Hollow Knight: Silksong beginner guide: how long it takes, maps, rosaries, languages

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the follow-up to Hollow Knight from the small Australian studio Team Cherry. This time you play Hornet, a fast hunter armed with a needle and silk thread. It's a 2D metroidvania: a large world where new abilities open paths you couldn't reach before, plus a lot of boss fights. It launched on 4 September 2025 and won Game of the Year at the Steam Awards 2025.

Here's what's worth knowing before your first session, so you don't spend your first evenings lost and broke.

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Do you need to play the first game?

No. Silksong works as a standalone story about Hornet in a new kingdom, so you can follow it without the original. The story lands harder if you know the background, but it isn't required — several guides agree on this (links in the sources).

How long it takes to beat

The figures come from HowLongToBeat and several reviews. As with any hard game, your real playtime depends on how many attempts the bosses take: there are more than 40 bosses and over 200 enemy types.

First steps: map, compass and quill

The most common beginner tip is don't explore without a map. Each area's map is sold by Shakra — you'll hear her singing when she's nearby. She also sells the Quill, which fills in the map as you go, and the compass, which shows where you are. Until you buy a map, the area stays blank.

Rosaries: how not to lose your money

Rosaries are the main currency. They're scarce early on and you need them for everything: benches, travel, shops. If you die, your rosaries stay where you fell until you pick them up; die again on the way and they're gone.

What guides recommend:

• buy rosary strings — they act like a wallet, and the currency inside isn't lost on death;
• when going back to where you died, don't take extra risks — grab your rosaries first;
• hit suspicious walls: they often hide passages and items.

Combat: down-strike, silk and healing

The down-strike (pogo)

In mid-air Hornet strikes diagonally downward and bounces off enemies or spikes. It's a core move for both combat and platforming, and that diagonal angle is what new players struggle with most. Many guides recommend the Reaper Crest from the Chapel of the Reaper: it makes the down-strike go straight down, which feels more familiar if you played the first game.

Silk

The silk meter fills when you land hits and is spent on healing and skills. So the advice is simple: attack more, and heal when the enemy gives you an opening, not in the middle of chaos.

Crests and tools

Crests change your fighting style; Tools add throwing weapons, traps and other gadgets. Some of them come from side quests, so it pays to talk to characters and help them out.

If you're stuck on a boss

There are no difficulty settings. But Silksong almost always gives you somewhere else to go: if a boss won't fall, guides suggest leaving it, exploring other routes and coming back with new abilities and tools. The first big patch (September 2025) eased the early game a little: several early bosses were toned down, some enemies deal less damage, and travel and bench prices were lowered.

Reviewers' main complaint is that it's harder than the first game, and the runbacks from a bench to a boss after each death can be long. The sheer amount of content gets the most praise.

PC requirements

The game is very light — it will run even on an old laptop. Full controller support is there, and a gamepad is more comfortable for platforming than a keyboard.

What to know before you rent

• There's no Ukrainian — not in the menus, not in subtitles. Supported languages include English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and others.
• It's single-player only: no multiplayer or co-op, so you lose nothing in an offline rental.
• The Steam page doesn't list third-party protection such as Denuvo. The usual routine still applies: log in, download, launch once with an internet connection, then you can switch Steam to offline mode (see how it works).
• Scores: about 90 on Metacritic, and "Very Positive" on Steam (93% of well over a hundred thousand reviews).
• Team Cherry has announced a free expansion, Sea of Sorrow, for 2026; there's no exact date yet and it isn't in the game so far.

Sources

• Steam store page — release date, languages, requirements, reviews
• Dekudeals: HowLongToBeat data
• Inverse: beginner tips
• KeenGamer: 10 tips to get started
• Sportskeeda: beginner's guide
• Nintendo Life: should you play Hollow Knight first
• Insider Gaming: do you need the first game
• Newsweek: first patch and difficulty changes
• Push Square: difficulty toned down after player feedback
• Shacknews: review
• VGC: review
• Checkpoint Gaming: Sea of Sorrow announcement