I’ll admit that one of the things I’ve struggled with the most when it comes to reviewing games over the last generation, considering the massive rise of indie games and the establishment of major niche markets they directly support, has been scoring. It has been years since I began to shove my personal feelings for different titles aside as much as possible, understanding that by playing so many different titles ranging from great to outright horrible, my real value is in stacking up similar titles for similar audiences against each other. While that has worked pretty well, I’ve tended to see the score of 9 and above as the point where the games need to be able to cross over into mainstream appeal, breaking away from the comfort of their niche and being tested against the broader audience. What I’ve also found though is that the mainstream has changed and evolved in many regards, and one area where it has shifted has been in the area of challenge. As much as I loved the original Hollow Knight, because it was so difficult I found it to be a struggle to score for that reason, settling into a 9.5 as a compromise. Now, with Silksong, I’ve found myself in a similar spot, unable to deny the game’s impeccable design and brilliance, and still struggling with how to view its unapologetic degree of challenge, but also feeling like the mainstream audience has continued to evolve in order to better meet it.

For anyone who has been living under a rock and hasn’t heard of Silksong, somehow missing the excessive questions surrounding whether it was finally coming that popped up for every Nintendo Direct for the past few years, it’s the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to Hollow Knight, one of the last generation’s best (and toughest) games. Considering the amount of love thrown Team Cherry’s way for their first gaming foray, there’s no question that the pressure was on for them to deliver with this sequel, somehow managing to capture the essence of what made the original so amazing, but then making no missteps by either adhering too closely to it or deviating too far. That absolutely had to have created a delicate tightrope act for them, but they’ve somehow come through to this launch absolutely killing it.

In the game you’ll play as Hornet, who has been captured and taken to the kingdom of Pharloom. Given the opportunity to escape, you’ll now be tasked with figuring your way out… and you can expect there to be a great number of challenges on the way to do so. If you played the original Hollow Knight, for the most part the flow of general gameplay and combat will feel extremely familiar, but thankfully a little more fair by comparison early on. Yes, once again you’ll need to grind and work to get started, slowly accumulating the elements you’ll need simply to get a usable map, and to improve your fighting prowess through new skills and attacks. That said, Hornet also feels like a more capable protagonist, just a little quicker and more formidable in a fight, even if that won’t matter much against early bosses that will still quickly knock you on your ass until you get into the groove of their attack patterns. 

For the uninitiated, you’ll simply need to be ready to have a lot thrown at you, while understanding that for a while you’ll have very little to work with. You won’t be defeating bosses, or even some of the more run-of-the-mill enemies you’ll run into with powerful attacks. You’ll instead be working to chip away at them, and making the most of opportunities in their attack patterns to safely do damage. Of all the things I’ve struggled most with in these titles, patience may be the toughest one to learn and accept. Trust the process, work through the patterns, take your shots, and get out. While it can be tempting to go for one more hit when you know they need to be close to dying, understand that’s when the wheels will typically fall off and make you regret your choices.

Now, if you’re able to weather the early storms, refine your jumping and attack techniques, and work your way through what can sometimes feel like the maze-like areas you’ll encounter, the great news is that you’ll be rewarded with one of the best Metroidvanias ever made. You’ll claw and scratch to earn every upgrade, and then quickly learn that you’ll need to quickly master each one you get as well to make your way to the next one, but Silksong is as gorgeous and rewarding as it is difficult. Taking into account the fact that other really tough titles have created provisions for accessibility, allowing a broader audience to enjoy them, and Team Cherry has opted not to, on a relative basis I do feel like it comes up a little short of being everything it could. That said, if you don’t mind gritting your teeth and digging in, this may be one of your best options on any system.