Why Silksong Feels Different
77K views · Dec 25, 2025 · Entertainment
Comments · 1.1K
@Egotesticals · 9 months ago (edited) · pinned
Thank you all so much for watching the video and engaging with it, it has been super fun to read everyone's opinions and counter-arguments in the comments. I will update this list as more mistakes in the video come to light. Here are some corrections and points that I feel deserve clarity:<br><br>1. Sherma is a boy. <br><br>2. Yellow tools no longer present the old HK opportunity cost of quality of life versus build optimization. This allows QoL tools to not effect your build (neither good nor bad, just different). However, the choices between Yellows also isn't very meaningful since the tools are broadly not very impactful (I didn't say bad) with the obvious exception of compass and Mag Dice - when compared to Reds and Blues. The uneven distribution of Yellow usefulness would be largely solved by making Mag Dice a Blue tool instead. Lots of people disagreed that Compass was the best Yellow, but even disregarding that one, Mag Dice is still so much more broadly useful that it upends the balance of the entire system by removing meaningful choice from the process of deciding which Yellow is best in what situation. <br><br>3. Shoutout to commenter BBSPlat who linked this video of Freya Holmer breaking down the pogo functionality in extreme detail: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/_zZdM2AfxmU">https://www.youtube.com/live/_zZdM2AfxmU</a>. TLDR The game is reading analog inputs within radial zones and those zones have an oddly wide tolerance for left/right but a very strict tolerance for straight down. This causes turning around and changing direction with the pogo to require more exaggerated stick input than is typical. The video validates much of what I was complaining about - you can literally see me fail to do a turnround pogo after doing several correct pogos facing in one direction in the section of my video talking about this. If you thought this point was due to a problem with my controller, watch Freya's video, it's very thorough.<br><br><br>4. Pacing/getting into Act 3. Please try to remember that this video is from a gameplay and mechanical perspective, not a thematic or narrative one. I acknowledge that the process of saving Pharloom is a strong piece of meta-narrative and I feel it works quite well from a thematic point of view, but that does not make farming bug crows any less uninspired. Is it foolish to attempt to separate the gameplay from the story? Maybe. It can be tempting to excuse mechanically shallow gameplay for narrative or aesthetic reasons in a game I really like, but I'm trying to stay away from that style of analysis.<br><br>5. Some commenters felt I was too hard on the Beast Crest or didn't fully credit how strong it can be when played optimally. I recognize that I didn't put the time in to unlocking the Crest's full potential, but that more player investment to discover that potential (compared to the other crests) is exactly why I feel the Crest is 'Hard Mode' and not something most players will use on their first few playthroughs. Beast Crest being locked behind Savage Beastfly is probably my strongest evidence that BC is intended to be an extra challenge for experienced players.<br><br>6. Sherma is a boy.
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@JMoney_TheGangster · 9 months ago
Tbh I never experienced Act 2.5. I had the "do all side content before main content" mindset I guess
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@spooderman6312 · 9 months ago
this is the first one of these multi-hour long critiques i've seen that not only properly understands the systems put into place and why they are there within the context of team cherry's work on hollow knight but also seems to come from a place of genuine passion for the game for its community and a desire to see the game succeed
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@brentramsten249 · 9 months ago
i thought the 'scarecrow crow' resembling the crowfather was a nice bit of worldbuilding
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@Retrofanboy001 · 9 months ago
I had the exact same reaction to using the beast crest and completely ignored it, then i talked to my brother who used it to steam-roll through the entire game and "did not fight a hard boss since last judge". One bugs trash crest is another's treasure.
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@marioluigibros.8176 · 9 months ago
I think you might want to see this snippet of a Team Cherry interview with Bloomberg<br><br>One of the things I find interesting about Act 3 is that there’s no signposting that it exists. If you get the “bad ending” after Act 2, you might think that there must be more. But there isn’t really any hint of that. Were you worried that some people might not even realize there’s an Act 3?<br><br>Gibson: No, that’s exactly how it’s meant to present. You’re not meant to necessarily realize there’s an Act 3. Some players will naturally encounter Act 3, and the players that will encounter that are the ones who will likely have played in a very completionist way. The players who really spent the time to help all the creatures in the world, befriend everyone, and also have spent time exploring the extents of the kingdom. It has that natural gate of someone who’s shown themselves to be an exceptional explorer, an exceptional combatant. They’ll have this new chunk exposed to them. For other players they can comfortably come to an ending that is ambiguous as to whether it’s a good or bad ending. It is just an ending.<br><br>Pellen: The hope there was that you can finish Act 1 and Act 2 without realizing there’s an Act 3, and the game will feel completed to an extent. We tried not to have too many dangling threads that are obvious — or obvious unexplored chunks of the map. We don’t reveal percentages or anything like that until you go beyond Act 2. So hopefully someone can finish Act 2 and feel like they’ve not left the game half-completed.
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@Kredina · 9 months ago
With the map comparison I just noticed how silksong starts where deepnest is in hollowknight
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@9darkspells · 9 months ago
I find your take on the yellow tools kinda suprising. Personally my "never ever take it off" yellow tool was ascenders grip. and I appreciated the introduction of the tool categories because I KNEW that if I had the choice between a yellow tool and another blue tool I would NEVER use any of the yellow tools. (see: the reason I dont use compass in hollow knight)<br><br>I see the yellow tools as a big set of "quality of life" tools, so its really dependent on where you want your convenience. Meanwhile I think team cherry probably introduced the tool categories specifically to try and mitigate the reason people never run gathering swarm or compass in hollow knight, and I respect that.
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@sufficient4834 · 9 months ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL0mr9Drav8&t=6814">1:53:34</a> Funnily enough, I discovered Putrified Ducts through Memorium, and I didn't even know Bilewater existed until I looked up a guide on where to find the remaining fleas. I also discovered the hidden bench in Bilewater by accident despite somehow missing the needle smith by never exploring the second floor of Bellhart, and getting all the way to GMS without upgrading the needle once. My run must have been the most blessed yet cursed run possible
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@dylanu7896 · 9 months ago
Re: Yellow tools.<br><br>The yellow tool slot I interpret as a utility spot for minor aids. I could play the whole game without a compass, or magnet, or anklets. And under the HK charm system, I oftentimes did. My charm builds never allotted space for basic utility. I find it nice to have utility options without them detracting from the slots I would otherwise be using for combat options.
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@KatrinaInTransit · 9 months ago (edited)
I do find it a little sad that many people seem to dislike the beast crest so much. I played pretty much my entire first playthrough with it and after playing with the other crests I still think it's my favourite. The downwards attack is very different and hard to master but it absolutely <b>can</b> be mastered, you just have to treat it as more of a horizontal attack. Saying that delver's drill is necessary to keep the crest viable is not even an overstatement, it's just wrong.<br>Also worth saying that it has another ability you didn't mention: During its fury mode, you're able to pierce any shields. This is somewhat situational but considering how many bosses have protective states I found this to be very useful.<br>I do somewhat agree with your assessment of it being largely just harder while its benefits don't really match that too well.<br><br>By the way, seeing that sawtooth circlet in F tier, you might wanna look up some videos about it :) it's pretty powerful
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@ExzaktVid · 9 months ago
Based on what I see in crest video discussions, the amount of players maining each crest is actually very equal, maybe a bit higher on wanderer. This implies to me that team cherry didn’t really intend constant switching, but more that there’s some crest for every player no matter who you are
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