Even before anybody hit the title screen for Hollow Knight: Silksong, this sequel was already a phenomenon. Following up its surprise indie mega hit, Team Cherry has had its work cut out to deliver on the near untold hype levels. Now, dramatically throwing off the cloak of secrecy, the big question is: does it live up to the original? After spending over 30 hours battling my way through Pharloom I'm happy to say it definitely does and then some – but with serious wrinkles in its robes that may infuriate. At times the difficulty of penetrating its coarse thread may delight, and at others feel unnecessarily knotty.
While the early joy of Hollow Knight was its impeccable atmosphere and bug-inhabited world fallen to ruin, later updates also dramatically upped the difficulty across its platforming and boss design. Simply put, Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn't just use the original's later challenge as a jumping off point, but divebombs it with aplomb, flipping into the air. Silksong is hard from early on.
