Category: gamescom

Hollow Knight: Silksong – Yes, We’ve Finally Played It

The sheer weight of anticipation, expectation and, yes, a lot of memes, gives Hollow Knight: Silksong a pretty unique challenge to overcome as it makes a first impression. Six years since its announcement, and eight years since the original game arrived, it needs to demonstrate two things: that it’s familiar and that it’s different. Not the easiest thing to balance.

As paradoxical as it sounds, I’m delighted to say that having played a new public hands-on demo at Gamescom 2025, Team Cherry has managed just that. If you, like me, have been part of the baying millions waiting to see what a Hollow Knight successor could possibly be, I’m pretty confident you’re going to be pleased.

The trick is in how the developers have chosen to introduce this new game – as I turn on the demo for the first time, I’m given a choice of two locations to enter: Moss Grotto and Deep Docks. The first shows how returning players are getting more of what they want, but the second shows we’re getting the new ideas a sequel needs.

Moss Grotto

Beginning with a cutscene showing a captured Hornet (the NPC/boss from the first game, who is now our playable character) escaping into the mysterious new world of Pharloom, the verdant Moss Grotto is an immediate reminder of the key pleasures of the original Hollow Knight.

Even with this much distance from the first game, the first minutes of Silksong feel blissfully familiar – and reveal how right Team Cherry got things the first time around. This is still an immaculately drawn and animated world – its weaponized insects shudder gorgeously through lush environments, always darkened and inviting at the corners.

It still offers a maze of tunnels, beckoning you to explore in new directions, few of them truly signposted. And, crucially, it still feels unerringly good at reacting to exactly what you want to do – every button press rewarded with snappy, precisely judged reactions, from platforming to combat.

But, having returned to the original game to prepare for this demo, Moss Grotto also gives us a hint of what Hornet offers as a main character that the first game’s silent protagonist did not – namely, speed. Hornet attacks more precisely, can mantle obstacles, and even uses a new Bind ability to instantly regain health. But don’t take this as a notoriously difficult game getting easier for its second outing – Deep Docks disavowed me of that notion very quickly.

Deep Docks

Set further into the game, this second area is clearly designed to challenge you. More labyrinthine, and often very dark, this warren of an area immediately pits me against flying enemies able to pelt me with magma, enemies who block, and a boss who mercilessly takes me down, time and time again (more on her later).

It serves as a reminder of quite how challenging Hollow Knight could be, but also an introduction to the ways this game will enliven that. Yes, Hornet is a swifter fighter than the original protagonist – so Team Cherry has simply applied to the same logic to her enemies. The result is a combat system that feels less like a slugfest and more like a swordfight – you’ll need to evade, attack, and parry with more purpose. And when you get into the flow, it feels superb.

Also introduced in the Deep Docks are your Tools – perhaps the biggest change to how Silksong works compared to Hollow Knight. As part of a new crafting system, Hornet can equip Tools to add abilities to her repertoire. I’m able to use the Straight Pin – a ranged attack that functions like a throwing knife – and Silkspear, a much more powerful attack that only recharges through combat, forcing me into the fray in order to activate it. Even with a limited number on offer, it’s clear how much my choice of Tools will affect how I play through the full game.

And that’s clearest when I meet Lace, the boss guarding the end of the demo. Another swordfighter, she’s as fast – perhaps faster – than Hornet, able to parry, and with shifting attack patterns that feel as though they’re responding to how I’m choosing to fight. It’s here that I realise quite how far Team Cherry is pushing speed as a defining factor in Silksong – after many, many failed attempts, it’s only by using my own maneuvrability (and some well-thrown Tools) that I’m able to take her down. I’m not simply learning attack patterns, or spamming moves, I’m reacting. It might look like Hollow Knight, but it feels like I’m playing on some hidden Turbo Mode at times.

And Beyond…

There’s much still to be discovered, only hinted at in the demo. I’m able to collect both currency (called Rosaries) and crafting materials (called Shell Shards) in the demo, but I’m unable to spend either. Entire fundamental abilities – like wall grabbing – aren’t shown as part of my playthrough, either. And, beyond a brief chat with Lace, I don’t see much of Hornet’s own character – lest we forget, she can speak, unlike our original hero – meaning the story is still fairly unknown. Like any good demo, it leaves me excited to see more, rather than a feeling of knowing everything there is to know.

But what is on show here is a clear message – the core of this game is about fast, muscular, precise platforming and combat, taking what Hollow Knight achieved, but augmented with years more experience, years more thought, and years more confidence for Team Cherry as developers. I feel pretty good about saying, yes, this is the game you’ve hoped for during all those years.