A record-breaking wait richly rewarded: faster, larger and harder than its predecessor, yet never betraying its melancholy soul. The boss difficulty may deter some, but mastery delivers a rare kind of joy.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player7+
Description
The long-awaited follow-up to Hollow Knight, developed and published by Team Cherry, finally out in 2025. You play Hornet, nimbler and more aggressive than the Knight, ascending the vertical kingdom of Pharloom. A hand-drawn metroidvania dense with demanding bosses, secrets and interconnected regions.
Hollow Knight: Silksong review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Hand-drawn with rare finesse, the kingdom of Pharloom teems with detail, expressive animation and melancholy hues. Every area has its own visual identity, and the whole composes one of the most sumptuous metroidvanias ever made.
Christopher Larkin delivers a soundtrack of heartbreaking melancholy beauty: plaintive violins, epic boss themes and hushed ambiences that wed each area of Pharloom. The music carries the journey's emotion as much as the level design, haunting long after.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Hornet is a constant joy to control: faster, more aerial and more aggressive than the Knight, she makes every jump, parry and dodge feel deliciously precise. Mastering her becomes a reward in itself.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
The pull of just one more room is irresistible: every area dangles a shortcut, a power or a secret within reach. The difficulty keeps rebooting your boss attempts, and the sprawling map feeds a curiosity that pushes bedtime well past reason.
Difficulty
"Difficult"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Pharloom's sprawling map runs into the dozens of hours: interconnected zones, side quests, hidden bosses and multiple endings multiply the length. Hundred-percent completion, with its most fiendish secrets, demands a colossal investment, yet never feels like filler.
The bosses are the game's beating heart: fiercely demanding, they force you to learn every pattern, every tell, until the dance is flawless. Varied, gorgeously animated and often unforgettable, they deliver tension peaks that reward hard-won mastery.
An underrated gem
Few sequels surpass a masterpiece; this one does, delivering one of the richest metroidvanias ever made. For the depth of its exploration, the beauty of its craft and the challenge of its bosses, it's an essential gem, worth far more than its modest price.
