Razor Needle and Instant Response
I check the jump and the strike first thing in any 2D action game. If the startup lags or the recovery sticks to the floor like syrup, the whole experience rots. Silksong does not rot. Hornet feels light, aggressive, and instantly obedient on a game controller. You press the attack button, the needle comes out clean, and the recovery cuts off the instant you touch dirt or vault off an insect carapace.
Her downward strike angles differently than the down-slash in the original Hollow Knight. You dive forward on a diagonal slant, and the hitbox connects with real bite. Striking a shield or a hard carapace bounces Hornet up and back into the air, resetting her options immediately. That quick rebound changes how you space encounters. You cannot just float above a target and bounce on its skull indefinitely without thinking about trajectory. Miss the timing, and you land directly into an enemy swing.
Climbing Pharloom's Vertical Gauntlets
The kingdom of Pharloom runs tall instead of deep. You start down in mossy grottos and spend hours clawing upward toward gilded cities and misted moors, heading for the shining citadel at the summit. The vertical layout demands constant wall-grabs and ledge-vaults. Hornet grabs ledges naturally, pulling herself over lip edges without getting hung up on uneven terrain geometry.
That agility is necessary because basic enemies do not sit around waiting for their turn. Team Cherry packed this land with over 200 enemy types, and even the flying pests in the early caverns bait your jump arcs. Some hold jagged lances, others spit thread or fling projectiles that force you to sprint underneath them. Distinct audio cues keep telegraphs readable, giving you just enough warning before a creature lunges from offscreen.
Tools, Traps, and Boss Encounters
Hornet crafts her own gear on this pilgrimage. Instead of relying solely on spells, you put together tools, traps, and mechanisms to throw into the fray. Setting a spike trap on a narrow ledge and baiting an aggressive brawler into it gives you room to breathe and heal. Healing also requires full commitment to silk resource management, tying your survival directly to how frequently you land clean needle strikes on hostile targets.
The boss design showcases that pressure at its best. There are over 40 bosses spread across the climb, and each duel tests your defensive discipline. Bosses leave narrow punish windows between their multi-hit strings. You cannot greedily mash strikes and trade damage. You have to weave around sweeping blade arcs, slip behind the recovery animation, land two slashes, and clear out before the counterattack clips your mask. Christopher Larkin's orchestral score pumps driving strings through these fights, matching the frantic tempo without drowning out impact sounds.
Brutal Difficulty and Steel Soul
The game is demanding, and it occasionally verges on mean. Checkpoints can sit several brutal hazard rooms away from a boss door, forcing you to run the same gauntlet repeatedly while practicing a difficult encounter. Some fast-moving beasts have tiny hitboxes that are easy to whiff if your diagonal jump angle is off by a hair. When you misjudge a dive, you eat heavy punishment.
Conquering the main route unlocks Steel Soul mode for anyone looking to push their execution under permadeath rules. At twenty dollars on Steam, the package is packed with content, tight technical combat, and zero bloat. It demands strict execution and gives you the exact tools required to deliver it.
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