199: Hollow Knight: Silksong (with Jenny Windom - Geeks & Grounds)

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Very few games have ever had the hype cycle that Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry, 2025) had, so the question remained once the game was finally released- did it live up to the hype? Clown masks and Nintendo Direct comment section explosions quickly gave way to Discourse surrounding Silksong's difficulty and sometimes anti-QoL approach. So was the juice worth the squeeze? Listen in to find out.

Guest info: Jenny Windom (she/her)

Check out Geeks & Grounds podcast https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/

Check out Jenny's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/kimchica

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:13 Introductions

9:06 Our Histories with Hollow Knight and Silksong

12:45 Opening Thoughts about Silksong

18:26 Difficulty and Accessibility

23:19 Story Setup and Visuals

27:31 The Pilgrimage, Characters and Voice Acting

36:25 The Pilgrimage and Anti-QoL Design

48:29 Challenge Ramp-Up and Difficulty Curve

57:53 Silksong- A Good Teacher & Overcoming Challenge

1:05:47 Metroidvania Design, Visuals and Music

1:14:18 Boss Fights, Combat Challenges and Runbacks

1:33:42 Crests, Tools, Customization

1:40:40 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations

1:45:54 Geeks & Grounds and Jenny's Other Work

1:51:22 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:53:13 Spoiler Section- Favorite Boss Fights

2:18:22 Spoiler Section- The Citadel and Faith

2:27:46 Spoiler Section- Hornet's Growth, Sherma and Community

2:45:23 Spoiler Section- Motherhood and Endings

Music used in the episode is credited to Christopher Larkin. Tracks used: Silksong, Bone Bottom, Trobbio, Cogwork Dancers, Bilewater, Far Fields, Lost Lace, Fleatopia

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures Support Tales from the Backlog