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Knight

What we’ve been playing – the fabled Hollow Knight, the much-anticipated Bloodlines 2, and more

by admin August 23, 2025

23rd August

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we’ve been playing. This week, our away team returns from Gamescom and our home team recovers from Gamescom. What a week! Have you had your head turned by anything?

More importantly, what have you been playing?

Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We’ve Been Playing archive.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, PC

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I’ve been waiting for this for years and now that I’ve finally played it – a few hours of it in a preview – I’m disappointed. It’s not so much that the concept has been narrowed to fit an action game template, because that can work really well – though it’s a shame not to use the outrageous wealth of RPG depth in the existing tabletop RPG game – but being narrower means there’s more pressure on the content that remains. Having less to do means the things you actually do need to stand out more.

The characters need to really impress, the combat needs to really impress, the corridored sequences need to really impress; and they don’t – or at least they didn’t in what I played. The preview build fell a bit flat. With the notable exception that it did make me feel like a very powerful vampire. The action felt great, which does count (Dracula) for a lot.

I still hold out hope for the game; there’s every chance it might broaden into a more fulfilling experience as the campaign goes on. But my confidence has been knocked.

-Bertie

Mina the Hollower, Switch 2

I’ve been looking forward to Mina the Hollower ever since Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games announced its oh-so-adorable looking release all the way back in 2022. Cute? Yes! Nostalgic? Yes! Pretty darn Gothic? Yes! This game had Victoria written all over it. Now after more than three years, the studio has released a demo, offering a bitesized piece of what players can expect. And I am pleased to say that so far, things are looking good.

Story wise, it turns out titular mouse Mina previously created devices known as Spark Generators, but they are now failing. Not only that, it seems more is afoot than just some technical issues. So, Mina sets off to look into the situation, but before she can arrive at the city of Ossex, her ship is attacked by a sea beast off the coast of Tenebrous Isle. Picking a weapon (I went for Nightstar, which is a mace on a whip-like chain), Mina soon let that Kraken creature know she meant business, but alas, the ship still made a less than graceful arrival to the shore. However, Mina and I remained undeterred, so we made our way through the Blighted Docks…

While only a snippet, I loved my time with Mina the Hollower’s Switch 2 demo. I collected Bonestone, I popped off various goblins and bats, I burrowed my way underneath enemies to spring up excitingly from behind and I negotiated perilous pits, all while bopping along to a gloriously retro-infused soundtrack. It reminded me of a classic Zelda game, but with an extra touch of Castlevania deliciously laced through it all. Oh yes, I am certainly looking forward to Mina the Hollower’s full release this October.

-Victoria

Hollow Knight, Switch 2

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After getting wrapped up in the Silksong hype, among other things, I went back to Hollow Knight. And honestly? I get it. I get the excitement, I get the celebrations around Silksong finally receiving a release date this week.

I stopped playing years ago so it all feels new again now. So far, I’m finding the most joy in going down holes I probably shouldn’t go down yet, because I’m not experienced enough to handle what’s there. But I do it anyway because I want to. My number of deaths so far? I’m not saying.

Somehow 10 minutes turned into an hour and I’m itching to get back to it. It’s a feeling few games have given me recently.

-Marie

Rocket League, Xbox Series X

I think I now see myself how my son must see me: old and out of touch. I’ve been playing more Rocket League with him, and I hadn’t realised just how far from the original idea of the game the whole thing had gone. That core car football experience is still the main bit, I guess, but we were playing a mode the other night where the ball was being pulled around in a circular arc, presumably by magnets or something, and the cars could leap into the air and hover there to intercept and push the ball back to the other team. My poor brain can’t take it. What will these people think of next?!

-Tom O

Until Dawn, PS4

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Somehow, Supermassive’s cinematic horror game Until Dawn is ten years old next week, and to mark the occasion (as well as for other reasons), I’ve been working my way back through the PS4 original. I always liked Until Dawn (and I absolutely adored creator Will Byles’ summer camp follow-up The Quarry), but I’ve been completely blindsided by just how well the whole thing still holds up today. The 60fps PS5 patch helps a bit, of course, but even without that, Until Dawn is an impressive piece of work. It absolutely nails the distinctive high-gloss slasher vibe that was particularly prevalent the 90s, for starter, Supermassive making the most of its stylish camera angles and wintery ambience. But more than that, it’s just a fun ride, and – as it slowly starts to subvert expectations, taking its slasher tropes and character archetypes to unexpected places – far smarter than I originally gave it credit for. It’s brilliant stuff, even ten years on, and I’m hoping this’ll finally be the run-through where nobody dies.

-Matt

World of Warcraft, PC

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I recently learned that World of Warcraft has added a one-button spell rotation to the game, allowing players to put out pretty decent damage without having to memorise anything or take time to learn their class. This I’m sure will have long-lasting impacts on the skill of the average WoW player, but for me it’s wonderful news. Not only as an accessibility feature for those who struggle to play WoW, but also for incredibly tired WoW refugees like me who have been burnt out the game several times now.

Years ago I made a Warlock called Goondan, but having reached level 10, I didn’t have the heart to play on, so I banished the Orc to a lonesome digital hell. Now that I don’t actually have to learn the class, I’ve been blasting through the leveling process, and Goondan may actually hit max level. He may even see the light of day in the upcoming Midnight expansion. Who knows!

-Connor

Balatro, Ballz, and NFL Fantasy Football

Being out in the field at Gamescom, I’ve obviously been playing a slew of things – but half of them I’m not yet allowed to talk about, and untangling the safe from the NDA-breakers is far too much for my con-frazzled Friday brain to handle. But me being away can only mean one thing: being back on my Balatro BS. It’s still as good as ever, and whenever I’m forced to spend time idling on board or waiting for planes, trains, and automobiles, it’s my go-to. It feels like it’ll stay that way forever, as I chip away at that 100 percent completion that still feels a million miles away. I also played a bit of a dumb ad-filled mobile game called Ballz, which is a bit like Breakout. Finally, I’m spending any last spare moment each day doing mock drafts as my NFL Fantasy Football draft is next weekend. For me, that’s one of the most important ‘gaming’ moments of the year. There is pride on the line, after all!

-Alex

Donkey Kong Bananza, Switch 2

I feel like this year I’ve spent a lot of time on very serious games. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and its themes of death. Death Stranding 2 and its themes of death. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers and its frequent deaths. So this week I decided to change things up and finally start Donkey Kong Bananza after my partner won’t stop going on about it. And what a contrast! I love its musical themes and catchy tunes, and those brightly coloured worlds are a joy to just smash through – I’ve barely progressed at all as instead I just lay waste to entire levels hunting out those bananas. I hate bananas – they taste and smell repulsive to me – but I can’t stop going “ooh banana!” at every opportunity.

-Ed

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Hollow Knight: Silksong to release on September 4, 2025

by admin August 23, 2025

Team Cherry has announced a release date for its long anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, which will launch on September 4, 2025.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the Australian indie developer also revealed that Hollow Knight has sold 15 million copies since its release in 2017.

When asked why it’s taken seven years to develop Silksong, co-founders Ari Gibson and William Pellen explained that the team were “having fun” and that as a small team, “games take a lot of time” to make.

“The whole thing is just a vehicle for our creativity,” said Gibson. “It was never stuck or anything. It was always progressing. It’s just the case that we’re a small team, and games take a lot of time. There wasn’t any big controversial moment behind it.”

Silksong was initially designed to be an expansion pack for Hollow Knight, but it grew too big so Team Cherry decided to change it into a full sequel.

“Even at that point we were recognizing that it was going to become another giant thing to rival the scale of Hollow Knight or probably exceed it,” Gibson explained.

“And then because of how we work, obviously the world ended up just as big or bigger. And the quest system existed. And the multiple towns existed. Suddenly you end up six, seven years later.”

Pellen added: “You’re always working on a new idea, new area, new boss. That stuff’s so nice. It’s for the sake of just completing the game that we’re stopping. We could’ve kept going.”

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As for why Team Cherry didn’t post frequent updates on the game’s development, Gibson said they thought “updates were going to sour people on the whole thing” as all they could say was “we’re still working on it”.

They also wanted to avoid spoiling the game.

“Instead of popping up and bugging people for the sake of it, it felt like our actual responsibility was to just work on the game,” said Pellen.

“Probably at the time we thought we’d go quiet for a year or two, then the game would come out.”

Gibson added: “I think we’re always underestimating the amount of time and effort it’ll take us to achieve things. It’s also that problem where, because we’re having fun doing it, it’s not like, ‘It’s taking longer, this is awful, we really need to get past this phase.’

“It’s, ‘This is a very enjoyable space to be in. Let’s perpetuate this with some new ideas’.”

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August 23, 2025 0 comments

A composite image shows the protagonist from Void/Breaker shooting at an enemy, Cybil Bennet from Silent Hill, and the protagonists of Shadow Labyrinth engaged in battle.

Game Updates

Hollow Knight & 3 More Great Games We’re Diving Into

by admin August 22, 2025

Hello! Here we are at the end of yet another week, and that means we’re taking a look at our gaming shelves, physical or digital, with an eye for something appealing to spend some hours with on our time off–something which may inspire you as well, should you be at a loss for what to play.

This week I finally got to share what I’ve been working on behind the scenes: Kotaku’s review of the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as a deep dive into what makes this reimagining tick. Long story short: I think the game rocks and it’s been the most fun I’ve had with an MGS title in many years. But it’s not out yet, so it won’t be mentioned in this week’s rundown. Expect me to have some more to say about it next week.

Read More: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater: The Kotaku Review

We also had Gamescom kick off this week with Opening Night Live, and what a packed show it was, especially if you’re like me and enjoy torturing yourself with horror games–seriously, I’m avoiding RE9 trailers and gameplay footage because it’s going to spark too much excitement in me and might throw the universe out of balance or something.

Anyway, let’s get on to our picks for the weekend–and please let us know what games you’re rocking because, in case you didn’t know, comments are back! So be nice, but also please let us know what’s got you glued to your controllers and keyboards.

Void/Breaker

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Unknown”)
Current goal: Finish more runs and get out of the simulation

When I saw a trailer for VoidBreaker during Gamescom Opening Night Live, I was intrigued. So I hopped over to Steam to play it for a bit and accidentally put, like, three hours in, despite having dinner plans that night. We weren’t late for dinner, but any game that can hook me that fast has my attention.

I’m not a big roguelike guy, but VoidBreaker’s gunplay is so satisfying and the combat so hectic that upom dying, I’m instantly starting a new run through the game’s twisted cybernightmare. And I keep finding new power-ups, mods, and other features as I do so. I need to put more time into VoidBreaker before I can say it’s on my Game of the Year list, but I like its odds.

Shadow Labyrinth

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: Venture deeper

It’s just all so strange and mysterious. The “memories” I find are cryptic and bizarre, the backgrounds otherworldly, the Metroidvania-style labyrinth itself full of things I can’t make heads or tails of. Well, I can. I know a Pac-Man maze when I see one. But my in-game character can’t, not yet.

What captivates me so far about Shadow Labyrinth is its willingness to be so dauntingly strange. I mean, video games don’t get any more mainstream than Pac-Man. Pac-Man was a game for everyone, and that broad appeal was crucial to it becoming a colossal arcade smash that fleetingly invaded every aspect of American culture in the early 1980s. And yet here is a game that is deliberately inscrutable, and sometimes even offputting. Pac-Man, or this game’s equivalent of him, sometimes devours foes in a display that’s genuinely unnerving, and the story, thus far at least, is a jumble of strange names, awkward, rambling notes, and vague gestures at lore you don’t know enough about to process. And I love it. Each night this week, I’ve been determined to make at least one good little chunk of progress, find another save point, see what strange new landscapes await me, and hopefully start finding the keys to understanding just who I am, where I am, and what it is I’m really doing.

Shadow Labyrinth has integrity. It’s committed to doing its thing, and it doesn’t go to great lengths to make you feel welcome. “Stay, or bounce off,” it seems to say. “It makes no difference to me.” I find that confidence intriguing, and hard to resist. For now, at least, I’m staying. I’m venturing deeper. – Carolyn Petit

Silent Hill

Play it on: PS3 via PSN store, original disc, or emulation
Current goal: Get the hang of these darn controls!

Last weekend I dove into the lovingly retro horror experience that is Silent Hill. This weekend I’m doing it again as I anticipate talking a whole lot more about this exquisitely disturbing PSX title in the near future, and, after all, it was one of the classics of the era that got away from me.

I didn’t get terribly far in my first playthrough as I was short on time (I was neck-deep in the digital swamps of Snake Eater’s remake) and also because this game is hard! I mean, it’s me, so I naturally jumped into it on the game’s hard difficulty.

That might’ve been a mistake. The game is already pretty lethal as is and, oof,these controls are of a sort we’ve long since left behind–and maybe for good reason? I’m not sure yet. I’m usually okay with tank controls, but I’m finding these particularly difficult to contend with for some reason. Maybe I’m just out of practice? In any case, they’ve made me rethink my choice to do my run on hard mode.

I’m gonna knock the difficulty down. That should help me focus on the atmosphere of this game which, if you know anything about Silent Hill, I probably don’t need to tell you about. But still, if it’s been some time since you’ve played this 1999 release and you tend to play modern games more often, know that elements we might consider graphical limitations or poor design decisions today– the gloomy fog, the non-player-controlled camera– really sell the bizarre and haunting experience that is this game. Even just walking down one of the game’s opening alleyways, I was reminded that it wasn’t just creepy monsters that terrified me as a child; it was the whole framing of this gorgeously dreadful horror experience. And I’m so ready to strap in for more this weekend. – Claire Jackson

Hollow Knight

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: See what the fuss is about

I wrote about Hollow Knight: Silksong quite a few times this week, but I’ve never played Team Cherry’s original Metroidvania. I hear it’s one of the best, most challenging action platformers out there. It must be if the internet has been losing its mind about the sequel for all this time, right? I’ve always been curious about Hollow Knight, but it had become such a meme in my head that it almost made me forget that it was something I could actually download and play at any point in the past eight years. Now, we’re two weeks out from Silksong, and I guess it really is on me for waiting so long after observing the fervor from afar all this time. But there’s no time like the present to jump in, lest I fall even further behind on what is supposedly one of indie gaming’s crown jewels. — Kenneth Shepard

And that wraps our picks for the weekend! What are you playing?

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Hollow Knight Silksong will be supported with extra content for years to come

by admin August 22, 2025

Hollow Knight Silksong studio Team Cherry already has plans for DLC, with extra content planned in the months and years to come.

Yesterday, a release date was announced for the sequel after seven years in development. Co-founders Ari Gibson and William Pellen spoke to Bloomberg about creating Silksong, and what’s coming next.

“Launching it is obviously quite exciting,” said Pellen. “What comes after for us is equally as exciting.”

Hollow Knight: Silksong – Release TrailerWatch on YouTube

“The most interesting thing now is what can we add to it next,” added Gibson. “We got a plan. Admittedly, some of the plans for that stuff are kind of ambitious as well, but hopefully we can achieve some of it.”

Despite its lengthy development, Silksong hasn’t been in development hell. Instead, hype for the sequel snowballed, resulting in sales of the original game skyrocketing. In turn, this provided the financial freedom for Team Cherry to take its time.

Hollow Knight Silksong will be released on 4th September, across PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S (including Game Pass).

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Hollow Knight: Silksong finally gets a release date, and you’ve only got to wait a little bit skonger

by admin August 22, 2025

Congratulations, you did it. Yes, you, with all your annoying memes and your endless Reddit posts, you finally made Team Cherry announce a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong. It was all down to you – YOU – and your valiant efforts. Thank you. None of this could have happened without you. A round of applause, everyone, for the insufferable dweeb over here who won’t shut the fuck up about sad bugs. Satisfied? Right, come see the trailer and find out exactly when you’re going to die a thousand times.

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The release date is 4th September, as announced in a special Team Cherry broadcast today. Team Cherry have also been talking to Bloomberg about why it’s taken so long to pin down a date.

Originally conceived as a Hollow Knight DLC pack, Silksong was announced as a full sequel back in 2019. Team Cherry admitted in 2023 that the game had to be delayed because it had “gotten quite big”. Then, this April, Nintendo made a silly mistake and accidentally revealed that the game would release some time this year. It was also confirmed to be popping up in a playable state at a museum and Gamescom, two places with exactly the same vibe. Throughout all of these twists, the appetite for skong has never dipped below a ravenous, all-consuming hunger. Not to mix metaphors, but god, people are thirsty for this game.

“It was never stuck or anything,” Team Cherry co-founder Ari Gibson told Bloomberg. “It was always progressing. It’s just the case that we’re a small team, and games take a lot of time. There wasn’t any big controversial moment behind it.” The delay was perhaps an inadvertent good business strategy in prolonging the selling power of the original Hollow Knight – as of now, it has racked up over 15 million copies, buying Team Cherry ample time to tinker away on Silksong.

Hollow Knight is one of our best metroidvanias. But is it the best? I won’t tell. You have to go find out for yourself, and leave a disgusting little comment complaining about it if not. Nerd.

Check out our Gamescom 2025 event hub for all the PC game announcements and preview coverage from Cologne.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Hollow Knight Silksong finally gets release date, out next month

by admin August 22, 2025

Hollow Knight Silksong has finally received a release date, as announced today by Team Cherry today along with a new trailer.

Silksong will be available on 4th September across Switch consoles, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, including on Xbox Game Pass.

News of today’s announcement was hinted at earlier this week at gamescom’s Opening Night Live, along with a fresh look at gameplay. More of that was shown in the new announcement video you can watch below:

Hollow Knight: Silksong – Special AnnouncementWatch on YouTube

Silksong is playable at the event too, though it’s the same demo that was shown back in 2019 – albeit in revised form. It’s proving to be a particularly popular game at the show.

Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt braved the queues to go hands-on with Silksong, and came away impressed with its high challenge and how Hornet’s movement differs from the original game’s Knight.

After seven years of development, finally Silksong is almost in our hands.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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August 22, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Jubilation, chaos, and a lot of screaming: inside a Hollow Knight community Discord as the Silksong release date finally hit

by admin August 21, 2025

30-minutes until the live reveal of the latest Hollow Knight: Silksong trailer, the Hollow Knight: Silksong Daily News Discord server is packed. Almost a hundred people are sitting in a single voice channel, chatting away, cracking jokes. In less than an hour, they’ll blow out my earphones.

Prior to the release date trailer, the regular gags are thrown out perhaps for the final time. The game will be announcing a delay, one person meekly chirps. Another boisterous and proud, declares that Team Cherry had tweeted something, lying as easily as he breathed.

“Why are there so many people on this call?” one user asks. “How many are in the official Silksong Discord?” unaware that the official Hollow Knight Discord had locked its voice channels, making Silksong Daily News the go-to spot for live reactions.

You can watch the release date trailer for Hollow Knight: Silksong here!Watch on YouTube

In the few minutes leading to the reveal, shock reactions at 160,000, then 200,000 people flocking to the YouTube trailer stream flow constant and jubilant through the voices of eager fans. Discord user Kelton closes down the Itch.io Silksong fan game, and settles in to watch. Everyone quickly mutes themselves as the YouTube timer nears zero, others are told to shut up.

The timer hits zero, only for another three minute timer to appear. Everyone unmutes again. Some claps, an “oh my god”, scattered laughter. Someone notices that 260,000 people are now watching live, and renewed cries for muted mics are made by leaders of the pack. Discord user Schmalamph states: “after so many years it’s finally time”, before shifting up with a “Silksong 2034” gag to the chat’s amusement.

Then, the trailer starts, and it’s beautiful. Gasps and meek cheers pop out between cuts. The map is shown and people start to get riled up, “holy shits” get thrown out as Hornet flips around platforms and enemies alike. The volume rises steadily with each new line in the trailer, over 200 enemies, over 40 bosses. At this point, I should have turned the volume down.

Then, the trailer fades to black, and September 4 creeps into frame. Everyone unmutes at once and screams. They cheer and yell and one guy does what sounds like a war cry. Some European fella starts singing September by Earth, Wind, & Fire. Then, very few leave. They stick around and celebrate while pouring through the trailer frame-by-frame. As the dissection of every detail, every nugget of information continues, I take my leave with sore eardrums.

This experience, hanging out in a Hollow Knight: Silksong Discord and listening in to the jokes, the joy, and the post-trailer merriment is to me what video game fandom is all about. It’s hearing people who have been starved of information for years finally learn that not only is the wait almost over, it’s over in two weeks. It’s knowing that some stranger across the world now has to phone their boss and try to get time off work for a video game, and knowing you’re tempted to do the same.

So here’s to the Hollow Knight fans, whose wait is almost over. All that’s left is to hope the game isn’t bad. God, could you imagine?

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August 21, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

We waited all these years for Hollow Knight: Silksong to reemerge and all we got was a teaser

by admin August 20, 2025

Hollow Knight: Silksong, the DLC-turned-sequel to one of the best indie metroidvanias, has been in limbo for what felt like a decade. Extended radio silence and a – seemingly unexpectedly-prolonged – development period has earned the sidescrolling action game something of an ethereal status.

Before almost every major games showcase, people would theorise that this or that one is the one that will finally, actually bring us an updated look, and maybe some sort of release target. Well, none of those panned out, until today.

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Silksong’s segment lasted barely a minute. We didn’t get a new trailer, release date, or even a proper teaser. Instead, Keighley delibered a message on behalf of developer Team Cherry to let us all know the game is indeed coming out this year.

The real trailer – and presumably more news – will arrive in a YouTube premiere on the developer’s channel this Thursday, so at least we won’t be waiting too much longer.

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We’ve kind of suspected for a while that Silksong’s return would be at this year’s gamescom. For it to show up on the Opening Night Live stage, of course, was more of an educated guess. Much like he managed to be the first to reveal Elden Ring’s gameplay to the world, Keighley is also responsible for today’s long-anticipated look at Silksong.

There were, of course, a few other clues that pointed towards the 2025 gamescom being the show to finally bring the game back into the limelight. A few weeks ago, it was confirmed to be playable on the show floor, which rarely happens without some sort of accompanying announcement or media blast.

It was also recently confirmed to be a launch title for Xbox and Asus’ ROG Xbox Ally X, and the handheld console is itself being unveiled at gamescom. So it all kind of made sense, which is great news for all the Hollow Knight fans who probably couldn’t take another sumer event block without Silksong making an appearance.

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August 20, 2025 0 comments

Hollow Knight: Silksong — Hornet, the heroine of the Hollow Knight sequel, leaping into action.

Product Reviews

After 30 minutes with Hollow Knight: Silksong, I’m desperate to play another 100 hours of its refined, needle-sharp action

by admin August 20, 2025

Going hands on with Silksong for the first time is oddly nerve-wracking. After six years of anticipation, hype, and desperate occult rituals, the question is: can it possibly live up to expectations?

What ends up surprising me most, then, is how much the game puts me at ease. From the first moment I take control of Hornet, it’s like slipping on my favourite old pair of shoes. Six years? No, I’m back in Hollow Knight’s world like no time has passed.

That’s not to say it simply feels the same. Even missing her full range of traversal abilities, Hornet feels distinctly different from the Knight — more agile, more graceful, more precise. As soon as I try her deadly divekick attack, I can tell I’m going to need to master it for boss fights to come.

Though the game does feel different in the hands, it’s speaking the same language. It takes mere seconds to get to grips with Hornet, from her little backwards step before turning to her quick, elegant attacks.

Immediately I’m out into a hostile but familiar world. Keys to find, shortcuts to earn, hidden items secreted just out of view. It looks sharper, but this is Hollow Knight as you know it.

The difference, then, comes in how Hornet is able to traverse it. The Knight felt like a wretch cast into the darkness and forced to learn on the fly. Hornet feels equipped and confident.

Her sprint is super fast, letting you backtrack in half the time. Her jump offers much more fine control over its height—a tool put to the test not just in platforming, but with aerial enemies to launch yourself at and fiery projectiles to leap over.

Combat pushes you to treat both air and ground as distinct angles of attack. Helmeted enemies ignore your strikes from above, forcing you down to their level, while shield-bearers constantly change which direction they guard themselves from, keeping you on the move to find your opportunities.

It comes to a head in the demo with a duel against a boss who feels like a mirror to Hornet—fast, agile, and precise in her own ways. Launching rapier thrusts and screen-filling whirlwind strikes and throwing up cheeky parries when she appears vulnerable, she forces me to lock in and make the most of my full arsenal.

That means plenty of dashes and divekicks, but also finding the right moments to launch swift throwing knives. They’re helpful for grabbing every damage opportunity, but I can’t rely on them entirely—and not just because their ammo is limited.

Getting in close and landing a few old fashioned strikes is vital, because it charges my magic bar. What’s that for? Well, it depends what kind of player you are. For the cautious, filling it to max lets you spend it for a burst of healing. But there’s a more reckless choice: spending chunks of it to launch super-charged attacks.

In the end, a little of both (and some very skin-of-my-teeth evasion) sees me through to vanquish my foe—but she jumps away off-screen before the killing blow, and I’m sure she’ll return for a harder fight later down the line.

I can’t wait to meet her again. Heading into this, my fear was that Silksong couldn’t live up to how high its expectations have climbed. In a way that’s true—if you’re hoping for a sea change for the genre, I didn’t see anything in this 30 minute slice to suggest one. It’s new but it’s safe, working in familiar metroidvania formulas.

Yet those 30 minutes sucked me right back into Hollow Knight’s world, much more than I even expected. By the end I was desperate for another 100 hours. If what you’ve been waiting for is more Hollow Knight, but even better, more refined, and needle-sharp, this seems to be it.

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August 20, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Hollow Knight Silksong ‘Special Announcement’ Set For August 21

by admin August 19, 2025

Hollow Knight: Silksong has been so anticipated for so many years that it’s become a meme, crowding the chat of every major game showcase of the last seven years. While we’ve had recent glimpses, like the announcement that it was coming to Switch 2, we haven’t heard a concrete update from Team Cherry since its announcement that it wouldn’t be releasing in 2023. This week, that will finally change.

Team Cherry’s official YouTube channel has a premiere set for Thursday, August 21, at 10:30 AM ET/ 7:30 AM PT. Its title reads, “Hollow Knight: Silksong – Special Announcement,” while the caption simply reads, “The countdown is on! Join us in 48 hours for a special announcement about Hollow Knight: Silksong!” It is unclear what exactly this announcement will involve, but fans are mostly just hoping for a release date.

Despite the general lack of information, Silksong is playable at this year’s Gamescom, according to Xbox, and it will be available on Microsoft’s ROG ALLY device, so we’re expecting some kind of announcement during Opening Night Live in a few hours. Geoff Keighley seemed to support this by posting a photo with a clown nose, potentially referencing the meme of Hollow Knight’s protagonist in clown attire that’s posted whenever we don’t get news about its sequel.

However, partnered with this announcement is a series of Bluesky posts from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who is known for accurately digging up information from behind the scenes of the games industry. Not only does he claim to have “the story behind why Silksong took seven years to make,” citing a video call he did with Team Cherry’s founders earlier this month, he also says, “No, Silksong’s release date will not be announced today at Gamescom Opening Night Live, despite Geoff Keighley’s teasing.” Team Cherry’s Thursday announcement will come after Opening Night Live, however, so there’s a chance we might get a date then. While Schreier has a solid track record in this line of work, none of this is confirmed, so take it all with a grain of salt.

Regardless of when it drops or what this trailer will bring, people will be there to watch it. With 15,000 in the YouTube audience a full 47 hours before it even happens, it’s safe to say this is one of the most anticipated games of the decade. Here’s hoping Team Cherry gives them something to get excited about.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments