Introduction

If Hollow Knight was a moody, gothic poem about a bug kingdom in existential crisis, Silksong arrives like that poem's sprightlier, faster, needle-wielding cousin who actually does parkour. Team Cherry took what made the original sing - cavernous exploration, fiendish bosses, and a world that feels hand-stitched with love - and sewed it into a new garment that's equal parts elegant and merciless. You play as Hornet, Hallownest's prickliest export, and instead of quietly brooding through another silent crawl, she hops, threads, and taunts her way through Pharloom, a ruined religious kingdom with silk-based problems. On PS5 the game loads smooth as butter on a hot pan and looks pretty enough to make you forget all your responsibilities for roughly forever. Whether you're a returning "Skonger" or a newcomer who just likes very pretty insect fashion, Silksong is an offering from an indie studio with an identity crisis: it keeps growing until it's too big to be DLC, then doubles down on charm and difficulty until you're emotionally invested in a spider god.

Gameplay

Silksong's bones are classic Metroidvania: interconnected areas, secret nooks, and a map that rewards curiosity with the kind of joy usually reserved for finding a forgotten twenty in your jeans. Hornet is noticeably more acrobatic than the Knight - she's quicker, sharper, and reads like a ballerina crossed with a pogo stick. The controls feel tactile on DualSense: dash, needle strikes, and quick heals are snappy and precise, which is good because the game expects you to be, too. Team Cherry reworks several mechanics in charmingly vicious ways. Instead of soul, Hornet collects "Silk" - a resource that fills when you attack and interact with the world. Silk is the game's currency of quick healing (a single heal restores three masks) and the fuel for flashy "Silk Skills" you unlock as you find remnants of the Weavers. Tools come in blue, yellow, and red flavours; blue and yellow are passive perks, while red Tools are bursty, offensive toys that need charges and shell shard money to recharge. I found myself constantly tinkering with loadouts at benches, because Crests (the game's playstyle modifier) change how many Tools you can wear and even alter your attack rhythm. Want to spam tools without sitting at a bench? There might be a Crest for that. Want damage to spike only when you dance around being almost dead? There's a Crest for dramatic masochism too. Movement options expand delightfully and frequently: a Clawline grappling hook, Drifter's Cloak that catches updrafts and turns falling into graceful floating, Cling Grip for wall-scaling, and Silk Soar for vertical propulsion. The diagonal "pogo" mechanic can be awkward in tight platforming sections, and some runbacks to bosses feel a touch long, but those complaints are part of the bargain: mastery feels tangible. The side-quests, called "Wishes," are tracked in a journal and range from lovely world-building vignettes to forgettable fetches - a handful of them felt a little rote, but many gave Pharloom its personality. Combat and boss design swing from witty one-off encounters to some seriously cinematic slugfests. Expect to die, curse at the ceiling, learn the pattern, and then feel like a god when you finally clip that last hit. Mods and player responses immediately popped up to temper the difficulty, which tells you two things: it can be tough, and people love this game enough to make it fit their comfort level.

Graphics

Silksong looks like someone took Victorian lace, dipped it in ink, and then decided "more layers, please." The hand-drawn art is gorgeously layered, with backgrounds that suggest entire lives happened off-screen. Pharloom itself is a character - ruined cathedrals, moss-slick grottoes, and the odd cosmic horror stitched into a tapestry of silk threads. On PS5 you notice tiny delights: enemy animations that sell personality (yes, even the slimes), parallax that adds real depth, and particle effects that make Silk skills feel weighty and theatrical. Christopher Larkin's score continues to be a standout feature. Tracks shift from haunted lullabies to energetic battle cues with cinematic timing that makes every boss entrance feel like the final act of an insect opera. Sound design complements the visuals with satisfying needle strikes, crunchy enemy deaths, and ambient noises that make exploration calming until a giant spider god reminds you otherwise. There were a few localization hiccups on some platforms at launch, but the PS5 experience felt polished and complete in performance - stable frame rates, quick load times, and a DualSense that whispers little haptics for hits and tension, which is a surprisingly tactile bonus.

Conclusion

Hollow Knight: Silksong is Team Cherry at full bloom: an indie masterpiece that is as pretty as it is punishing. It refines the original's strengths while adding systems that reward experimentation and curiosity. Yes, the difficulty spikes and some quests can drag, but those are small scuffs on an otherwise immaculate relic. You will die. You will laugh at your own incompetence. You will learn to love a bench like it's a close friend. On PS5 the game shines - both literally and metaphorically - delivering a buttery, beautiful adventure that respects your time with complexity and your patience with reward. If you like hand-crafted worlds, nimble combat, and stories told through environment and wit, Silksong is a needle in the haystack worth finding. Keep a box of tissues nearby for victory cries and a spare controller for the dramatic flinging-into-the-void moments. This one earns a near-perfect score because it manages to be both merciless and affectionate, like a particularly intense knitting instructor who secretly bakes you cookies.

See Latest Prices for Hollow Knight: Silksong on PS5 on Amazon

See Prices for Hollow Knight: Silksong on PS5 on Ebay