Hollow Knight: Silksong Preview — The First Hours in Pharloom

We do not have a score yet. We have a notebook full of exclamation marks and a wrist that remembers Hornet's dash. Silksong is not Hollow Knight with a new coat. The opening hours in Pharloom are more aggressive, more vertical, and more interested in making you feel like a hunter than a pilgrim.

Speed as the new religion

Hornet's kit is built for momentum. Attacks recover faster. Mobility options arrive earlier. The map still hides its best rooms behind curiosity, but the combat encounters assume you will be airborne. Players who mastered the first game's nail arts will feel talented and then immediately get punished for standing still.

The art direction is Team Cherry at full confidence: palettes that shift by region, enemies that read as ecology rather than HP sponges, and a sense that the kingdom has jobs besides killing you.

What we cannot spoil (and what we can)

Economy and quest structure look more explicit than Hallownest's quiet folklore. That may help newcomers. Veterans should expect the same "I will just check one more room" lie. Performance on Switch handheld in our build was stable in the opening areas; we will re-test denser biomes.

Early verdict, not a score

If the first four hours hold, Silksong is not late — it is finished in a way most live-service calendars never are. We have now filed the scored piece: Silksong Review (2026). For the till argument, see Is Silksong worth buying in Australia?. Until you start: sharpen the needle.