Silksong Runbacks prevent him from getting to the next level

While in many ways it was considered a worthy and even better successor to the indie darling of 2017, Hollow Knight: Silksong certainly not perfect. Critics have pointed to a number of perceived flaws in Team Cherry's second edition since its launch earlier this fall, with difficulty being the most common complaint. Specifically, it seems that the majority Hollow Knight: Silksong criticism revolves around what some players consider an artificial or inflated difficulty, such as planted benches or hard raids.

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And where artificial or unfair difficulty is discussed, there are always references to boss returns whenever possible. Indeed, action-adventure games, and especially those that take inspiration from the likes Dark soulswhich both Hollow Knight games, are notorious for these lengthy and often tedious punishments that force players to go through familiar territory over and over again after dying to a boss. Of course games with brutal combat like e.g Hollow Knight: Silksongthey tend to have the most infamous boss returns because they take up more of the game time pie chart – more deaths means more returns, after all. Boss runbacks, which many players perceive as an unnecessary addition Silksong's already considerable difficulty, are probably the albatross around the game's neck.

Runbacks' stunning bosses remain Hollow Knight: Silksong's most controversial practice

Arguments in favor of Silksong's Boss Runback design

As with most things in this world, Silksong''s boss runbacks – and boss runbacks in general – are not universally criticized. Sure, you can find any number of players who will really appreciate it Silksongdedication to its difficulty and the stakes that an intense or challenging boss runback can add to the game's larger loop. For these players, the process of navigating back to the boss, avoiding enemies and environmental hazards, is an integral part Silksong formula.

Take maybe Hollow Knight: SilksongThe most famous boss runback: The Last Judge. Navigating from the nearest bench back to the Last Judge's lair can take a full minute or so, a process that involves chaining together several passing maneuvers, memorizing paths, and avoiding mistakes; even the slightest miscalculation in a jump can mean starting the runback again. Proponents of this much-discussed section argue that rather than frustrating padding between boss attempts, this repetitive locomotion segment is actually its own meta-challenge: you can learn new, optimal ways to complete a runback more efficiently, either by discovering shortcuts or exploiting movement mechanics. From this point of view SilksongRunbacks are a rewarding part of his game loop, rather than just a cost of doing business.

Fight the Last Judge in Hollow Knight Silksong

However, Hollow Knight: Boss Runbacks Silksong will probably remain questionable

While the above argument has merit, these repetitive gameplay passages are unlikely to win over many Silksong fans. Finally such a game Silksong it already has a lot of challenges; if the player wishes to increase the difficulty or experience additional, tertiary challenges, there are ways to do that as well. As such, including what is considered a redundant and tedious task of traversing the same location numerous times, only to be rewarded with another mammoth challenge in the form of a boss fight, can make for an experience that's more frustrating than fun. That's not to mention the particularly exhilarating feeling of dying during a boss runback, which is enough to make even the most zen of players stop raging.

Conversely, if a boss runback is straightforward and easy, it can be even more boring.

In the game as Silksongboss runbacks can be particularly controversial due to the prevalence of other punishing factors such as losing the player's currency or experience upon death. The cost of death can sometimes be excruciatingly high in these games, and features like boss rewinds can therefore seem like an additional hidden cost.