Hollow Knight: Silksong beginner tips and tricks you need to know

Hollow Knight: Silksong has no interest in holding your hand. It’s perfectly happy for things to go unexplained, leaving you to work them out on your own. This can make for a very rewarding experience, but it will also leave some players lost, which is why we’re here to help. After some time with Silksong we’ve put together these tips and tricks that you should know before you start playing.

You can swim immediately

If you played the first game, you’ll know that water was deadly in that, but that’s not the case anymore. In fact, Hornet doesn’t even need an upgrade in order to swim, you can just jump right into water right from the start of the game. So if you thought a path was blocked because water was in the way, it’s not the case.

Stay mobile

Hornet has a much more versatile moveset than the character from the first game, even without any upgrades, so make use of it. While there is a huge variety of bosses in this game, they all have one major thing in common – they will punish you for standing still. You need to be constantly watching for their next move, and making movements in anticipation. If you need to heal, you need to find the perfect window where you can afford to be immobile for a few seconds, otherwise you’ll get clobbered.

Death is less punishing

In the first game, death could really cripple you. As part of the game’s corpse-running mechanics, when you died you would lose all of your currency and your mana capacity would be halved until you recovered your corpse. In Silksong, death is a bit more forgiving. You still lose all your currency (Rosaries, in this case), but your mana doesn’t get limited. On top of that, your ghost is no longer hostile, with it instead being held inside an immobile cocoon.

Buy the quill ASAP

Silksong’s mapping system takes a bit of getting used to. Like the first game, you don’t automatically record everything as you go. You need to buy area maps and then fill them out. However, you can’t do that unless you have the quill item. We explain exactly where to find it in our how to unlock the map, quill, and compass in Silksong guide, and it is an essential tool to keep track of everything.

Dive Strike invincibility

One of Hornet’s best moves is the Dive Strike, done by pressing the attack button in mid-air while holding down on the analogue stick. This will see hornet dive diagonally towards the enemy, and then gracefully bounce off of them. What you might not realize is that Hornet will have invincibility frames during this rebound animation, which if used properly, can get you out of trouble.

Dive Strike is a platforming tool

Sticking with Dive Strike, it’s more than just an attack. As you explore, you may find things like the little red rosebuds hanging in the air. You might think you need an ability to interact with these, but that’s not so. Instead, if you Dive Strike onto them, you’ll bounce off them and upwards. You can then chain these together to reach higher ground. You’ve got to keep in mind that many of your moves can also be used to get around.

Experiment with new world objects

Following on from the previous point, we only discovered that you could do that bouncing maneuver by chance, as we saw the rosebuds and decided to poke and prod at them to see what they’d do. In a metroidvania, it can sometimes be unclear whether your progress is being blocked because of your skill level or because it requires an ability you don’t yet have. To avoid getting lost, when you encounter an apparent obstacle, try everything. Hit, dive on it, jump at it, throw something at it. You might be surprised to discover what walls are holding secrets, or what objects might lead you to progress.

Glowing orange walls explode

When you first see a wall with a glowing orange node in it, your first instinct will likely be to smack it to see if there’s a secret. You’re right to think that, but stand back when you do, as it will explode – something we learned the hard way.

Come back later

There are almost always multiple ways you can go or things to do that will help you progress in Silksong, especially in the early game. If you’re finding one area particularly frustrating or one boss a little overwhelming, it’s ok to leave it and come back later. There will usually be another area to explore, or another challenge to overcome, which will help you come back stronger to give whatever boss was troubling you what-for.

Be patient

More than anything else, you need to have patience. This is an unforgiving game. You will die to bosses many times and have to endure the 1-2 minute walk of shame from the bench to the boss arena every time. It’s easy to get frustrated or to feel like you should be doing better, but just take a breath and be patient. Learn attack patterns, work out how to respond, spot the windows to cause damage, and eventually, you’ll become a master.