I think Silksong is a bad game.
I hate that I have to preface this with my cReDeNtIaLs, but we live in a gaming space where criticism is brushed off with a plithy "git gud" or "lol casual." Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games, I've 112% completed it and beat P5. I enjoy challenging games, and Hollow Knight especially.
I'm in Act 2 of Silksong. I got into the Citadel through the Mist, and now I'm doing Last Judge just because I can.
Look, by now the whole disk horse around Silksong's difficulty isn't new. The game is hard, we all know it, the disagreement seems to be whether or not that difficulty is a bad thing. I come down firmly on "yes, this is a bad thing" specifically because a lot of the difficulty comes from mean-spirited design decisions, not challenge. Don't get me wrong, there are some really great challenges in Silksong. Widow is a fantastic, challenging boss fight (my new favorite in the series so far), Last Judge is tough as nails but really well designed, and some of these tougher platforming bits kick my ass in a way that makes me say thank you. But the double mask damage from everywhere, the healing system making silk skills a bad idea, the janked up economy, all of that stuff is pretty well trod.
What drives me crazy is when I see reviews and breakdowns that clearly states that those design decisions are bad, but don't worry guys the game is still good!
eh. no. it isn't. If any other game pulled these design punches, the gaming community would correctly call it out as a bad game. Seems like Silksong gets a pass because it's Silksong.
I feel like the only one over here saying "no actually that makes this a pretty bad game."
the pale king has no clothes.