Review: Hollow Knight: Silksong (Nintendo Switch 2)

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the highly anticipated sequel to 2017’s indie darling, Hollow Knight. It comes from Team Cherry, a small group of three developers based in Adelaide, Australia. Did I say “highly anticipated”? That might just be an understatement. 

While we didn’t quite experience the development delays of Metroid Prime 4, one could excuse Hollow Knight fans for being impatient when it comes to this sequel. In 2022, Silksong was slated for a 2023 release after first being announced way back in 2019. Nothing else was revealed until late 2025. In fact, the final release date was posted just two weeks before the game dropped on 4 September, 2025. Surprise! Thankfully, it was well worth the wait.

Fun fact: Silksong was originally planned as DLC for Hollow Knight!

For those new to the series, Hollow Knight: Silksong falls squarely into the metroidvania category. It features all the key components; 2D platforming, sprawling maps that expand as you explore, upgradeable weapons, unlockable abilities, and tough boss fights. It does the genre justice, with a tricky outing that’s full of personality, collectibles, and lore. 

Silksong follows the adventure of Hornet, one of the main non-playable characters from the original title. Her role was quite significant in Hollow Knight, and using her as the protagonist was a smart move by the team. In fact, Team Cherry has managed to provide fans with something pretty special by replicating the winning formula of the original Hollow Knight while simultaneously creating something that feels completely fresh. 

For starters, Hornet plays differently from the humble Knight. She’s nimble, jumping and dashing in a quicker, smoother fashion. While some moves are more or less the same—wall jumping and dashing are present and accounted for—Hornet has a different way of using special attacks and healing that shakes things up. She’s also a tough cookie who’s full of personality—something that could be said to be missing from the mute hero of the original game. In short, I love her.

This character also creates something more challenging for long-time fans by providing new ways to play. For example, Hornet’s dive attack is on an angle, compared to the Knight’s version, which simply goes straight down. With plenty of platforming perils requiring this type of move to bounce across deadly spikes, it means even veterans need to accustom themselves with a new way to play. 

Hollow Knight and its sequel are both tricky games, but that’s part of the charm. The boss fights, in particular, are challenging. They’re also very creative, with bosses who appear from the ceiling, tunnel underground, or jump out of the water to attack. While they’re tough, they’re incredibly satisfying to defeat. 

The thing that surprised me most when I first played the original Hollow Knight was the sheer amount of content. There’s just so much to do. Silksong continues this trend, with fleas to rescue, beasts to hunt, maps to discover, tools to find and equip, crests to unlock, and so much more. There’s never a shortage of things to do in this insect-based world.

Visually, the series has never looked better. Hollow Knight looks great, but Silksong adds even more in terms of layers, colors, and complexity. It’s particularly stunning for a 2D side-scroller, with dynamic foreground elements and lavish backdrops. The soundtrack is equally stunning, building upon the lovely work of the original. This is the type of soundtrack you can enjoy listening to any time, even while not playing. Kudos to composer Christopher Larkin for again bringing such emotional depth to each area and character with his orchestral score.

Our review might be late, but this reviewer spent ample time with both Hollow Knight and Silksong prior to writing up her thoughts. At the end of the day, it’s a worthy entry in my list of top games of 2025. A review, despite the gap in time, seemed necessary. The game surpassed this player’s expectations, providing not just a solid followup to one of the best indie titles of the past decade, but an outstanding entry in its own right. The original outing became a bestselling classic with its metroidvania-style platforming and exploration. The sequel? Well, it broke the Internet. Steam servers and even the Nintendo Switch eShop reported issues due to overuse by fans attempting to download the game. 

I told you—“highly anticipated” doesn’t quite cover the excitement around Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Overall, Hollow Knight: Silksong is more than worthy as a successor to the original Hollow Knight. Team Cherry has done an incredible job of providing fans exactly what we needed—an extension to the existing world that’s similar enough to be accessible while unique enough to feel fresh. It’s a tricky thing to balance, but the team pulled it off. It’s a difficult outing that won’t be for everyone, but if you love tough platformers with sprawling maps full of secrets to uncover, you owe it to yourself to try Hollow Knight: Silksong.