Team Cherry says Hornet’s speed and skill make Silksong more difficult

Polygon reports that developer Team Cherry addressed why Hollow Knight: Silksong is proving so difficult at the September opening of a gaming exhibition at Australia's Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

Silksong co-director Ari Gibson said, "Hornet is inherently faster and more skillful than the Knight — so even the base level enemy had to be more complicated, more intelligent," (via Dexerto). Co-director William Pellen added, "In contrast to the Knight’s enemies, Hornet’s enemies had to have more ways of catching her as she tries to move away," explaining how Team Cherry added new ways for Hornet's enemies "to evade and check you." The studio said it meant to "bring everyone else up to match [Hornet's] level," and the game's first patch made some bosses slightly easier after modders attempted to make the game slightly easier on Windows PC.

The developers said exploration is a deliberate way for players to mitigate steep difficulty, giving choices about where to go and what to do; Gibson said it's "fine" if players are stuck because they can use exploration, learning, or even circumventing the challenge rather than get stonewalled. ACMI also produced a softcover, 64-page zine with "exclusive concept art, character sketches, maps and a new interview with Team Cherry" that ships internationally, though "it'll cost a pretty penny." The game remains challenging.

Key Topics

Culture, Team Cherry, Silksong, Hornet, Ari Gibson, William Pellen