Silksong is finally here, but is it even good?

It still feels just a little bit unreal, after all the shadowdrop rumours, supposed release date leaks, and what feels like countless delays, Silksong has finally arrived, with quite a bang, I must say.

Its first order of business was to destroy the Steam Store, tear down the PlayStation Store, and kill a whole lot of other online shopfronts. It even seemingly tore down the Counter Strike and Dota 2 servers for a while, though that might have been a simple glitch, and I haven’t seen it verified yet. But then, I’ve been playing Silksong, so who cares?

Still, expectations for this title are gigantic, unlike anything we’ve seen in the last couple of years. Only the GTA franchise can match the immense hype for Silksong. But now that it’s here, was it even worth the wait?

Does Hollow Knight: Silksong live up to the hype?

I’ve been a fan of horror since I was just a kid, and that’s part of what drew me to the original title, which was well before I landed a job in the gaming industry. A friend told me about Hollow Knight, so I checked it out, and I loved what I saw.

I never finished it, but I enjoyed every minute of what I did play. The characters, the creepy vibe, the mournful sounds, it all tied together to make one hell of a game, especially if you consider the fact that it was made by just a few developers.

Flash forward more than eight years, and Silksong has finally arrived. I’m only five hours in as I write this, but I can already confidently say that it’s hands-down one of the best metroidvanias ever made. There’s no doubt in my mind.

The controls are fluid and smooth, and apart from some dual-shock annoyances (I think my left analog is giving up the ghost), combat is a joy. It starts off just like the first title, allowing you to feel like an absolute badass while crushing normal enemies and named bosses alike. You just feel like a pro gamer.

Then some unnamed thing shows up and absolutely wipes the floor with you. I mean, the first time I saw this thing, I barely got a hit in and I was dead. Your soul is crushed, and your ambitions of being a pro gamer lie shattered at your feet.

That’s the nature of Hollow Knight, and that’s the nature of Silksong, because when you finally put that badass thing down, oh my, is the dopamine reward significant.

Match this amazing gameplay loop with the fact that the world is as beautiful as ever, and the characters are rich and full, despite being simple bugs in a metroidvania, and you get a game that more than lives up to the hype – it’s frankly better than I expected it to be.

So, while this isn’t an official review – I haven’t got far enough yet – I’d easily give Silksong a 9.5 out of 10. I already know what to expect, given that some of my colleagues are far further into the game than I, and it’s really just more of the same amazing game.

Where the other .5 go, you ask? Well, it’s not absolutely perfect. You see, it’s possible to cheese the Moorwing boss, which can be argued to be a game design mistake. Unless, of course, that was intentional, in which case, this game probably is perfect.

At any rate, if you’re wondering whether Silksong is worth its $20 price tag, I’d say no: It’s worth five times that, easily.

Get playing, if you aren’t already. Steam’s up and running, and we can all get into the action now.

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