After years of waiting, Hollow Knight : Silksong Finally arrives, haloed by an almost mythical reputation. It was presented as one of the most anticipated independent games of the decade and the early hours confirm that Team Cherry did not betray the confidence of fans. However, behind enthusiasm, are also hiding choices of design that divide.
This second opus takes the side of reinventing some of its mechanics, while immersing us in a different world, but strangely familiar. If the reception of the public and the press has so far been dithyrambic, we reveal to you here in all the strengths but also the weaknesses of Silksongwhich make him a much more nuanced game than his predecessor. What is it really hand in hand?
A good dose of progression
A sharp gameplay
From the first minutes, Silksong displays its difference. Here, there is no question of starting from scratch: Hornet is not a novice character but the former antagonist of Hollow Knight. The players of the first title are not disoriented when they see it, but are taken aback when it comes to playing it. We immediately inherit his natural skills, such as the diagonal dive which made us tremble in the past and we take advantage of a panel of already elaborate attacks. This initial power profoundly changes the dynamics, offering a much more nervous and complex entry into matter than in the first opus.
Silksong is not a game for beginners and the first hours of play let us know. The clashes are more intense, consistent with the nature of the main character that we control. So much so that the developers had to correct the shot with a rebalancing update certain bosses of “start of the game”.
Among the significant new features, launching weapons enrich the arsenal of Hornet. Some skills are immediately acquired by the character, but others remain to be discovered in the adventure. We also note the presence of an emblem system that works like classes. Depending on your choices, you can direct Hornet to exploration, pure fight or even farming with predefined conceptions that you will expand with skillfully chosen objects.
Thanks to these additions, Team Cherry definitively emphasizes the strategy in Silksong. The complexity and completeness of the gameplay pushes the players to see beyond the simple exploration and the stuffing techniques. We have more a feeling of progression that the game does not forget to reward severely. But you still have to appreciate this dimension which can easily take the lead.
A tailor -made environment
Visually, Silksong sublimates the DNA of the franchise with a wealth that we would not have thought possible. The environments are full of details, with an entirely unprecedented fauna: phase, water spiders, ants and plethora of other imaginary insects enrich an already impressive bestiary. No enemy of the first game has been recycled, and this freshness is felt. The territory is immense, and even if the exploration is sometimes restrained, the aesthetic variety constantly makes you want to go further.
Memorable bosses
Finally, the experience is punctuated by remarkable fights. Each major advance involves a demanding confrontation, which often leads to new skills or access to an unprecedented area. Even when the exploration resumes its rights, it remains conditioned by victory over a boss. It is a coherent structure that maintains a constant tension.
Weak points for everyone
Less freedom?
And Silksong Impression by his requirement and wealth, he does not necessarily make a gift. The grip is more complex at the start of the game, which is likely to discourage neophytes. Certainly, Hornet has various tools, but the first hours impose a real learning curve.
The game does not assume it directly but opts for a more managing orientation than its elder. Unlike the permanent mystery of Hollow Knight, Silksong clearly displays its objectives. Main quests and annexes appear in a dedicated menu, accompanied by icons that guide the player. Add to that areas quickly blocked in the first 10 hours, and exploration sometimes takes on the appearance of a marked route. Fortunately, this rigidity is reduced over time and freedom resumes its rights.
A more unequal difficulty over time
Certainly, Silksong has a much longer lifespan than that of its predecessor. On paper, this promises us a largely larger universe, enemies with shovel and a prolonged story for Hornet. If all these things are true, it is also important to note that the rhythm is as much more jerky than that ofHollow Knight. Exploration can be fluid for several hours, then suddenly collide with a peak of difficulty that breaks the momentum.
Certain boss fights, particularly demanding, can take you for several hours, which has the gift of blocking you in your progress, or even making you abandon. Where Hollow Knight distributed his peaks of difficulty in a more progressive way, Silksong Adopt a more hit rhythm, alternating between accessible sequences and almost insurmountable barriers for less persevering players.
Punitive resources
If there is one thing on which we could count in Hollow Knightthese are the echoes, the currency of the game. They won as quickly as they could get lost, but there were always ways to have enough for the activities necessary by training. In Silksongrecklessness and experience are not necessarily rewarded. Resource management may frustrate some. Two types of resources exist, a rare currency and a more common material, but the balance often leans towards the difficulty of accumulating money, but also in finding it, which slows down progression.
Same observation on the side of the shell fragments. The more we advance in the game, the more their collection becomes punitive. The progression system based on these fragments, essential for crafting certain tools/weapons or even participating in additional quests, becomes a sometimes frustrating mechanics as it requires patience. The benches, which are supposed to be rest, then transform into a half-tone respite phases. On the one hand, they allow you to blow, but they also lead to a loss of resources that are sometimes complicated or long to collect in certain areas. This feeling of being constantly slowed down by heavier penalties than in the first opus can discourage, especially when the player has the feeling of having already made considerable efforts to move forward. Unfortunately, the more we advance and the more feeling is strengthened instead of improving.
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