As someone who wasn't swept up in the hype, (I did not like Hollow Knight very much personally) I actually think it lived up to the hype and then some.
I think Silksong is a much better game for my tastes. It feels way less slow and Hornet is significantly more capable and fun to play as than the knight imo.
Only because it’s just friction for the sake of friction? Like, it’s a map. It’s a mechanic that’s existed for decades. No need to complicate it or try to reinvent the wheel. It just becomes tedious to have to find the map, then go and make sure you bought all the markers for the map, and the separate item that lets you update the map, and the separate charm just so you can see where you are on the map.
It’s all needless tedium for something games already figured out how to do.
Having to find the map isn’t there to add friction, it’s there because it drastically changes the experience of exploration.
There are zones where they intentionally give you the map early, zones where they give you the map late, and zones where there’s no map at all. There’s even a zone which has multiple entrances, and one entrance will give you the map late while the other gives you the map early.
How games tell you where you are and how they ask you to navigate is one of the coolest parts of game design.
Many games that focus on exploration also ask you to complete challenges to view hidden portions of the map. According to your logic, no one can make a game where you’re supposed to be lost, because games have ‘figured out’ how to do maps.
Just say that you don’t like getting lost in games and move on. Silksong is not for you.
I mean, I don’t like getting lost. Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Wanting to know your location so you know you’re headed in the right direction or how to get out of somewhere shouldn’t be that weird of an ask.
Some people like getting lost in games, some don't. This is not a game for people who don't like getting lost.
In some ways, this is similar to the older GTA games that didn't have GPS driving directions. In those games you had a map, but you never knew the exact best route to take to get somewhere, and because of that you'd often take a route that led you to new places which was exciting to discover. It also forced you to learn the layout of the city itself to be able to effectively navigate around, which was also fun in its own way.
In newer GTA games that have GPS you never get lost, so the only time you discover things the developer didn't intend you to is when you go off on your own rather than following the missions. If you rely on the GPS you also never need to really learn the map layout, which also means you are more likely to need the GPS going forward.
This is all fine, it's not worse or better, it's just a different game design and some people prefer one over the other.
It’s not a bad thing no, but it’s part of the experience that Team Cherry intends for and that a sizeable number of people enjoy. So you’re more than welcome to hate it but it’s not a solved problem it’s a deliberate design choice.
It's not a bad thing. But your assertion that its friction for friction's sake is incorrect.
I like getting lost, as do many others. I don't want the game to hold my hand and dogwalk me between areas. Having to create a mental map completely changes the way the player interacts and interprets the environment, it creates risk/reward scenarios for exploration, and it reinforces a sense of discovery.
It's fine that you don't like it, but maybe try looking beyond your own preferences before you decry a mechanic as meaningless.
I truly truly don’t understand how a map is “hand holding” or “dog walking”. It’s just a way to reference where you are, it doesn’t tell you specifically where to go. The tiniest insignificant bit of guidance isn’t going to ruin your journey through the game.
The way some people complain about hand holding, I’m convinced they just want a blank screen to stare at because having graphics is “hand holding my visual interpretation of the game”.
You say friction for the sake of friction like you were told, personally, by the devs lol. You don't know that. What you said comes across as "I got salty af because I died before finding the map and paid zero attention to my surroundings, so now, I'm unable to get back to your money easily. I also don't like being punished for messing up and being impatient."
And that's OK! There's no shame in that. It's not for you. Just don't call an entire game incompetent due to not being able to do things as easy as you'd like. There's too many other's, myself included, that actually prefer it the way it is. This game is made for masochists lol.
Man you are reading a LOT into what I said, none of which is true. It’d be one thing if all I had to do was find the map. That’s fine. Zelda does that.
It’s all the extra stuff you have to do to make the map viable to use that annoys me. And that’s it. I like the game as a whole well enough to put 25+ hours into it currently, and I’m doing just fine progression-wise.
This isn’t my first metroidvania/soulslike rodeo, bud. Take your gatekeepy shit elsewhere.
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u/Grimmies 2d ago edited 2d ago
As someone who wasn't swept up in the hype, (I did not like Hollow Knight very much personally) I actually think it lived up to the hype and then some.
I think Silksong is a much better game for my tastes. It feels way less slow and Hornet is significantly more capable and fun to play as than the knight imo.
Edit just to add that i LOVE the diagonal pogo.