Tales from the Backlog 199: Hollow Knight: Silksong (with Jenny Windom - Geeks & Grounds)
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
Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/
Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures