I wish I had more to say about Hollow Knight: Silksong, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2017 game, and while Silksong releases in a little less than a week, my demo still left me curious for more. Playing as Hornet, princess of the fallen kingdom of Hallownest, my time with Silksong put me in two levels: a forested grove and a rocky industrial mine. I opted to start with the first, which seemed like it might have been near the start of the game and offered a gentler introduction.
Exploring the Forested Grove: A Gentle Introduction
I immediately got into the rhythm of exploring the area as the music solemnly joined me in my quest, and I found myself taking on these larva-like bugs impeding my path. This was a relatively short section, as I swiftly found the boss room within (maybe) five minutes, and while difficult, I did manage to emerge victorious. It was a massive moth, gorgeously realized in this hand-drawn 2D style, that would ram its way to and fro across the arena, hoping to smash me in its path, all while making rocks or minions fall from above.
When my time with that was over, I made my way to the mines, where the difficulty was noticeably ramped up. Here, I had access to more abilities, like my sprint and secondary attack, and I definitely needed them for the enemies here. They all wore armor, which required me to attack them in their exposed bits—difficult when flying annoyances were launching exploding lava rocks at me, shutting down my mobility. The platforming in this area also had increased dangers compared to the relatively calm grove, as lava littered the area.
I got to what I assume was a mid-boss, which was an extended fight against multiple waves of enemies that definitely put me to work. Unfortunately, my time with the demo came to a close before I could get past that to see the level boss.
Why Hollow Knight: Silksong Has Us Excited for September 4
As someone who never had Hollow Knight click for them, Silksong did have me wanting to give the original another try. My incredibly short time with Silksong left me curious for more, which is great because it releases later next week on September 4.
