Since its release earlier this year, Hollow Knight: Silksong has been simultaneously hailed as a masterpiece and condemned for its merciless challenge. While the original Hollow Knight was no walk in the park, its sequel has proven to be a punishing gauntlet that has left many players torn between exhilaration and outright frustration. Now, Team Cherry has broken a long-held silence to discuss the game's controversial difficulty spikes, offering rare insight into the design philosophy behind the Kingdom of Pharloom.

The comments, recently made public via a book available at the ACMI Game Worlds exhibition in Melbourne, see co-director Ari Gibson acknowledging the criticism head-on. Gibson admitted that "Silksong has some moments of steep difficulty," yet was quick to underline that the game's expansive, non-linear structure is intended to be the player's most powerful tool. He stressed that this freedom can prevent players from "getting stonewalled," suggesting that retreating from a brutal encounter and exploring elsewhere is not only viable but encouraged.

Central to this design is the protagonist herself. Hornet is no mere echo of the Knight; she is faster, more agile, and inherently more skillful. Gibson explained that this forced the team to escalate enemy complexity across the board. "Hornet is inherently faster and more skillful — so even the base level enemy had to be more complicated, more intelligent," he noted. Co-director William Pellen added a startling revelation: "The basic ant warrior is built from the same move-set as the original Hornet boss." Imagine that — an enemy you can encounter within minutes of stepping into Pharloom wields the moveset of the first game’s formidable final guardian.

The idea, it seems, was to "bring everyone else up" to match Hornet's intensity. The result is a world where even the humblest foe can capitalize on your slightest mistake, demanding a level of precision that makes the original Hollow Knight feel almost gentle by comparison. But has this philosophy succeeded in creating fair, satisfying difficulty, or has it tipped into something far less forgiving?

The developers’ emphasis on non-linearity as an escape valve sounds promising in theory. If you hit a wall, you can backtrack and hunt down a new tool, a charm equivalent, or a cache of currency to tip the scales. Yet the player response suggests this safety net may not be as sturdy as intended. Forums and reviews are teeming with accounts of exploration yielding paltry returns. Many of the game's optional challenges, from hidden platforming segments to off-the-beaten-path mini-bosses, deliver minor rewards that barely register against the towering roadblocks ahead. Lucking into a genuinely game-changing upgrade, it turns out, is far from guaranteed.

And then there are the mechanical grievances that even the most open-ended map cannot smooth over. Checkpoint benches in Silksong carry eye-watering price tags, forcing players to grind for the simple privilege of saving progress near a particularly nasty boss. Runbacks — the long, enemy-laden treks from bench to boss arena — feel more punishing than in the predecessor, with some paths seeming deliberately designed to chip away at your health and morale long before the main event even begins. Others point to arenas that become clogged with flying enemies during key fights, transforming a tense duel into chaotic crowd management where dodging feels less like skill and more like blind luck. Team Cherry’s first post-launch patch smoothed over some rough edges, but conspicuously sidestepped these core frustrations.

Why, then, does the conversation continue to rage? Isn't punishing difficulty exactly what many fans signed up for? The answer appears to lie in the gap between a challenging obstacle and one that feels unfair. When you die to a boss's well-telegraphed attack, you learn; when you perish because the bench was too far, the reward was too small, or the room was swarming with projectiles, you feel cheated. This distinction is at the heart of the Silksong debate, and Gibson and Pellen’s comments — however illuminating — do little to bridge the divide for the dissenters.

Nevertheless, the sheer artistry on display remains undeniable. Pushing through Silksong’s trial by fire reveals some of the most breathtaking moments you will experience in a video game this year — dazzling boss contests, hauntingly beautiful landscapes, and a soundtrack that lingers long after you have put down the controller. For many, that payoff justifies every ounce of suffering. The Team Cherry veterans are unlikely to convert those who feel left behind, but their words do offer a fascinating window into the minds of two creators who refused to compromise their vision.

The difficulty, it seems, is not in your head. It is not a mistake. It is, for better or worse, the point. Whether you see that as a badge of honor or a barrier to entry may simply define your time with Hollow Knight: Silksong.

For players still on the fence, the debate ultimately boils down to a question of value—not just of money, but of time and patience. Some will embrace the brutal climb as a rite of passage, while others may prefer to wait until the sting of that price tag softens before committing to the journey. Watching the game at a discount can make the prospect of grinding through runbacks and bench fees feel a little more palatable, and a trusted game price tracker like game price tracker makes it easy to spot when the moment is right to dive in.

After all, knowing what you are getting into is half the battle. Whether you decide that Hollow Knight: Silksong is worth every punishing step or that its challenges are better faced on your own terms and schedule, having the freedom to choose when and how you buy the game can change the entire experience. The difficulty will still be there waiting for you—but so will the satisfaction of conquering it on your terms.