Silksong Shines: Critics Praise Fluid Combat and Rich Atmosphere on Launch Day

Lead: Critics lauded the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong for its responsive combat, vibrant world and tuned difficulty, declaring Team Cherry’s $20-30 sequel a triumph on release day.

Nut Graf: Released today on PlayStation 5 and PC, Silksong swaps the silent Knight for the agile Hornet, delivering faster movement, finely tuned platforming and handcrafted boss encounters that elevate the Metroidvania formula and reward exploration.

Key Takeaways

• Fluid movement and combat overhaul
• Deep, atmospheric environments
• Balanced challenge with improved checkpoints
• Minor criticisms of new charm loadout

Seamless Transition to Hornet’s Agility

Reviewers highlight Hornet’s dynamic moveset-dive strikes, aerial daggers and burst sprints-making traversal feel “snappier and more alive” compared to its predecessor. The $20-30 price tag feels justified by this leap in mobility and combat depth.

Pharloom’s Layered Design

The kingdom of Pharloom captivates with rich details and reactive environments. NPCs offer genuine personality beyond lore dumps, and “wishes” side quests often reward exploration with permanent upgrades or allies in battle.

Boss Fights and Checkpoints

Silksong’s bosses demand precision, but nearby benches ensure practice sessions don’t devolve into time-consuming corpse runs. This quality-of-life change encourages Team Cherry to ramp up difficulty without undue frustration.

Charm System Tweaks

The new three-category charm system-silk powers, convenience items and traps-draws mixed reactions. Critics feel it’s more restrictive than the original’s freeform setup, though the refined rosary bead mechanism for permanent upgrades softens the blow.

Conclusion

As dust settles on launch day, Hollow Knight: Silksong feels like “everything fans dreamed it would be,” combining polished combat, atmospheric world-building and tough yet fair challenges into a must-play Metroidvania experience.