199: Hollow Knight: Silksong (with Jenny Windom - Geeks & Grounds)

2026-01-21

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Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Very few games have ever had the hype cycle that Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry, 2025) had, so the question remained once the game was finally released- did it live up to the hype? Clown masks and Nintendo Direct comment section explosions quickly gave way to Discourse surrounding Silksong's difficulty and sometimes anti-QoL approach. So was the juice worth the squeeze? Listen in to find out. Guest info: Jenny Windom...

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson
Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Very few games have ever had the hype cycle that Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry, 2025) had, so the question remained once the game was finally released- did it live up to the hype? Clown masks and Nintendo Direct comment section explosions quickly gave way to Discourse surrounding Silksong's difficulty and sometimes anti-QoL approach. So was the juice worth the squeeze? Listen in to find out.

Guest info: Jenny Windom (she/her)

Check out Geeks & Grounds podcast https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Jenny's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/kimchica

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:13 Introductions
9:06 Our Histories with Hollow Knight and Silksong
12:45 Opening Thoughts about Silksong
18:26 Difficulty and Accessibility
23:19 Story Setup and Visuals
27:31 The Pilgrimage, Characters and Voice Acting
36:25 The Pilgrimage and Anti-QoL Design
48:29 Challenge Ramp-Up and Difficulty Curve
57:53 Silksong- A Good Teacher & Overcoming Challenge
1:05:47 Metroidvania Design, Visuals and Music
1:14:18 Boss Fights, Combat Challenges and Runbacks
1:33:42 Crests, Tools, Customization
1:40:40 Closing Thoughts/Recommendations
1:45:54 Geeks & Grounds and Jenny's Other Work
1:51:22 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
1:53:13 Spoiler Section- Favorite Boss Fights
2:18:22 Spoiler Section- The Citadel and Faith
2:27:46 Spoiler Section- Hornet's Growth, Sherma and Community
2:45:23 Spoiler Section- Motherhood and Endings

Music used in the episode is credited to Christopher Larkin. Tracks used: Silksong, Bone Bottom, Trobbio, Cogwork Dancers, Bilewater, Far Fields, Lost Lace, Fleatopia

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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