuck against a particularly punishing boss, a relentless escape sequence, or an area full of aggressive enemies, it really does help to stop for a moment. Take a breath, calm down, and if you are feeling especially wound up, step away and take a proper break.

Not everyone is built like a speedrunner, and that is perfectly fine. Silksong, like Hollow Knight before it, is meant to be experienced at your own pace rather than rushed.

I know this from experience. Back in the first Hollow Knight, I hit a wall with the Mantis Lords boss fight, so much so that my heart would race every time I tried. After one too many failed attempts, I finally decided to put the controller down and call it a night. When I came back the next evening, I felt refreshed, sharper, and more focused, and to my surprise I almost breezed through the fight that had beaten me countless times the night before. That moment taught me that sometimes the best way forward in Hollow Knight, and likely in Silksong too, is to step back and give yourself space before trying again.

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help you enjoy Silksong more. Pharloom is a land full of secrets and stings, so whether you’re chasing hidden paths, saving up beads, or dancing through boss fights, remember to take it at your own pace. Sharpen your needle, stay curious, and don’t forget that even in the toughest moments, every small victory makes the journey worthwhile.

Enjoy your weekend exploring Silksong!