This year was big for gaming. Among many of the outstanding titles released this year, there was one that transcended the title of game to become a phenomenon. The release of this game was so anticipated that when the release date was announced, other game developers delayed the release of their games so they wouldn’t have to compete with it. That game was Hollow Knight: Silksong, and now that I’ve played it, I know what all the fuss was about.

I am being slightly disingenuous. As a gamer who leans more towards indie titles rather than major publishers, I knew what all the fuss was about before I played it. After all, I have 130 hours in the original Hollow Knight, a game that set an industry standard for 2-D platformers. Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all time, making Silksong pretty much a guaranteed hit for me. After 45 hours, I’ve nearly completed the final ending of the game, with 88% completion. It’s almost hard to remember the start of my journey but I will do my best.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is set in the far off, mysterious land of Pharloom. Pharloom is under a curse where its inhabitants are possessed by malevolent silk that ensnares the kingdom. Hornet, the character you play as, has been kidnapped by hooded bugs and brought to Pharloom for an unknown reason. That’s right, bugs. Everything in the original Hollow Knight and Silksong are bugs, from wildlife to incorporeal deities. Hornet is a descendant of one of these godlike bugs, which is important for the story but doesn’t matter right now. What matters right now is that you find the map, or else 10 of the 50 hours you take completing the game are going to be spent aimlessly wandering the pits of Bone Bottom and the Marrow. 

Silksong’s map is big, about twice as large as the previous game, with a myriad of biomes to explore. One of the things that makes Hollow Knight and Silksong special is the stunning art, hand drawn by co-director Ari Gibson. The beautiful environments layered with angelic tones from composer Christopher Larkin will almost distract you from the two hearts of damage you take from almost everything in the game. Hornet starts with five hearts, reasonable enough when the basic enemies roaming around only do one damage. But when you miss a ledge and are plunged into the roiling lava below, you will most likely find yourself teleporting back to your last checkpoint with no money and hate in your heart. 

For the most part, the difficulty was not an issue for me. I am used to difficult games and my experience in the previous game served me well. There were some parts that made me step away from the game for a while, I’m looking at you Bilewater, but for the most part the challenge was not detrimental to my experience. The many bosses littered throughout the game posed some of the biggest challenges, but were also some of the highlights of the game for me. 

The other highlights were the friendly characters that greeted me every so often, each with unique and lively personalities. The character design was really above and beyond (Sherma was my favorite). If you are considering buying the game I would so do it. Whether or not you have played the original, I think you can enjoy Silksong. If you have played the original and didn’t like it, Silksong probably isn’t going to fix your grievances. But I think as long as you approach it with an open mind and the patience to do hard things, you can find a lot of fun in Hollow Knight: Silksong.