Hollow Knight Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong on PC is a challenging 2D action-platformer and Metroidvania from Team Cherry, the developer and publisher of Hollow Knight. The current official storefront name remains Hollow Knight: Silksong; no verified rename, definitive replacement, or rebranded PC edition has replaced it. You play as Hornet, exploring the haunted kingdom of Pharloom while climbing toward its shining citadel.

Silksong keeps the hand-crafted exploration and demanding combat associated with its predecessor, but Hornet changes the rhythm completely. She is faster, more acrobatic, and built around a larger collection of movement techniques, tools, silk abilities, and customizable combat styles.

How The Pharloom Adventure Works

Pharloom is a large, interconnected 2D world filled with mossy grottos, coral forests, gilded cities, misted moors, dangerous waterways, and fortified settlements. The core loop is direct but layered: enter an unfamiliar region, learn its routes, fight hostile creatures, meet inhabitants, discover shortcuts, and gain new options for reaching previously inaccessible spaces.

Hornet's ascent is not presented as a simple sequence of isolated stages. Exploration depends on reading the environment, remembering blocked routes, locating benches and travel connections, and gradually turning an unknown region into a navigable network. The map, characters, and quests encourage repeated visits without reducing the world to a checklist.

Movement is central to the experience. Hornet can leap, climb, dash, strike from the air, use silk-based abilities, and combine traversal tools with attacks. These options make Pharloom feel more vertically structured than a conventional side-scrolling platformer, while hazards and enemy placement demand careful timing rather than constant forward momentum.

Hornet's Combat And Crest System

Hornet fights with a needle instead of the Knight's nail, giving encounters a distinct reach, animation language, and attack cadence. Her combat is quick and precise, with aerial strikes, downward attacks, evasive movement, silk techniques, and tool-based damage all contributing to a flexible offensive toolkit.

The most important change is the Crest system. Crests do more than provide passive bonuses: they can alter Hornet's attacks, movement feel, tool slots, and overall combat identity. Switching from one crest to another may change range, speed, attack patterns, and the kinds of tools that fit naturally into a build.

Tools add another layer of preparation. Hornet can craft and equip weapons, traps, mechanisms, and utility items, then adapt her loadout to different enemies or exploration problems. This makes equipment selection more active than simply collecting permanent upgrades, because the best combination depends on how you approach a room, boss, or traversal challenge.

Boss encounters are built around pattern recognition, spacing, and controlled aggression. Pharloom contains more than 40 legendary bosses, while the wider bestiary includes more than 200 foes. That scale matters because ordinary enemies, elite hunters, monsters, and major bosses each ask you to read attacks differently rather than relying on one universal strategy.

Quests, Tools, And Exploration Payoffs

Silksong expands the role of quests within the Metroidvania structure. Hornet can help residents, pursue rare creatures, investigate local mysteries, and complete objectives that give exploration a stronger social context. These activities are not merely detached errands; they can redirect you toward unfamiliar areas and reveal more of Pharloom's history.

Progression comes through new movement capabilities, silk skills, tools, crest upgrades, health improvements, and other discoveries placed throughout the kingdom. The result is a steady exchange between curiosity and capability: an unreachable ledge suggests a future ability, while a newly acquired tool can make an earlier path worth revisiting.

Players who enjoy the layered route-finding of hand-crafted Metroidvania adventures such as Hollow Knight will recognize the emphasis on environmental clues and optional discoveries, but Hornet's faster movement and crest-based loadouts make the sequel more equipment-focused.

The game also supports a long-term mastery loop. Optional objectives, hidden rooms, difficult bosses, achievements, and alternate discoveries give completion-minded players reasons to return after reaching the kingdom's main milestones. The world is authored rather than procedural, so replay value comes from skill, route knowledge, experimentation, and completion goals.

Content Model And Current Edition

The PC version is a paid standalone game, while PC Game Pass provides another way to access it through Microsoft's subscription service. The game is not structured around a free-to-play economy, rotating seasons, character sales, or multiplayer progression.

The current storefront model is straightforward. The main adventure is sold as one complete package, and the soundtrack is listed separately rather than being presented as a gameplay expansion. Team Cherry has also announced Sea of Sorrow, a free expansion intended to add new areas, bosses, tools, and other content for existing players.

Because the expansion is described as free for all players, there is no verified need for a paid season pass or premium edition to access the announced gameplay additions. The important distinction is between the complete base adventure, the separately sold soundtrack, and future free content from Team Cherry.

PC Features, Controllers, And Localization

On PC, Steam lists full controller support, Steam Cloud, Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, Remote Play on TV, and Family Sharing. The store recommends using a controller, but also lists a keyboard-only option, giving players a choice between traditional PC input and gamepad controls.

Silksong is available for PC through Steam, GOG, and PC Game Pass. The launcher and ownership model depend on the storefront: Steam integrates the game with Steam features, while GOG provides an offline installer option that does not require Galaxy for installation.

Steam lists Steam Deck Verified compatibility and support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Team Cherry has also continued improving controller handling through Unity's Input System, including broader device recognition and better support for features such as rumble, although unusual wired and Bluetooth combinations can still depend on the specific device.

The current Steam listing provides interface, full audio, and subtitles in 11 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish from Spain, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. The game also includes accessibility options such as camera comfort, saving at any time, stereo sound, and an input setting that avoids quick-time-event requirements.

Who Should Play Silksong?

Silksong is aimed at players who want a demanding single-player adventure with precise combat, interconnected exploration, expressive movement, indirect storytelling, and a large hand-crafted world. It is especially well suited to people who enjoy learning boss patterns and treating failure as information rather than as a reason to avoid difficult encounters.

The faster protagonist and crest system also make it a good choice for players who enjoy testing different combat setups. A player who prefers close-range attacks, tool-heavy damage, aggressive mobility, or more deliberate spacing can approach the same challenge through a different loadout.

It is less suitable for players seeking co-op, online multiplayer, split-screen play, procedural runs, or a conventional quest log that points directly to every objective. Silksong remains a focused solo Metroidvania where secrets, detours, and route decisions are part of the intended challenge.

For players who prefer a more movement-focused and emotionally direct 2D adventure, fluid platforming Metroidvanias like Ori and the Will of the Wisps offer a brighter alternative with stronger emphasis on traversal flow and environmental set pieces.

Comparable PC Metroidvanias

The closest comparison is Hollow Knight itself, particularly in its hand-crafted world design, precision combat, atmospheric storytelling, and focus on discovering routes without constant direction. Silksong is not simply a new campaign for that game, however; Hornet's movement, tools, quests, and crests produce a more active combat framework.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a useful comparison for players interested in 2D exploration and ability-gated traversal, although Ori places more weight on fluid movement chains and cinematic platforming. For a darker combat-first alternative, gothic action Metroidvanias such as The Last Faith lean harder into RPG equipment, bleak horror, and heavier melee encounters.

These games share the broad Metroidvania structure, but their priorities differ. Silksong sits closest to the combat-and-exploration middle ground, combining a large interconnected kingdom with fast movement, build experimentation, optional quests, and boss-focused mastery.

Hollow Knight: Silksong FAQ

What is the current official name of the game?

The current official name is Hollow Knight: Silksong. The colon is present in the official Team Cherry, Steam, Xbox, and GOG listings. No verified storefront rebrand or replacement PC edition was found.

Is Hollow Knight: Silksong a full game or an expansion for Hollow Knight?

It is a standalone sequel centered on Hornet and the kingdom of Pharloom. Although the project was originally conceived as downloadable content, Team Cherry expanded it into a separate full-scale game.

Is Silksong single-player only?

Yes. The current PC storefront listing identifies it as single-player. There is no verified online co-op, local co-op, split-screen mode, or competitive multiplayer feature.

What do Crests do in Silksong?

Crests change Hornet's attack style and determine aspects of her available tool loadout. They are a central build system rather than simple cosmetic equipment, so changing crests can affect range, speed, moves, and combat strategy.

Does the PC version support controllers?

Yes. Steam lists full controller support, Xbox and PlayStation controller support, and a developer recommendation to use a controller. Keyboard-only play is also supported, while later updates improved compatibility with additional controller types.

Does Silksong have paid gameplay DLC?

The base game is sold as a complete standalone adventure, with the soundtrack listed separately. Team Cherry has announced the Sea of Sorrow expansion as free content for all players, adding new areas, bosses, tools, and more.