Surprising no one, as it was built up over the past six years, Hollow Knight: Silksong is doing incredibly well on all platforms, which is easiest to follow on Steam thanks to the built-in analytics. Currently being played by half a million people, it was the talk of the past weekend, and it will probably remain a talking point for weeks and months to come.
Silksong: Best Tips for Beginners
These eight best Silksong beginner tips will help both new players and veterans find their footing in Pharloom's haunted lands.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is an objectively good game, perhaps even better than Hollow Knight, but there is a debate among fans about whether it is too hard or not. Plus, some things simply don’t work as well as they should. So, let’s gather up some issues that Team Cherry could fix in Hollow Knight: Silksong with some patches, which could shift the conversation towards being even more positive.
The Ability To Copy Saves
Insurance For The Corrupt
Players are given four save slots to do with as they please, but there is no way to copy those files. The ability to copy a file in a game allows players to create insurance in case they encounter a glitch.
Manual saves would help with this as well, and players would assuredly approve of that fix more. It’s never a fun thing to encounter a game-breaking bug, forcing players to restart or wait for a patch that may never come.
Infinite Shell Shards
If It Works For Rosaries…
Players can carry as many Rosaries as they want in Hollow Knight: Silksong, as they are the game’s main currency. The other currency, which is more like a way to refill ammo, is called Shell Shards. Players are limited to 400 Shell Shards initially, but there are ways to increase their capacity.
It doesn’t make sense to artificially cap the amount of Shell Shards while allowing players to carry unlimited Rosaries, so it would be nice if Team Cherry allowed players to carry an infinite amount of both if they want.
Damage Received
Should Normal Enemies Really Do More Than One Spot Of Damage?
This is one of the most controversial changes in Hollow Knight: Silksong, as enemies hit harder than they do in Hollow Knight. Most enemies only do one mask of health, but some hit for two health points, which can make exploring even harder, and the runback to a boss fight extremely taxing.
Hollow Knight: Silksong - Best Early Side Quests
Don’t pass up these side quests (Wishes) and their rewards in the early hours of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
This makes sense for bosses, but even most bosses in Hollow Knight didn’t often strike for as much damage. With only five hit points at the start, players can die much faster. A fix to decrease enemy-based damage would go a long way.
Show Enemy Health
It’ll Give Players A Better Idea Of What They’re Up Against
Another health-based issue arises with enemy health. Some players think they absorb too much damage, but that’s not the main issue. While it wasn't a feature in the first game either, fans would love to see a health bar to gauge how much damage they are doing, like with Hollow Knight: Silksong’s many Tools.
This would help give players an idea of whether they should keep pressing the attack for one more hit or retreat to safety. Even tough-as-nails games like Dark Souls give players the courtesy of an enemy health bar, so one in Hollow Knight: Silksong would be grand.
Turn Off Powers
Platform How You Like
Like any good Metroidvania, Hollow Knight: Silksong gives players a good amount of traversal abilities. This may seem like an odd request, but not everyone would like those abilities turned on all the time.
An option in the menu to turn certain abilities on and off could help players customize their gameplay experience more to their tastes. For example, while gliding with the Drifter's Cloak is useful, it can also get in the way, as Hornet will not grab ledges while floating, unlike if she performed an air dash.
Checkpoints Before Bosses
Temporary Save Points
One of the most challenging aspects of Silksong isn’t the bosses, but the way back to them. Most of the time, benches are located at least several screens away from a boss fight, and sometimes, the path back is riddled with traps, enemies, or both.
What to Do First in Silksong
At the start of the game, prioritize these things to do first in Silksong to meet important NPCs and unlock useful items and abilities.
Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Last Judge, for example, has a brutal trek back to the area from the closest bench. This can make the return frustrating. Team Cherry could alleviate this stress with temporary checkpoints. Players could opt in to restarting from a checkpoint directly inside the boss arena, under the condition that they can't escape until they refuse to restart.
Dash Through Enemies
A Swift Step Upgrade
As hard as Soulslike games can be, most give players some sort of dodge ability to provide a window of invulnerability to enemy attacks. Players can jump to dodge attacks or use the Swift Step traversal ability in Hollow Knight: Silksong to dash past enemies overhead.
However, they cannot use the dash to pass through enemies, which would be a nice upgrade to open up combat a bit more. This could make some bosses a lot easier, but it’s still a great fix to wish for in a patch.
Add A Map Zoom
Give Players A Closer Look At The World
There are two ways to view the map in Hollow Knight: Silksong. First, players can tap the L button on the Switch 2 controller, or the Left Bumper on PS5/Xbox Controllers, to bring up the current area map. They can also go into the options and select the entire map, and then zoom in on individual areas.
However, there is no way to completely zoom in on the map to get a finer look at areas—especially individual rooms—that are hard to see on any screen without putting one's eyeball up to the glass. An added zoom function is a small request, but it would help with exploration.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
