Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The Gavler Review.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Review: Worth the Six-Year Wait

Hollow Knight: Silksong sits at number 2 on Gavler's Best Games of 2025 list with a 9.2, and it earns that ranking by doing something genuinely difficult: following up one of the most beloved metroidvanias ever made without simply repeating it. Team Cherry swapped the original's brooding, deliberate pace for something faster and more aggressive, built around Hornet's pogo-and-dash kit, and the result is a game that feels unmistakably like a sequel rather than a reskin. Buy it if you want the best-crafted action-platformer of the year, at $19.99 — a startlingly low price for a game this large. Skip it, or at least brace yourself, if punishing difficulty spikes aren't your idea of fun; Silksong's back half is meaner than almost anything else on this list.

What it is

Silksong was, for years, one of gaming's most-anticipated sequels — Team Cherry announced it in 2019, and the wait stretched long enough to become a running joke in the community. It finally arrived on September 4, 2025, across Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC simultaneously, a same-day multiplatform launch that's rare for a small independent studio.

The game casts you as Hornet, the recurring ally-turned-antagonist from the original Hollow Knight, now cast into the unfamiliar kingdom of Pharloom. Where Hollow Knight's Hallownest felt like descending into a slow, decaying dream, Pharloom is built to move — Hornet's needle attacks and aerial pogo-bouncing make traversal and combat feel sharper and more athletic from the opening minutes. It's still unmistakably a Team Cherry metroidvania: hand-drawn art, an interconnected map stuffed with secrets, and boss fights that demand real mastery. But the verb set is different, and that difference defines the whole experience.

In use

The critical reception has been close to unanimous in its praise, and it's worth reading past the star rating to see why. IGN's review, which landed at 9/10, put it plainly: "Silksong is a masterpiece, not because it's bigger and better than what came before, but because it doesn't lose itself in trying to escape Hollow Knight's shadow." That's a sharp way of describing what makes the sequel work — it isn't trying to be a bigger, more spectacular Hollow Knight. It's a different game wearing a familiar coat of craft.

GameSpot's take reinforces the same idea from a different angle: "Hollow Knight: Silksong lives up to the expectations of its devoted fans in every way." For a game that carried six years of pent-up anticipation, that's not a small thing to say — sequels this hyped usually disappoint someone.

In practice, the moment-to-moment loop is where Silksong separates itself. Hornet's needle is quicker and shorter-range than the Knight's nail, which pushes combat toward precision and positioning rather than attrition. The pogo mechanic — bouncing off enemies and hazards in midair — becomes a core traversal tool almost immediately, turning platforming sections into something closer to a rhythm puzzle than a straightforward jump-and-dodge gauntlet. Tools, the game's version of the original's charms, let you swap loadouts of traps, projectiles, and utility items at rest benches, giving you real build variety heading into different regions and bosses.

Where it shines

• Faster, more aggressive combat. Hornet's needle-and-pogo kit makes fights feel immediately kinetic rather than the slower, weightier combat of the original — a deliberate, successful reinvention rather than a straight upgrade.
• A sprawling, gorgeous Pharloom. Dozens of interconnected regions, hidden paths, and secrets reward the same obsessive exploration the original was famous for, at an even larger scale.
• Genre-leading art and atmosphere. Team Cherry's hand-drawn visual style remains the high-water mark for the genre — every region has its own distinct mood, palette, and creature design.
• Deep Tool-based build variety. Swappable Tools at rest benches let you tailor your loadout to a boss or region, adding a real strategic layer on top of the platforming and combat.
• Remarkable value at $19.99. For a game of this scope and polish, the price is aggressively low compared to what a AAA release of similar scale would charge.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

Silksong is a genre highlight, but it isn't for everyone, and the honest caveats are specific:

• The difficulty spikes are real, and unevenly distributed. Community rating (90) trails the critic aggregate (92), and difficulty is the most commonly cited reason why. Several late-game bosses and platforming gauntlets ask for a level of precision that will frustrate players who enjoyed the original's more forgiving pace.
• It demands patience and backtracking. Like all metroidvanias in this lineage, exploration means dead ends, re-traversal, and moments of being lost — if you want a tightly guided, linear action game, this isn't it.
• Newcomers to the genre may bounce off early. Hornet's faster kit is more approachable than the Knight's at first, but the game ramps up quickly; players with no metroidvania experience should expect a real learning curve.

How it compares

On its own list, Silksong sits directly behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance II at rank 3 — a completely different kind of game (a grounded, systems-driven medieval RPG) but a useful contrast in what "best of 2025" looks like: one is a sprawling open-world sim, the other a tightly-crafted 2D action game, and both earned their spots on merit rather than scale alone.

For players building out a 2025 backlog, Split Fiction is worth a look too — Hazelight's co-op adventure won't scratch the same solo-mastery itch as Silksong, but it's another 2025 release that critics rate among the best design work of the year, just in a completely different genre.

The Gavler verdict

A 9.2, reflecting a sequel that did the hardest thing possible: live up to six years of hype without simply repeating the original's formula. Hollow Knight: Silksong is faster, meaner, and every bit as meticulously crafted as Hollow Knight, and at $19.99 it's one of the best values in gaming this year. If you have any patience for metroidvania exploration and punishing boss design, this is an easy, confident recommendation — just know the back half of the game is going to test you.

Common Questions

Is Hollow Knight: Silksong worth the wait?

Yes. It ranks number 2 on Gavler's Best Games of 2025 list with a 9.2, and reviewers largely agree the six-year wait paid off — IGN scored it 9/10, calling it a masterpiece that doesn't lose itself trying to escape the original's shadow. At $19.99, it's also one of the best-value releases of the year.

Do I need to play the first Hollow Knight before Silksong?

No. Silksong is a direct sequel in setting but not in required knowledge — Hornet's story in the ruined kingdom of Pharloom stands on its own. Playing the original will deepen your appreciation for Team Cherry's design lineage, but it isn't a prerequisite.

Is Silksong harder than Hollow Knight?

Most reviewers and players say yes, particularly in its back half — the community rating (90) trails the critic aggregate (92) partly on debate over difficulty spikes. Hornet's faster, more aggressive kit makes early combat feel more forgiving than the original's slower pace, but later bosses and platforming gauntlets are unusually punishing even by Team Cherry's standards.

What platforms is Hollow Knight: Silksong on?

It's available on Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC — a same-day multiplatform launch, unusual for a game of this scale from a small studio.