Hollow Knight: Silksong - We Played It! | gamescom 2025

I yet played Hollow Knight: Silksong. No, I don’t mean to brag, but alternatively find myself having to benignant it retired conscionable to person my eyes that it really happened. Yes, it whitethorn person lone been for astir 20 minutes, but the long-awaited sequel shows small motion of disappointing.

During my demo astatine gamescom 2025, I was faced with a prime of 2 areas to play in: Moss Grotto oregon Deep Docks. Of course, I was going to effort both, but archetypal went for Moss Grotto — based connected thing isolated from greenish being my favourite colour — which turned retired to beryllium the close decision. This sunlit grassy portion appears to beryllium the precise opening of Silksong, arsenic I fell into it pursuing a little cutscene successful which a caged Hornet (the playable princess-protector protagonist) breaks escaped from the metallic wagon she’s held captive successful by collapsing the span it’s being paraded on. Developer Team Cherry seems keen connected immersing america consecutive backmost into the satellite of Hollow Knight close from the precise beginning, teasing lore via a transition of Conductor Romino's Pharloom Folly.

As for Moss Grotto itself, it felt precise overmuch similar a (re)introduction to the halfway mechanics of Hollow Knight. A substance of rudimentary platforming and elemental battles was littered crossed its grassy floors successful a abbreviated but saccharine conception of Silksong’s presumably sprawling labyrinth of a world. It each ended with a brag combat against a ample queen-bee-like insect that attempted to fastener maine successful her lair. Moss Mother gave maine small brag bother, though, dispatching them by unlocking that long-dormant Hollow Knight musculus representation arsenic I leapt implicit darting diagonal attacks and evaded crumbling rocks falling from the sky. It was enactment platforming 101, but inactive felt incredibly satisfying.

I past swiftly moved onto Deep Docks, which turned retired to beryllium an wholly antithetic proposition. Tools specified arsenic kunai, which tin beryllium thrown horizontally to pierce foes, were added to my arsenal, on with skills specified arsenic a acquainted dash ability. Things people get much analyzable with much items to juggle, which is reflected successful Deep Docks' level plan that comprises a maze of clanking metallic elevators and the galore semi-hidden levers that run them. I whitethorn person lone spent a fistful of minutes there, but I could already spot myself getting hopelessly mislaid without the assistance of 1 of Cornifer’s ever-valuable maps.

Upon unlocking a brag arena, I was confronted by an force of acold greater menace than immoderate I had encountered yet. Lace, a balletic achromatic insect, not excessively dissimilar successful look to Hornet herself, dazzled maine with intricate combos delivered astatine a velocity my mediocre encephalon could not compute rapidly enough. Defeated, I moved on, knowing this would beryllium a conflict for different time and not 1 I peculiarly wanted the dozens of radical waiting successful the queue down to witnesser maine losing again and again.

While it's excessively aboriginal to gauge the wide trouble of Silksong, the leap up successful this aboriginal country was noticeable, with enemies susceptible of acold much than elemental prods and darts. I usually invited added complexity and improvement of combat erstwhile it comes to sequels, truthful I person nary large contented here. I conscionable anticipation that successful totality, fights won't go excessively tiresome with exploration and advancement being halted excessively often. Discovering the secrets of Hollow Knight's satellite was possibly the purest of its joys to me; I wouldn't privation Silksong to consciousness similar moving into a ceramic partition excessively often.

There are concessions to marque you consciousness much almighty compared to the original, though. Health regain is present divorced from skills, meaning you tin propulsion those kunai liberally without having to sacrifice a imaginable life-saving heal. Attack is inactive the champion signifier of defense, echoing immoderate of my favourite systems from the likes of Control, Doom Eternal, and, of course, the archetypal Hollow Knight. This is emphasised by the information that you tin lone trigger wellness regen erstwhile your silk-white barroom is full, encouraging adjacent much violative maneuvers to physique that up quickly. Dodging volition lone get you truthful acold successful Hollow Knight Silksong.

All of these tweaks and changes necktie unneurotic to make a much assertive minibeast, and, though I surely person a brushed spot for the archetypal Hollow Knight, I’m uncovering myself instantly drawn to Silksong more. 2018's crippled often placed you connected the backmost foot, but present I felt instantly much empowered and acceptable to spell toe-to-toe with my aggressors. As idiosyncratic who traditionally enjoys the propulsion of faster-paced enactment games arsenic opposed to the propulsion of much modern examples of the genre (I’m truly trying my hardest not to usage the word soulslike here), I’m near encouraged. Creature plan is inactive 1 of the highlights successful the sequel, with the borderline adorable adversaries almost being excessively cute to stab. At 1 stage, I got locked successful a country with immoderate flying nuisances with pots implicit their heads who lobbed molten rocks astatine me, arsenic good arsenic a pudgy small circular lad with a saucepan for a shield. I astir felt atrocious sidesplitting them.

But successful truth, combat was ne'er the item of Hollow Knight for maine anyway, but alternatively the layers of exploration and find lurking beneath each of its beautifully crafted environments. And portion I’ve hardly scratched the aboveground of what secrets Silksong has stored successful this regard, archetypal impressions committedness a akin bounty of nooks and crannies packed afloat of insect friends and foes. Platforming done these mazes is inactive a joy; a delicately delightful equilibrium betwixt precision and floaty jumping that tests your skills, that crucially ne'er feels unfair erstwhile dropping into a spread unwillingly. The summation of mantling successful the sequel helps this massively, with edges freely wrong grasp adjacent erstwhile flimsy misjudgments are made.

I was instantly taken by however overmuch much colourful the environments are this clip around. Cinders creation astir caves dripping with lava and glowing greenish moss dresses earthy overhangs, themselves floating precariously supra pools of glistening water. Hornet's reddish cape billows against the painted backdrops, some acting successful harmony to signifier the benignant of Saturday greeting cartoon look you'd expect if 1 were to bent successful the Louvre. Hornet besides feels bigger connected the screen, dominating the framework to a greater grade than her meeker-yet-still-mighty forebearer. That ocular plan feels similar a deliberate choice, 1 aimed astatine creating much of a powerfulness travel sensation this clip around. It's these ideas — from revamped combat plan to its repainted satellite – that look to beryllium acting successful performance to a magical degree, and awesome proof, adjacent successful this tiny dose, of what Team Cherry has been brewing.

Yes, we've been waiting many, galore years for this sequel, but everything astatine this signifier points to it being worthy it. Each facet feels authored and prescribed to a wide imaginativeness — a portion of playable creation that is arsenic amusive to wield arsenic it is to ticker (I should know, the gamescom queue was precise long). It whitethorn person been the shortest of demos, but truthful far, Silksong is precise overmuch singing to me, possibly adjacent much than the original.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.