Where are the Hollow Knight: Silksong reviews? Our hands-on first impressions

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Anticipated game, Hollow Knight: Silksong, is set to release on Thursday, 4th September. You might find yourself questioning the absence of various online reviews for this game. Here’s a possible explanation: Developers and publishers often choose to delay review embargoes until the actual launch day, allowing everyone an equal opportunity to play and share their first impressions at the same time.

The creators at Team Cherry, who dedicated eight years to producing this sequel to Hollow Knight, have made several intriguing choices leading up to its release, and the current state of reviews is one such decision.

An unexpected decision was made to reveal the release date for Silksong about a month early, which led several team members to postpone their upcoming projects in order to avoid conflicting with it. (Shout-out to Cronos: The New Dawn for maintaining their schedule!)

Wondering about the Silksong reviews and our thoughts on the demo from Gamescom? Let’s delve into it further to uncover the answers!

Where are the Hollow Knight: Silksong reviews?

As a gamer, I’ve gotta say, it feels like Team Cherry is keeping the game close to their chests this time around. They haven’t given us any press folks early access, as far as I know. But hey, maybe they’re saving some surprises for launch!

According to well-known gaming journalist Jason Schreier on Blue Sky, he stated that if anyone is curious: Team Cherry has no intention of distributing pre-release codes for the game Silksong.

In Schreier’s words, Team Cherry expressed concern that it wouldn’t be fair if critics got to play the game before Kickstarter supporters and other regular players.

In a clear and unequivocal manner, Schreier concluded his social media post by stating, “Reviews will not be available prior to the game’s release.

In his subsequent message, Schreier explained that there was more to it than just one reason. He further clarified that they had also expressed concerns about the significant amount of time required for obtaining codes, distributing them, and dealing with their already crowded schedule over the next fortnight, given their small team size.

Hollow Knight: Silksong preview: Our hands-on impressions

During the Gamescom event held recently, I had the opportunity to test a fifteen-minute demonstration of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Although I am not ready to deliver a full review of the game, I can certainly express my initial thoughts based on this demo.

There were essentially two demonstrations. The first one was the initial part of the game, which turned out to be the one I worked on. The second demo, however, comes from later stages and is generally more challenging.

Now for something exciting! The attendants at the booth told me, “You have 15 minutes, or until you fail 10 times, whatever comes first.” To prevent failing early and being kicked out, I decided to start the game cautiously.

On that particular day, I found myself finding the gameplay of Silksong somewhat dreamlike. It’s amusing, as the anticipation for this game has been enormous, and finally being able to play it feels great. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is simply a game.

If you’ve experienced Hollow Knight, you have a good idea of what the opening stage of its sequel will entail. You’ll be leaping from small platforms, attacking various entities. As you progress, you’re figuring out the layout and predicting when certain enemies might appear.

At the conclusion of the initial stage and encountering the first minor adversary, I managed to reach the main boss. This boss battle was more or less a tutorial-like experience. The objective involved learning to leap over it when it approaches and positioning myself correctly to dodge some projectiles it would drop down.

From the get-go, the game offers a decent level of challenge, and every correct move or progress made feels rewarding, much like Hollow Knight. If you’re craving more of the same intrigue, the start of this game should hit the spot for you.

Once more, just as anticipated, there’s an enigmatic feeling surrounding it all. The music was exquisitely otherworldly. A poem introduced the experience. You were abruptly plunged into the game with little understanding of the context or the narrative that unfolded, and off you were sent.

The primary protagonist, dubbed the Hornet, boasts a fairly airborne leap. However, the gameplay remains primarily akin to Hollow Knight, incorporating aspects of Metroidvania for continuous exploration and knowledge acquisition throughout your journey.

Anticipation builds as we delve further into the game, eagerly wondering what additional elements Team Cherry might introduce to keep things feeling new and exciting.

Absolutely, at this moment, what we can confirm is that it seems to be similar to Hollow Knight, and it plays and appears just as you’d imagine. And that’s not a negative aspect!

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2025-09-03 13:05