Wow. It’s been a whole three months since I wrote about games. I think that’s plenty enough time, especially because my last week has been almost completely occupied with the brand new, long-foretold indie video game juggernaut title that is Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The lead up to this game has been somewhat of a roller coaster. The original Hollow Knight was a massively successful indie debut released in 2017, and its sequel was announced by the developers in 2019. For the next six years, Team Cherry—a team of three people—worked on their new game in relative media silence, only giving out the most minor pieces of information here and there.

In the first few years, it became a running joke how anticipated this sequel was, and how little we knew about it. In the next few years, though, the fact that this was a joke became its own joke, as every opportunity for a new trailer or a possible release date was met with radio silence, and people began to make fun of themselves for getting their hopes up every time despite never learning anything new about the game.

Then, sort of unceremoniously, on August 21st of this year, Team Cherry announced that the game would release in two weeks. And it did. I’ve been playing it for a week now, and all I can say is: it was worth the wait.

Every category you can think of is absolutely nailed—or, needled, I suppose I should say—by this game. The character and enemy design is inspired, the exploration is carefully thought out, the movement and combat feel fluid and responsive, and every time I die it feels like it was squarely my fault. Well, almost every time. The score by Christopher Larkin is yet another masterpiece and does most of the heavy lifting for the incredible atmosphere, which somehow changes markedly in every successive area yet stays thematically consistent. As you might guess from the title, music takes center stage in this game, even more so than in Hollow Knight, and the whole package is brought together here about as good as I possibly could have asked for.

I’ve been loving the game so far, but I almost let the release pass me by, actually, because I was plenty occupied enough with other games. Fortunately, the sudden influx of hype got to me, and I’ve been really enjoying keeping up with the online discussion that takes place as people play through the game for the first time—in my opinion, an undersung aspect of game releases. It’s extremely fun to see everyone delight in the game’s silliness, discover the game’s secrets, and struggle against the game’s difficulties, all at the same time. You can only do this along with everybody else one time.

That last part, the difficulty, has been a major point of discussion about the game so far, with some complaining that it’s unreasonably hard, or that it’s way harder than the original Hollow Knight, and others answering with the age-old internet parlance: “git gud,” which roughly translates to “become more skilled.”

Personally, I have two main thoughts about it. First, I don’t think it’s too hard. It feels like it’s built for someone who has already beaten Hollow Knight, so it starts off tough, and only scales upward in difficulty as the game goes on. But it’s by no means unfair, and I do think you’re intended to face the same challenge multiple times before beating it.

However, importantly, I also think that any game that prides itself on its difficulty would benefit from accessibility options that make things easier. Hard games have been including story modes for decades, and nobody has thought any less of them as respectable challenges. I think you can offer a difficult experience while still offering options for people who haven’t been playing games since they were six. Those who do want the challenge will always take it, and you can even communicate which version of the game is the intended experience. That being said, there’s some small satisfaction in earning an exclusive reward that you know is only attainable by skill and practice.

If Silksong had come out earlier, I might be approaching the end of the game by now. But it’s pretty clear I’m not, and that’s what six years of development will get you. It’s like they say: born too late to explore the ocean, born too early to explore space, born just in time to explore Pharloom.

Philip Rienstra

Phil Rienstra (they/he) (‘21) studied writing and music, and since graduating has developed a deep interest in labor rights. They currently work at a unionized Starbucks and volunteer with Starbucks Workers United. They’re an amateur chef, a perennial bandana wearer, and an Enneagram 4. He lives in St. Paul with his spouse, Heidi.