HOLLOW KNIGHT:SILKSONG

There's a buzz around this one

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As enjoyable and spectacular as The Adventures Of Angry Bald Dad is, not every game needs to be a behemoth in terms of budget, development team size, and marketing in order to wow us. The Knight's adventure on PS4 - a ruthless yet rewarding 2D metroidvania with a deep, layered atmosphere - proved this. The new game, which marks the series' debut on PS5, has a lot to live up to.

The player character this time around is Hornet, who was a recurring boss in the original Hollow Knight. Kidnapped and dropped into the all-new kingdom of Pharloom - which is "haunted by Silk and Song" - she has to fight her way to the highest point of the kingdom in order to learn more about her situation... and herself.

Hollow Knight fans will, of course, be able to slip back into the toasty slippers of familiarity when it comes to the general shape of the action. Indeed, Silk song was initially developed as DLC for Hollow Knight, before Team Cherry realised that it had a full sequel on its hands. That all means it's another 2D platformer, you need to unlock abilities and items in order to explore previously inaccessible areas just as before, and combat is still fast, tense, and unforgiving. There's plenty that's new, however.

QUIT BUGGING ME

Hornet will, incredibly, come up against over 150 different types of enemy that weren't seen in Hallownest. She's more agile than the Knight, and Silksong also introduces a crafting system for weapons and tools. Even healing is different; rather than having to stay still and fix herself with glacial speed, Hornet can heal herself while on the move, and much faster than the Knight was able to. This will, however, instantly deplete her reserve of precious silk (Silksong's equivalent of 'soul').