Hole Knight: Silksong is the extremely anticipated sequel to 2017’s indie darling, Hole Knight. It comes from Group Cherry, a small group of three builders primarily based in Adelaide, Australia. Did I say “extremely anticipated”? That may simply be an understatement.
Whereas we didn’t fairly expertise the event delays of Metroid Prime 4, one may excuse Hole Knight followers for being impatient in terms of this sequel. In 2022, Silksong was slated for a 2023 launch after first being introduced manner again in 2019. Nothing else was revealed till late 2025. In reality, the ultimate launch date was posted simply two weeks earlier than the sport dropped on 4 September, 2025. Shock! Fortunately, it was nicely definitely worth the wait.
Enjoyable truth: Silksong was initially deliberate as DLC for Hole Knight!
For these new to the sequence, Hole Knight: Silksong falls squarely into the metroidvania class. It options all the important thing elements; 2D platforming, sprawling maps that broaden as you discover, upgradeable weapons, unlockable talents, and difficult boss fights. It does the style justice, with a difficult outing that’s filled with persona, collectibles, and lore.
Silksong follows the journey of Hornet, one of many essential non-playable characters from the unique title. Her function was fairly important in Hole Knight, and utilizing her because the protagonist was a sensible transfer by the crew. In reality, Group Cherry has managed to supply followers with one thing fairly particular by replicating the profitable system of the unique Hole Knight whereas concurrently creating one thing that feels fully recent.
For starters, Hornet performs in another way from the common-or-garden Knight. She’s nimble, leaping and dashing in a faster, smoother vogue. Whereas some strikes are kind of the identical—wall leaping and dashing are current and accounted for—Hornet has a unique manner of utilizing particular assaults and therapeutic that shakes issues up. She’s additionally a troublesome cookie who’s filled with persona—one thing that could possibly be mentioned to be lacking from the mute hero of the unique sport. Briefly, I like her.
This character additionally creates one thing more difficult for long-time followers by offering new methods to play. For instance, Hornet’s dive assault is on an angle, in comparison with the Knight’s model, which merely goes straight down. With loads of platforming perils requiring this kind of transfer to bounce throughout lethal spikes, it means even veterans must accustom themselves with a brand new option to play.
Hole Knight and its sequel are each tough video games, however that’s a part of the appeal. The boss fights, particularly, are difficult. They’re additionally very inventive, with bosses who seem from the ceiling, tunnel underground, or soar out of the water to assault. Whereas they’re robust, they’re extremely satisfying to defeat.
The factor that shocked me most after I first performed the unique Hole Knight was the sheer quantity of content material. There’s simply a lot to do. Silksong continues this pattern, with fleas to rescue, beasts to hunt, maps to find, instruments to seek out and equip, crests to unlock, and a lot extra. There’s by no means a scarcity of issues to do on this insect-based world.
Visually, the sequence has by no means seemed higher. Hole Knight appears to be like nice, however Silksong provides much more by way of layers, colours, and complexity. It’s significantly beautiful for a 2D side-scroller, with dynamic foreground components and lavish backdrops. The soundtrack is equally beautiful, constructing upon the stunning work of the unique. That is the kind of soundtrack you may get pleasure from listening to any time, even whereas not enjoying. Kudos to composer Christopher Larkin for once more bringing such emotional depth to every space and character together with his orchestral rating.
Our evaluation is likely to be late, however this reviewer spent ample time with each Hole Knight and Silksong previous to writing up her ideas. On the finish of the day, it’s a worthy entry in my checklist of high video games of 2025. A evaluation, regardless of the hole in time, appeared vital. The sport surpassed this participant’s expectations, offering not only a strong followup to top-of-the-line indie titles of the previous decade, however an impressive entry in its personal proper. The unique outing grew to become a bestselling basic with its metroidvania-style platforming and exploration. The sequel? Effectively, it broke the Web. Steam servers and even the Nintendo Swap eShop reported points because of overuse by followers making an attempt to obtain the sport.
I informed you—“extremely anticipated” doesn’t fairly cowl the joy round Hole Knight: Silksong.
General, Hole Knight: Silksong is greater than worthy as a successor to the unique Hole Knight. Group Cherry has finished an unbelievable job of offering followers precisely what we would have liked—an extension to the prevailing world that’s related sufficient to be accessible whereas distinctive sufficient to really feel recent. It’s a difficult factor to stability, however the crew pulled it off. It’s a tough outing that received’t be for everybody, however in the event you love robust platformers with sprawling maps filled with secrets and techniques to uncover, you owe it to your self to strive Hole Knight: Silksong.
