Hollow Knight Silksong review: a rare gaming sequel that lives up to the hype

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

Superb, hand-drawn graphics

Challenging combat

Competitive price

Supports Intel Macs, Apple Silicon

Cons

Works best with a game controller

Frustrating Save system

A tutorial would help newcomers

Our Verdict
It’s been almost a decade in the making, but Silksong is a worthy successor to the classic Hollow Knight. The platform-jumping action can be frustrating at times, but there are few arcade games available for the Mac that can match the atmospheric world and fluid combat of Silksong.

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It’s not often that Mac users get to enjoy a brand-new A-List game at the same time as the Windows world, but the original Hollow Knight was Mac-compatible when it was first launched way back in 2017 and the developers at Team Cherry made it clear that they’d support the Mac for this sequel as well. Even better is the news that Hollow Knight: Silksong works on both Intel Macs and Apple Silicon.

Its 2D graphics don’t require a powerful Mac to run well either, and the game ran smoothly at 4K resolution on my five year old Intel iMac with no trouble at all. There’s more good news with the announcement that Silksong costs just $19.99/£16.75 on Steam and Gog – and buying it once allows you to download either the PC or Mac versions too. The first game has also been on sale recently, so that’s well worth grabbing if you want an affordable introduction to the series. 

Hollow Knight, of course, was a huge hit – especially given that it was developed by a modest three-man team based in Adelaide – and went on to sell millions of copies in recent years. This led to huge anticipation for the Silksong sequel that has built up over the last couple of years, but Team Cherry didn’t go for the obvious money-grabbing quick follow-up. They kept the same three-man team – along with composer Christopher Larkin, whose haunting score for Hollow Knight was worth the price of entry alone – and took their time to ensure that Silksong lived up to its multi-award-winning predecessor.




Team Cherry

Silky Sequel

You could even argue that Silksong is actually a completely new game, rather than a simple sequel. The cute little Hollow Knight that you controlled in the first game has been succeeded by a new character called Hornet, who was a princess in the world of Hollownest in the last game. Hornet has been kidnapped and taken to a new kingdom called Pharloom, and now faces new adventures of her own as she attempts to escape and return home. Even so, it’s clear that the two games share the same DNA, most obviously in the distinctive and atmospheric hand-drawn graphics and animation, as well as Larkin’s soundtrack music.

The basic mechanics of the game are very similar too, as you guide Hornet through a sideways-scrolling 2D platform game in which she runs and jumps to get past obstacles, and uses her chosen weapons of needle and thread to fight her way past almost 200 different enemy monsters. And, of course, as you explore Pharloom you will find new weapons and abilities that make you more powerful as you prepare to tackle the big boss monsters that you encounter at key points in the game.

However, the developers have discussed the fact that Hornet is physically larger and faster than the Hollow Knight of the previous game, which has caused them to change the design of the game in Silksong, creating larger areas within each location for her to manoeuvre around, and allowing her to unleash her full powers in combat. 




Team Cherry

I’m not great at platform games as I don’t have the nimble fingers and reflexes required to bounce around with the necessary precision, but I did find that the jumping mechanics in Silksong seemed a little more forgiving than in Hollow Knight. Sometimes, if I missed jumping onto a nearby ledge by only a small amount I would find that Hornet was able to grab the ledge and shimmy up and out of danger.

You’ll need all the help you can get, as Silkong does seem to be even more challenging than its predecessors, with more varied movement and boss monsters that inflict serious damage with a single hit.

Silksong’s opening screen also recommends using a game controller, and while I generally prefer to play most games with a keyboard and mouse, I did find it tricky to modify the keyboard controls so that Hornet could bounce around the screen as quickly as she often needs to. The game’s Save system is still quite frustrating too, only allowing you to save the game at specific points – generally where you find a bench to sit on – which can force you to repeatedly retrace your steps through the game as you attempt to get past a particular obstacle or enemy.

Should You Buy Hollow Knight: Silksong?

Many people find platform games frustrating – especially when they have restrictive Save systems like that – so Silksong isn’t a must-have recommendation for all Mac gamers. But, if you enjoy platform games, or arcade games with challenging boss fights, then there are few games available on the Mac that come close to Silksong (see our complete round up of the best games for Mac for more). The look and feel of the game really stand out from the crowd, and the meticulous attention to detail that Team Cherry have put into every aspect of the game make it a worthy successor to Hollow Knight.