Silksong vs Hollow Knight
Seven years of waiting ended with a sequel that's bigger, faster, and meaner than the original. But bigger isn't the same as the better starting point — here's the honest play-order answer, and which one deserves your money today.
New to the series? Start with Hollow Knight. It's cheaper ($14.99 vs $19.99), gentler in its opening hours, and Silksong assumes you've internalized its lessons — critics were near-unanimous that newcomers should explore Hallownest first.
Finished Hollow Knight? Silksong is an automatic BUY. A 91–92 Metacritic, up to 100 hours for completionists, and arguably the most refined movement in the genre — for twenty dollars.
The Head-to-Head at a Glance
| Hollow Knight | Silksong | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | February 2017 | September 4, 2025 |
| Price | $14.99 | $19.99 |
| Metacritic | ~90 (Switch) | 91–92 |
| Protagonist | The Knight — nail-and-dash | Hornet — needle, silk, and acrobatics |
| Size | ~40 hours to see most of it | Bigger — up to ~100 hours for completion |
| Difficulty curve | Steep but graduated | Steeper, spikier, less forgiving |
| Setting | Hallownest — melancholy ruin | Pharloom — a kingdom of silk and song |
| Platforms | PC, Switch, PS4/5, Xbox | PC, Switch/Switch 2, PS4/5, Xbox, Game Pass |
What Silksong Changes
Hornet is the whole argument for the sequel. Where the Knight was deliberate — nail swings, earned dashes, careful positioning — Hornet is a blur: sprinting by default, needle-vaulting off enemies, grappling with silk, healing in bursts mid-combat. Reviewers who scored Silksong a masterpiece kept coming back to the same point: she may be the best-controlling character the genre has ever had. The crafting-driven tool system (throwables, traps, gadgets) adds a build layer Hollow Knight never had, and Pharloom is denser with secrets than Hallownest — Team Cherry spent seven years stuffing this thing.
It's also flat-out harder. The consistent critical caveat — and the loudest player debate since launch — is Silksong's difficulty management. Spikes come early and often, bosses swarm you with adds and off-screen attacks, and death runs punish exploration in ways some players find bracing and others find exhausting. Even glowing 10/10 reviews used words like "frustrating" on the way to "masterpiece." Hollow Knight was hard; Silksong assumes you already beat Hollow Knight.
Story: Order Matters More Than You'd Think
You can play Silksong first — it's a new kingdom with a new cast — but you shouldn't. Hornet herself is a major character from the original, the emotional shading of who she is and why she fights comes from Hallownest, and Silksong's deeper lore rewards series knowledge constantly. More practically: Hollow Knight's gentler pacing teaches the genre's grammar that Silksong immediately tests you on.
Value: The Best $35 in Gaming
Together these two games represent something close to 150 hours of the finest 2D design ever shipped, for less than half the price of one AAA release. Hollow Knight at $14.99 (routinely under $8 on sale) remains the single best value in the genre; Silksong at $19.99 — a price Team Cherry chose in an era of $70 standards — might be the most content-per-dollar of any 2025 release. It's also on Game Pass, making the trial run effectively free for subscribers.
HOLLOW KNIGHT ADVANTAGES
- The correct starting point — story and skills both
- Gentler difficulty on-ramp
- Cheaper: $14.99 base, frequently under $8
- Self-contained, complete, all DLC included
- Still one of the greatest games ever made
SILKSONG ADVANTAGES
- Hornet — the best movement in the genre
- Bigger world, more bosses, more secrets
- Tool crafting adds genuine build variety
- 91–92 Metacritic; a 2025 GOTY frontrunner
- On Game Pass day one
Hollow Knight first, full stop. It's the cheaper, kinder teacher, and everything about Silksong lands harder with it behind you.
Then Silksong, without hesitation — knowing the difficulty spikes are real and part of the deal. If a brutally demanding, brutally beautiful 100-hour metroidvania sounds like heaven, this is the genre's new benchmark. If "brutally demanding" made you wince, Hollow Knight alone is still a complete masterpiece.
Get Hollow Knight
Prices and availability change constantly — links open live search results so you always see current listings.
Get Silksong
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I play Hollow Knight before Silksong?
Yes. Silksong stars Hornet, a central character from the original, leans on its lore, and assumes mechanical fluency Hollow Knight teaches gradually. Critics almost universally recommended newcomers start with Hollow Knight.
Is Silksong harder than Hollow Knight?
Yes — noticeably. Difficulty spikes arrive earlier and more often, bosses are more aggressive, and exploration is punished more harshly. It's the most consistent criticism in otherwise stellar reviews.
How big is Silksong compared to Hollow Knight?
Bigger. A focused run takes 25–30+ hours, and full completion can approach 100 hours — more regions, bosses, and secrets than the original, which itself was famously oversized for its price.
What does Silksong cost?
$19.99 — a deliberate choice by Team Cherry to keep it accessible. It's also included in Xbox Game Pass. Hollow Knight remains $14.99 with all DLC included.
Is Silksong worth it if I found Hollow Knight too hard?
Honestly, probably not yet — Silksong is harder across the board. Consider finishing Hollow Knight first (its difficulty is more graduated) or going in accepting that Silksong will demand patience.