Silksong

Game Title: Silksong
Released: September 4, 2025
Game Length: 70 Hours
Grade: A

Customization 

Crests: The foundation of your character is built on a mask template. There are a total of seven possible to switch between as you rest on a bench. Each one comes with slots for skills and equipment that might need to be unlocked using a memory locket. Your entire attack pattern also changes. 

• The original "hunter" you start out with is what the character is seen using in the original Hollow Knight game. You have average range and speed, but your air strikes come down at a diagonal. You can also have a character upgrade this specific crest with the power to increase your damage when certain conditions are met.
• Meanwhile, the reaper crest has slow attacks but you have a chance to generate additional floating silk striking an enemy after casting bind.
• Wanderer has a very fast attack but short range. Your charge attack hits multiple times and you don't stop the pace of your running when you attack.
• The beast is very similar to the hunter except that you generate a short period of time after binding to heal for each time you strike an opponent. There are no defensive slots.
• With the right circumstances, you can unlock the witch crest that extends tentacles out of your body. The binding process is rather unique as it extends in all directions.
• Architect becomes available much later in the game. It does not have any skill slots but instead offers additional tool slots. There is a unique binding procedure that allows you to use silk and shells to regenerate your supply without the need of a bench. 
• Shaman is only available in the third Act and does the reverse by providing you additional skill slots in exchange for your tools. Its bind ability creates runes across the screen.

Skills: Do not confuse skills with your binding abilities since they both require silk to use. The first basic skill you can use is Silkspear that strikes all enemies directly in front of you. Another skill called sharpdart does the same thing but has you travel the distance. Other skills include thread storm that attacks everything nearby, rune rage that attacks across the whole screen, cross stitch that instantly strikes back when blocking an attack, and pale nails that home three blades onto a nearby target.

Ancestral Arts: These are earned when you come across some old remains of a weaver. The platforms can be seen imprinted onto the background of the map. Cling Grip is perhaps the more meaningful ability that allows you to hook yourself onto flat wall surfaces, climb up, or jump off them. You must defeat the Sister Splinter in the Shellwood to obtain it. Otherwise, you can find others such as sprinting and dashing with swift step, playing music to hear people sing with Needolin, and charge your attack with needle strike. Later in the game, you will be able to use clawline to hook onto metal rings and double jump with the Faydown Cloak. In Act 3, things get really interesting by grappling your hook to the ceiling for a high jump and restoring your silk at the bench with sylphsong. 

Tools 

Offensive: There are a lot of tools you can find in the game. Some you might find in the background like the straight pin or longpin. Some can be bought from a barterer like the sting shard or curveclaw. Tools like the tacks or throwing ring can be obtained after you complete a wish. Be aware that certain tools will require the precious craftmetal in addition to rosaries to barter. The most useful tool has to be the cogfly as you can have up to three metal companions chasing down enemies on the screen. Though, many other tools such as the conchcutter that hits enemies multiple times or throwing down a good stack of tacks on the ground can be rather devastating in any kind of situation. 

Uniquely, the ancient weapon of the weavers can be taken to three different craftsmen for three different builds - the Twelfth Architect will cause the canister to shoot three burst shots, the Forge Daughter has it fire a single fast projectile, or take it to the repair workstation on Mount Fay for a single high damage piercing shot with long reload time. The Plasmium Phial uses the blue goo from Wormways to extend your life. The Flea Brew uses the special brew from the Flea Caravan to increase your movement and attacks. 

Defensive: A number of early tools you will obtain will seem awfully trivial. Druid's Eye barely drips you an extra thread of silk when you get hurt, the warding bell doesn't completely prevent enemies from hurting you while binding, and the multibender costs quite a bit to let you heal longer with two-by-two instead of three. Other tools like Fractured Mask that prevents your death once no matter how big the damage or Pollip Pouch that poisons enemies from offensive tools for an additional three hits become essential. For an interesting combination, using Plasmium Phial or Flea Brew with the Pollip Pouch will shoot a poison cloud out around you. Using it with the flintstone will add a poison element to your attacks instead of fire. 

Though, you can always find some useful tools to help with your silk problems. Weavelight slightly increases the rate your silk regenerates and can help when you need to cast harpoon more quickly. Reserve Bind will make sure you always have an emergency heal on hand. Spool Extender allows you to store three additional silk. If you are having trouble getting that bind in quick enough, injector band is extremely useful to cut down the time. 

Utility: The explorer that constantly checks their map will want to have a compass always equipped to see where you are at all times. Shard Pendant, Magnetite Brooch, and Thief's Mark will help when you are farming resources. Magnetite Dice is actually quite powerful as it has a low chance to negate damage (and retain your bind ability). Silkspeed Anklets increase your speed in exchange of using silk. A special tool called the Shell Satchel that increases the quantity of crafted tools is only available during Steel Soul Mode.

Collectables

Items: Every four mask fragments you find will provide you with an additional life. Every two spindle pieces you find will extend the amount of silk you can hold by another thread. Crafting Kits that improve your tools are usually obtained from merchants. Craftmetal can be exchanged for special tools. Memory lockets unlock slots in your crests and pale oil increases your damage. For Act 1, you will find old leftover writings that you can turn into a collector for rosaries. For Act 2, you can find cylinders that can be turned in and played on an old gramophone. Deep into the Citadel are three cogheart pieces that you can collect and insert into an old mechanical guardian. A growstone can be obtained in Steel Soul Mode to slowly obtain shell shards overtime. Breaking open cocoons will drop silkeaters that will allow you to retrieve your goods from the last time you died. 

Maps: You will meet a highly-skilled warrior named Shakra looking for her master. She will sell you a map with some vague outline of where she has been for the region you find her in. You do not have to buy the maps right away and will always be available as long as you can find her again. In addition, you can buy a quill to fill in the map (after you rest at a bench) from places you have been, a compass to show where you are always at, special pins for things like benches and vendors, and custom markers you can place and remove on the map yourself. Maps in special areas like the Citadel and Abyss are usually available to purchase somewhere within the region.  

Traveling Fleas: You will initially find a Flea Caravan that is making its way through the pilgrim's route. Unfortunately, they have lost a number of their members and feel not is all safe to move forward. You will learn of their special brew as the caravan initially moves from The Marrow to Greymoor. There you need to rescue Kratt for his hot spa that regenerates your silk. If you hit him as he spies on your initial visit, he will allow you to use his carriage free of charge. Once you defeat the boss at the Grand Gate, they will travel there. Once you reach the caves and play your Needolin, a scripture will be available to inspect. This will prompt the Fleamaster to travel to its final destination. You must have the caravan reach this location to begin the procedure into Act 3. 

There are a total of 14 fleas you can rescue. You can usually hear them whimpering close by, but a few might have fallen asleep in odd locations. If you find Vog, she will mark your map for each one you pay rosaries to discover. Once the caravan turns into Fleatopia, you can participate in a number of mini-games for special rewards, including a pale oil to increase your overall damage. Come back again in Act 3 once you interact with a guardian to then beat his high scores for a memento.

Bellhouse: After you rescue the citizens in Bellhart (including the lost merchants), they will eventually offer you a chance to live in that one locked bell above the others. You can pay a ridiculous amount of rosaries to add a database of all the items you've discovered, a desk, lights, spa to restore silk, and even permanently change the color once (with white being replaced with steel in Steel Soul Mode). Any mementos you find in Act 3 will also be displayed on the shelves in the back (the heart memento beats). Defeat the Crawfather in Act 3 and you will be given a crawbell that provides you resources slowly overtime. If you find all the cylinders, you can add a gramophone.

Activities

Wishes: Quests are given out by interacting with characters or the board at resting spots in the game. Some can be obtained from hermits that are secluded in special areas of the map. These can range from donating resources to collecting items off enemies. Some will require you to track down people. Look for whatever they might have left behind on the ground and then follow the trail to the next one until you discover where they went. For the Old Hearts wish in Act 3, you can substitute any of the three hearts with a special fourth one found in the game.

Deliveries: Once you rescue the merchants in Bellhart, there will be a number of things you can transport across the map. If you fall from a certain height, hit the ceiling after using your high jump (from Act 3), run too fast into a wall, or get damaged from an enemy, you will lose one durability. Lose five or use fast travel and your supplies are lost. Sometimes it is better to defeat all your enemies before you make your route. Standard supplies to locations are somewhat repeatable and randomly assigned for a sum of rosaries. If you deliver the Queen's Egg, your friend will provide you two silkeaters instead of one per visit. The most notorious delivery is the Courier's Rasher to fulfill the requirement for a pale oil. In addition to the other problems, you also slowly lose durability overtime. 

Biomes

Regions: Do not underestimate the depth of this game. Like Hollow Knight, there is way more areas to explore than you think. There are at least 15 regions. Most of these regions allow you to discover shortcuts, secrets, and routes in every corner of the map. Sometimes they allow you to simply walk "through" a wall or ceiling into a hidden room. Cracks or broken debris can be hit a few times to reveal new passageways. Even if you don't have a certain ability or are having trouble with a boss, you can usually find ways to circumvent the map or make further progress in the game. Since defeating the boss at the front gate was causing me problems, the route through the back made things much more interesting. If there is a broken bench, then maybe you can find a way to repair the cogs underneath.

Special Events: Certain regions get revealed to you in unique ways. For example, there will come a time where a bug with a cage will capture you and throw you in prison. There is also the Mist that only appears once that randomizes the map until you figure out how to follow the butterflies. A number of regions like The Abyss are only available in the third Act. You also learn how to "go back in time" to fight against four bosses in their environment with a special song. Be careful where it is snowing or you might catch yourself freezing to death. Watch which way the blistering winds are blowing if you are using your floating cape. Careful not to fall into a pool of maggots that will slowly eat away your silk in the poisoned areas. They can be removed with water, a bench, or using your bind ability. Later you will find a tool that will prevent them from attaching for a brief period of time.

Fast Travel: Early in the game, you will earn a new pet that will take you quickly across the map. However, something happens in Act 3 that prevents you until taking certain matters into your own hands. Once you resolve the matter, you can then port to the fast travel points anywhere there is solid ground. The Citadel itself is broken up into about 10 sub-regions filled with a ventilation system connecting them all. Because of how the walls were made, there will be a tube system that will take you to various locations across the city.

Game Changes

Endings: There are three main ways to end the game. A rather unusual way to go out is defeating the final boss without resolving the tentacle conflict that wrapped around your shell. The "normal" way is to overcome the final boss and absorb her essence into yourself. However, the destined way is to complete specific activities to prompt the Silk and Soul quest to entrap the final boss into the void. This initiates Act 3 when her silk becomes corrupted. If you are able to then complete the exceptional Passing of the Age objective, you will receive a bonus cutscene of your mushroom friend blasting away like in Hollow Knight.

Acts: The game starts in the first Act where activity is running as usual. No pilgrims have entered into the Citadel and the world is rather static. The second Act begins the moment you enter into the Citadel, regardless if it is through the front gate or the back entrance. Time moves forward in the world as bugs feel a disturbance in the city. There is still time to go back and do activities without too much of a difference. However, defeating the boss will transition everything to Act 3 when about 40 void masses appear across the regions and start corrupting all the enemies around with a dark goo. These make them take more hits to bring down and have about four additional mechanics that attack you for twice the damage. Getting hit also cuts down some of your silk. 

Time: There are a lot of transitions in the game both from what you have accomplished and which Act you are in. One main example is a bug in Blasted Steps. Lumble the Lucky will play a small dice game of chance for various prizes. Win ten times and he personally hands you the dice. If you come later in Act 2, you will find the dice laying on the ground by his dead corpse. Wait until Act 3 and you'll have to buy the dice off the thieving bug Grindle. You can actually have a number of bugs assist you inside the Citadel if you make progress in their quest chains. This includes challenging Shakra by striking her pole in Greymoor, challenging Garmond in Songclave, . With all the chaos going into Act 3, many of the side characters you stumble across will end up dead. The one running the machines deep in Underworks doesn't make it when the world crumbles. If you don't provide food for Huntress children, then you will find one of them in her place in Act 3. While you won't be able to do supply deliveries to destroyed towns in Act 2, thankfully the food delivery quest for the attack bonus can still be done in Act 3.

Other 

Needolin: Do not underestimate how much you can learn about the world through playing the silk on your needle. If there is a bug in the room, you will hear them sing a song along with your instrument. There is usually around four or five verses sang if you hold the tune long enough. This works on bosses too. There are a few that will react without words, including the myriad of fleas that will simply bark. Make sure to play your instrument to open chamber doors and read hidden scripts on old harps across the landscape.

Hidden Secrets: Bugs don't always stay in one place. You can find the hard worker at the Deep Docks visiting down at the spa when you discover it closer to the lava. You can find a bug enjoying himself in the giant spa at the Citadel as well. If you don't want to pay the entry fee into Pilgrim's Rest, you can destroy the gear that closes the door. The town gets destroyed whether you do this or not. If you rest at Bellhart and exit the game before defeating the boss, you will find yourself entangled in string when you return. You can generally hear bugs, fleas, and other characters nearby when they are in the same room. Even the bug that disguises herself as a bush will occasionally sneeze. Pay close attention to the way your character moves as you can perform a backflip and dash downward when you obtain the right abilities.

Difficulty: One major problem is constantly being broke. There are a number of ways to keep your rosaries safe by reclaiming your body with silkeaters or paying a small amount to string them up together. This ensures you have a backup supply when you stumble across something that comes with a cost. However, you will require a ton of rosaries even if you manage to discover all the ones left behind in hidden corners of the map. Not all enemies will drop them and some can be lost in spikes or lava. Health is also a major concern when bosses deal two damage and you only have maybe six total. Tools and upgrades can help, but the game can be excruciating when some bosses require 30 hits compared to the 3 you manage. 

Patch: The first patch right out of the gate helps with some of the initial problems at launch. The snitch pick, an expensive tool used to gain additional rosaries, wasn't working. While I had no problem taking down Moorwing with the longer route around the area, I'm glad that they slightly reduced the difficulty of him and Sister Splinter (a boss that cannot be skipped in order to obtain an essential upgrade). I'm happy sandcarvers and spikes now only deal you one damage instead of two. The cost for bellway and benches was a little high and the amount given for collectibles and deliveries was a little low. The second patch makes some minor changes. 

Summary

Review: Unlike Hollow Knight, Team Cherry's sequel Silksong is much more difficult from the start. Your move sets are unusual, it is harder to stay alive, and enemy mechanics can be much more sophisticated. However, the game offers you a multiple of choices through changing your move sets and discovering alternate pathways without the need to defeat most bosses. The developers went above and beyond adding details in the environment, characters, and evolution of the world you explore. While the setting and events can get rather depressing with all the changes you cause, the atmosphere befits an old civilization that has already decayed beyond saving. The game may challenge you, but there are a combination of tools that can help trivialize content. I certainly recommend the game that keeps things fresh for the sheer hours of regions and content.