Hollow Knight: Silksong Tips for Precision, Accuracy, and Perfecting Combat
As we continue to dive into the hidden gems of 2025, this highly anticipated sequel developed by Team Cherry was finally released in September, and they continue where it left off in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Introducing fans to a new protagonist, Hornet, Hollow Knight: Silksong has significant differences from the original game, where you play as Knight. In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet is a character who emphasizes acrobatic movements and skill-based abilities to explore Pharloom and take down dangerous enemies. As for combat, fans of the original Hollow Knight will quickly find out that things have been turned up a notch in terms of speed and overall aggressiveness when it comes to battles. The new ability-based combat introduces new game mechanics that can be lethal when used efficiently, and mastering movement has a much greater implication for your overall strength. Being able to master timing while seamlessly moving and traversing the map will be a core focus for those looking to not only survive but thrive as well.
For those who are familiar with the original Hollow Knight may have a slight advantage when it comes to familiarizing themselves with controls, but Hollow Knight: Silksong separates itself well with several new mechanics, enemies, and combat experiences. Movement is one of the largest differences, as Hornet focuses more on aerial combat and fluid momentum while using the world around you as an advantage. The introduction of verticality to combat makes precision more important than ever because Hornet also wields a needle and thread, which adds to the expected maneuverability, while Knight from the original was much more grounded. It can be easy to have movement and control work against you throughout Hollow Knight: Silksong, but fortunately, some new tools and crests can change combat styles and help you build towards a playstyle in your advantage. Regardless of whether you have played the original Hollow Knight or are starting fresh with Hollow Knight: Silksong, everything will revolve around mastering movement.
Best Controller Settings and Tips for Hollow Knight: Silksong
As movement is a pivotal focus for Hollow Knight: Silksong, you will want to make sure your settings and controller are properly optimized to fit your playstyle. In any game that involves a lot of movement or platform games, it is important to make sure the immersion is not putting you at a disadvantage. Settings such as Blur Quality and Camera Shake can provide a player with more immersion, but they can also hinder movement accuracy and precision if there are too many distractions on screen. I would recommend turning these to low or completely off to maintain a crisp field of vision throughout all gameplay. This will help you identify key platforms to escape or land more precise hits when in combat. Another key tip that will help you make fewer mistakes and keep you more prepared is to only use your analog stick for movement in-game and use the D-Pad for Menu and non-game movements. This will keep you in a ready position more often prepared to move or dodge if needed, using both can cause misinputs and create less fluid movements. When it comes to most platform or metroidvania-style games, elongated movements can cause you to miss key jumps or overcommit and fall to your doom. Practicing short, concise movements and timing jumps will allow you to develop quicker responses and boost accuracy when jumping from platform to platform.
Remapping buttons is another powerful setting option that can give you more customization in how to play and change specific inputs to play to your advantage, or if you use a more irregular grip, this will not count against you compared to games that do not have this option. Try playing a bit with the default controls, and once you begin to mix in your style of play, it will become clear when button inputs may need to be swapped. This will set you up to have shorter response times and eliminate potential misinputs that could prove costly when in a fierce battle or trying to escape. On the topic of buttons, this is a game where button-mashing will put you at a major disadvantage and disrupt any timing you may have worked on. When in combat, try to be deliberate with your actions and utilize strategy for a cleaner win. Making sure you are in the right position when a battle begins will also set you up for success and create a more enjoyable experience playing rather than the “Leeroy Jenkins” approach, which will typically result in Hornet perishing. Lastly, you will want to work on mastering micro jumps, which is a move where you quickly and lightly press down on the jump button to cause Hornet to essentially hop, versus holding the button down for a length of time to cause Hornet to jump fully and much higher. This will allow you to expand your movement sets and create opportunities for you to dodge quicker or move to strategic platforms for a better battle advantage.
Master Movement in Hollow Knight: Silksong with The KontrolFreek Advantage
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a game that demands mastery over movement and movement accuracy in order to win, and there is no better accessory on the market that can instantly improve a gamer's movement accuracy. Whether it is a boost in overall precision or just looking to improve your movement capabilities in-game, there are several KontrolFreek Performance Thumbsticks that can level you up. Omni and CQC Rush Performance Thumbsticks each offer a large increase in surface area, which will mitigate any slippage that may be experienced when playing such a movement-dependent game. The unique cross-stitched laser-etched texture of Omni provides added breathability and much-needed grip for your thumbs to enjoy. The low-rise height on the pair of Omni Performance Thumbsticks allows for minimal time to adjust to and is perfect for those new to KontrolFreek. When it comes to maneuvering throughout Pharloom, you will constantly be challenged with landing on different platforms while navigating combat or dodging incoming attacks, so it is important to know your thumbs will not slip or lose traction. The control gained by equipping Omni Performance Thumbsticks will allow you to experience an increase in movement precision, the most important mechanic to master in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Similar to the Omni Performance Thumbstick, KontrolFreek’s CQC Rush has a unique advantage when it comes to Hollow Knight: Silksong because of the soft wall that creates a concave design. This special design is made to keep a player's thumbs centered on their thumbsticks, which is the optimal position when playing Hollow Knight: Silksong. Coupled with the circular laser-etched design, these performance thumbsticks maximize the total grip you can expect when equipping them. If you are a claw-style player, you will find how easy it is to have your thumbs naturally fit into the unique design of the CQC Rush Thumbsticks and ultimately increase your in-game maneuverability. The mid-rise height will give players a wider range in arc distance, which will, in turn, make small movement adjustments easier and with more precision, which is exactly what you want in a Metroidvania-style game. Once you have acclimated to the CQC Rush Performance Thumbsticks, you will find your in-game movement feeling sharper, and it will feel more natural the more you continue to play with the CQC Thumbsticks attached.
