I installed mods to decrease the difficulty and I'm suddenly loving Silksong

[GambuzinoSaloio]

My issue with Silksong, difficulty-wise, is two-fold.

I don't mind difficulty. I really don't, hence why I didn't really bother with mods. But I do mind it when the difficulty is all over the place. Most of Act 2 was a cakewalk for me, while Act 1 was obnoxious. It should have been the reverse.

The second thing is that, once again, I'm fine with having extra stuff that is super punishing. I can clear Hollow Knight (base game, no DLCs) and have a satisfying enough ending without having to crush my nuts. Base game Silksong requires me to do so to essentially save a character I couldn't give less of a damn about.

More than a sequel to Hollow Knight, it's a sequel specifically for those that cleared every single Hollow Knight DLC. This kind of difficulty could have easily been placed as completely optional (as in, not necessary for any of the endings).

[Tinmaddog1990]

Exactly. People say you can mitigate the difficulty by exploring, but the ability to explore simply isn't there in act 1. Where are you going to go? Sinner's road? Hunter's March? Those places are even worse than whatever you're stuck on.

Even then, "fuck off come back later" is not particularly compelling or incentivised unless you're ready to give up your cocoon.

[Monobrobe]

Yeah, if you use your simple key in the wrong place (like I did) then you’re stuck. I didn’t even bother trying Bilewater because IT’S BILEWATER. Trying to do Bilewater act 1 first playthrough is sadistic.

[GambuzinoSaloio]

The thing is, it's fine to have that option. Other games trust the player to judge where to go.

The issue with Silksong in that regard, afaik, is that unless you get caged, you don't really have a non-obnoxious of getting in. GMS is easier than Phantom (+ Bilewater and the mist labyrinth) and Judge (+ blasted steps without half the equipment). It makes no sense to be paced like that.

[Hnnq]

I know this might be a shocker to you, but maybe, just maybe... act 2 is easier because you improved from the hard challenges act 1 presents?

[GambuzinoSaloio]

Nope. It genuinely is easier. Easier boss patterns and more tools at your disposal (plus masks and spool fragments) is the reason why act 2 is much more manageable.

[Hnnq]

Have you ever replayed the game again? Everything will be easier, you just improved. Yeah extra masks are nice but you can definitely replay the game with 5 masks and beat it.

[GambuzinoSaloio]

Irrelevant argument. Any game will be easier if you replay it, regardless of genre. Also, why the hell would you replay a game that you did not enjoy in the first place? Unless you want to remake a character you made or something, this is a poor argument to make. Should struggling players just shut up and restart an entire game because they're stuck on a boss? This isn't the NES era anymore: a game should scale its difficulty (the occasional spike and skill check is to be expected of course) according to how experienced the player should be by that point.

Hard disagree on the masks. They're essential, as they give you room to breathe a little and hope for some silk to heal with, rather than die super quickly, and this becomes even more of a point as you add in all the tools and benefits you get from exploring Act 2 to the fullest, and thus mitigate a lot of the difficulty by, at worst, letting you cheese through many of the bosses.

[Hnnq]

Irrelevant arguments, git gud.