Hollow Knight: Silksong (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch, £16.75 or included with Xbox Game Pass)
Verdict: Smooth as silk
Where to start with Silksong? The fact that we’ve been waiting years for its release, with several moments of false hope along the way? The fact that its actual release date was announced as a surprise a few weeks ago? The fact that it was made by only three people?
No, let’s just start with its brilliance. This sequel to 2017’s Hollow Knight — itself a marvel and one of best-selling indie games of all time — is somehow an improvement on its predecessor. The years spent making it are there to see in the final product: this is a game of rare elegance, depth and — yes — fun.
Though, admittedly, the fun can be hard to appreciate at times. You play as Hornet, a bug with a needle for a weapon, who has quite literally fallen into Pharloom, a subterranean kingdom where everything is dark and decayed.
A land down under: Your character Hornet has fallen – literally – into a subterranean kingdom. Now, armed only with a needle, she must get out of this place. But it’s not going to be easy…
Gloriously gloomy: Pharloom, the underground kingdom into which Hornet (and her needle) have plummeted, is dark, decayed – and breathtakingly beautiful
Your goal is to climb out, which sounds easy — though actually it’s anything but.
Much like Hollow Knight, Silksong is mightily difficult. So difficult that I haven’t finished it yet. This is a game of exacting platforming and excruciating boss fights. You’ll die again and again before finally striking a path forward.
But, crucially, it is not unfair. In fact, Silksong has smoothed out some of Hollow Knight’s rougher qualities, particularly when it comes to getting around its labyrinthine map.
You’re not the boss of me: Hornet gets ready to do battle with an enormous…insect creature
And it gives Hornet various skills and tools to help with her quest. So if you don’t succeed the first time, don’t just try again — try again a different way.
And that’s where the fun comes in. Well, that and exploring Silksong’s gloomily beautiful world. And the characterful little noises that Hornet makes. And the animation. And the music. And the… oh, you get the point. This one’s a masterpiece.
Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots (PlayStation, Switch, PC, £44.99)
Verdict: Yet another round
The Everybody’s Golf series is a stalwart of the sports gaming scene. It’s been around for years. There’s at least a dozen different entries. It even established the classic three-step process for console golfing: press once to start powering up your swing; press again to set the power; press a final time for accuracy. Fore!
But that venerability hides some behind-the-scenes volatility. There have been several different makers of Everybody’s Golf throughout its lifetime — and now there’s another, a Japanese studio called Hyde. Accordingly, this latest entry, the first since a VR version in 2019, is being billed as something of a new start.
Tee time: Hot Shots, latest instalment in the Everybody’s Golf series, is fine – but a bit cautious. Next time, makers Hyde studio should take a swing at something more adventurous
Except Hot Shots feels more like another round of the same old game than an exciting teeing-off point.
It’s got the same three-step swing, of course. The same cutesy anime style. And the same bizarro special shots, including a ‘homing’ drive when you time things just right.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing — these constituent parts are why the series gained its fans in the first place, after all.
But it is still quite cautious. Hyde has stacked Hot Shots with various different modes — including a ‘story’ mode, which subjects you to cutscenes in between holes — but, after a few goes, they all come down to the same basic mechanics.
Still, what’s here is fine. An okay start, rather than a totally new one.
Next time, Hyde — and there surely will be a next time — please go wild. The world of golf needs shaking up a little.
