When you think about video game sequels, your mind probably drifts to blockbuster franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, or Call of Duty. These games arrive with clockwork precision, rarely keeping fans waiting too long before the next iteration drops. Hollow Knight: Silksong, however, is a completely different story. It’s not just a sequel it’s a promise, a lingering echo from 2019 that still hasn’t fully materialized, yet continues to live in the minds of gamers everywhere.
And that, perhaps, is what makes Silksong so fascinating to observe. Unlike other titles that are dissected the moment they’re released, Silksong has been “reviewed” for years before players have even had the chance to touch it. Articles, YouTube breakdowns, Reddit threads, and blog posts all function like pseudo reviews, they analyze trailers, speculate on mechanics, and predict how Hornet’s journey will stack up to the Knight’s in the original Hollow Knight.
In this piece, I want to explore not just what people say in these early “Silksong reviews”, but what those reviews reveal about us as a gaming community. Because make no mistake this is not just about a game. It’s about hype, patience, storytelling, and the way anticipation shapes our perception long before the first controller input is made.
The Shadow of Hollow Knight
To understand the way people talk about Silksong, we first need to revisit its older sibling, Hollow Knight. Released in 2017, the game didn’t immediately dominate the charts. Instead, it grew steadily, like a creeping vine, nurtured by word of mouth and glowing reviews. Players praised its labyrinthine world of Hallownest, its hauntingly beautiful score, and its combat that was as punishing as it was rewarding.By 2018 and 2019, Hollow Knight wasn’t just a game; it was a movement. Streamers showcased no hit runs. YouTubers published deep lore dives stretching over an hour. Forums buzzed with theories about bugs, kingdoms, and forgotten gods. For many, it became the definitive example of how an indie title could rival, and in some cases surpass, the grandeur of AAA productions.
Now imagine being the developer, Team Cherry, standing in the glow of that unexpected success. How do you follow up a game like Hollow Knight? Do you make more DLC, as was originally promised, or do you dare to create something that could potentially redefine everything once again? Team Cherry chose the latter, transforming what was supposed to be downloadable content into an entirely new game,Silksong.
From the moment the announcement trailer dropped, reviews or rather, preview reviews started pouring in.
Reviews Without a Game
One of the strangest things about Silksong is that, technically, reviews of it already exist. If you search online, you’ll find headlines like:“Why Hollow Knight: Silksong Will Be the Best Metroidvania Ever Made”
“Silksong Preview: Hornet’s Adventure Promises Faster, Harder Gameplay”
“Our Thoughts After Seeing 20 Minutes of Silksong”
But here’s the kicker, these aren’t reviews in the traditional sense. They’re impressions, predictions, or in some cases, straight up wish lists disguised as analysis. And yet, they’re consumed with the same intensity as if they were post release reviews.
This tells us something important about how gamers interact with hype. When people are starved of information, they start creating narratives to fill the void. In the absence of hands on experience, speculation becomes the review. Expectations become the score. It’s like reviewing a restaurant based on the smell wafting from the kitchen, rather than the meal itself.
Of course, that doesn’t make these “reviews” meaningless. On the contrary, they reveal a lot about what the gaming community values and fears when it comes to a sequel as beloved as this one.
The Core Themes Emerging from Early Reviews
After diving through countless previews, community posts, and video essays, several recurring themes stand out.1. Movement and Combat
Hornet, unlike the Knight, is agile. She leaps higher, moves faster, and has a fluidity that’s immediately noticeable in every trailer and demo. Previews often focus on how this changes the rhythm of combat. Where the Knight was deliberate, Hornet feels almost balletic. Reviewers again, using that word loosely describe her movement as “a dance” or “an acrobatic showcase”.It’s worth noting how often this gets framed as an upgrade. The unspoken assumption is that faster means better. But here lies a subtle tension, will this new style alienate fans who loved the measured weight of the original? Early reviews tend to gloss over this, swept up in excitement, but the question lingers.
2. Difficulty and Challenge
If Hollow Knight was tough, Silksong is expected to be tougher. Many previews highlight enemies that attack in swarms, boss fights that demand reflexive precision, and mechanics that punish sloppy play. Difficulty, in this context, isn’t framed as a negative. Instead, it’s presented as a badge of honor. Just as people wear their Dark Souls victories like scars, the anticipated challenge of Silksong is seen as something to be conquered.3. Art and Atmosphere
Even in unfinished form, reviewers gush about the game’s visual design. Silksong trades Hallownest’s gloomy decay for a kingdom of silk and song, filled with vibrant palettes and sharper contrasts. Hornet’s world is alive, buzzing with energy. Previews lean heavily into how “beautiful” or “stunning” the environments look, sometimes more than they discuss mechanics.This is telling, it suggests that for many fans, the art direction itself is half the appeal. After all, a Metroidvania is about exploration as much as combat. And if exploration feels like wandering through a painting, then the journey itself becomes the reward.
4. The Weight of Expectation
Almost every review acknowledges the elephant in the room, can Silksong live up to Hollow Knight? This is where tone shifts from excitement to cautious optimism. Writers admit that sequels to beloved indie titles often stumble (see: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which, while brilliant, was divisive in its execution). With Silksong, the pressure is immense. And that pressure seeps into every word written about it.A Personal Observation: Living in the Hype Cycle
I remember the first time I saw the Silksong trailer. It wasn’t during a flashy press conference or a big expo. It was a quiet reveal that somehow felt larger than life. The music swelled, Hornet vaulted across the screen, and for a moment, it felt like the gaming world had collectively held its breath.What fascinates me now, years later, is how that single moment still lingers. Fans on forums are dissecting every animation frame as if it’s sacred text. Writers pen thousands of words about mechanics they haven’t yet touched. YouTubers craft hour long videos predicting lore implications from a two second clip.
This isn’t just fandom it’s a phenomenon. It’s the gaming equivalent of staring at a cocoon, waiting for the butterfly to emerge, and somehow reviewing the butterfly before it even spreads its wings.
The Psychological Pull of Anticipation
There’s a psychological reason why Silksong reviews even premature ones carry so much weight. Humans are wired to anticipate. Neuroscience tells us that the dopamine rush we get from looking forward to something can often be stronger than the pleasure of the thing itself. That’s why countdowns to vacations, concerts, or holidays often feel more exciting than the actual event.In the gaming world, anticipation is currency. Studios tease just enough to keep you hooked, but not enough to satisfy. Team Cherry, intentionally or not, has mastered this. By revealing Silksong early and then keeping details scarce, they’ve created a cultural space where every tidbit is magnified. Reviews are written not to summarize a finished product but to help players process their own anticipation.
This is why so many reviewers frame their previews in emotional terms. Instead of “The game has 150 enemies”, you get, “The sheer variety of enemies promises to test every skill you’ve honed”. The former is a fact; the latter is a story and anticipation thrives on stories.
The Role of the Community in Shaping Reviews
Another striking observation is how much the community itself has become part of the review process. On subreddits like r/HollowKnight, fans don’t just speculate about release dates they review trailers like they’re full length games. A single screenshot might generate a hundred comment thread analyzing enemy design, color palette, or lore implications.In some ways, this democratizes the review process. No longer are critics at gaming outlets the sole voices shaping perception. Instead, reviews come from everywhere streamers, bloggers, TikTok creators, and even casual fans. When you ask someone today, “What’s the buzz around Silksong?” you’re just as likely to get a passionate Reddit post as you are a polished IGN preview.
But this also creates echo chambers. Hype reinforces hype, and doubts are quickly drowned out. A preview that dares to question whether Silksong might stumble risks being dismissed as overly cynical. In this way, the community doesn’t just review Silksong it polices the narrative around it.
Lessons from Other Anticipated Games
Silksong isn’t the first game to live in this suspended state of hype. History is filled with examples of titles that carried massive anticipation:- No Man’s Sky promised the universe and, at launch, delivered far less. Early reviews, based largely on expectations, were brutal. Over time, though, updates redeemed the game.
- Cyberpunk 2077 had years of hype and glowing previews, only to stumble badly at launch due to technical issues. Reviews quickly shifted from excitement to disappointment, a reminder that anticipation can inflate expectations beyond what reality can deliver.
- Elden Ring, on the other hand, showed how hype can meet reality. FromSoftware teased just enough to keep fans invested, and when the game finally arrived, it lived up to the mythos surrounding it.
Why Silksong Matters Beyond Gaming
One of the reasons Silksong reviews matter so much is that they represent something larger than the game itself. They show how indie titles have gained cultural weight once reserved for AAA juggernauts. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for a small studio in Australia to capture global attention with a hand drawn Metroidvania. Today, Silksong is one of the most talked about unreleased games in the world.This shift reflects broader trends in entertainment. Just as indie films and underground music scenes have moved into the mainstream, indie games are no longer niche. Reviews of Silksong aren’t just about gameplay they’re about celebrating the rise of creativity over corporate formula. They’re about rooting for the underdog.
Looking Ahead: What Real Reviews Will Mean
At some point whether in 2025, 2026, or beyond Silksong will release. And when it does, real reviews will flood the internet. What’s fascinating is how those reviews will interact with the thousands of words already written.Will critics lean into the narrative of fulfillment, declaring Silksong worth the wait? Or will they temper their praise, noting that no game could possibly live up to six years of speculation? Will fans accept flaws, brushing them off as minor, or will they magnify them as betrayals of years of trust?
The first wave of reviews will not just be about the game. They’ll be about the wait, the anticipation, the community journey. They’ll read as much like cultural essays as product assessments. In that sense, Silksong has already rewritten the rules of what a review can be.
Final Thoughts
Writing about Silksong reviews feels a little like reviewing a mirage. The game shimmers on the horizon, its details half formed yet endlessly analyzed. And yet, the act of observing these reviews these previews, speculations, and community narratives reveals something deeply human.We are creatures of anticipation. We find joy in waiting, in imagining, in building castles of expectation in the air. Silksong taps into that part of us, giving us just enough to dream about but not enough to conclude. Its reviews aren’t just about a game; they’re about hope, patience, and the way we tell ourselves stories about the future.
When Silksong finally arrives, the real reviews will matter, yes. But in some ways, the most important reviews have already been written in our imaginations, in our forums, in the countless previews that have sustained us through the years. The true legacy of Silksong may not be its gameplay alone, but the way it showed us how powerful anticipation can be.