Hollow Knight: Silksong Raises the Difficulty but Gives Players More Choices, Says Team Cherry

Developers explain why challenge is part of the design and reveal paths to make tough moments less painful

Hollow Knight: Silksong officially launched on September 4, 2025, with instant chart success and plenty of conversation about one feature: the difficulty level. Many expected a demanding follow-up, but Team Cherry doubled down and made Silksong even tougher than the first game. Standard enemies hit harder, platforming gets trickier, and long boss runs are now a ritual of learning or pain depending on your approach. Explore the full interview and developer notes at Dexerto.

• More freedom leads to smoother progression: Team Cherry wants players to feel stuck less often. Instead of brute-forcing every boss or trap, you get options to sidestep tough fights, find upgrades, and explore new paths before doubling back on a challenge.
• Mitigating difficulty through exploration and smart play: If you hit a wall with a boss or platform puzzle, the game lets you roam, gather upgrades, or even skip certain encounters. The route splits help you avoid slogging through one “impossible” moment for hours.
• Enemies scale to match Hornet’s speed and skills: Designers chose not to weaken Hornet but instead made the world catch up to her. Basic mobs like ant warriors now copy her moveset, dashing and countering to track her fast movement.
• Patches address early frustration: After launch, Team Cherry quickly rolled out updates to soften the early bosses, including Moorwing and Sister Splinter. Damage from Sandcarvers also dropped in the first post-release patch. Developers announced that a second patch will focus more on bug fixes than balancing.

Why this design matters for hardcore and casual players

Every player now finds a way to finish Silksong. You don’t need perfect runs or flawless boss defeats right away. Slow learners and challenge chasers can both experiment, min-max upgrades, and explore every secret before settling on victory. Fans and critics point out that Silksong encourages “trying something else” rather than brute force, so frustration rarely locks you out for long.

• Collectors and explorers enjoy open maps and tons of secret upgrades, which help them shape a custom run and manage difficulty.
• Completionists and speedrunners welcome the smarter enemy AI, new move sets, and multiple paths to finishing key objectives.
• With Team Cherry promising continued support and more updates, expect ongoing tweaks for both bug fixes and gameplay improvements.

Release notes, patch history, and what’s next for Silksong

Silksong launched for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, Switch 2, and PC. Team Cherry has already shipped patch 1.0.28470 to make early progression smoother and announced Patch 2 for bug fixes. If you’re looking for trainers, game tips, or challenge guides, review trusted optimization hubs and watch for more updates in the coming weeks. With its focus on freedom and layered difficulty, Silksong is now leading the charts, pushing Metroidvania design forward for both new and expert players.