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After seven years of whispers, teasers, and wishlists, Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally landed. Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel launched on September 4, 2025, across Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. We’re back underground—this time in Pharloom—where patience, precision, and curiosity decide how long your journey truly lasts.
How long is Silksong?
If you’re here for the story, expect about 35 to 40 hours. That puts Silksong roughly in line with the original Hollow Knight, but its six distinct regions encourage detours. Start nibbling at side quests and secrets, and your timer naturally climbs to 50 or even 60 hours. Chasing 100%? Budget more. Pharloom is dense, layered, and generous with optional challenges that quietly dare you to keep digging.
Why times vary so much
Silksong preserves the series’ exacting edge. Combat is technical, with encounters that ask for timing over brute force. Platforming strings together tricky chains that punish hesitation but reward flow. And the level design? Classic Metroidvania pacing: routes fold back on themselves, shortcuts reward memory, and new tools make yesterday’s dead ends tomorrow’s “aha” moments.
For highly skilled players, estimates suggest reaching and defeating the final boss in about 27 hours. That number doesn’t include the learning loop—those repeated attempts where muscle memory sets in and routes click. Consider it a best-case scenario once you’ve internalized Silksong’s rhythms. To read Danganronpa reaches 10M sales with chaos and charm intact
Playstyles and time estimates
- Speedrunners: around 30 hours if you beeline the main path and skip the frills
- Explorers: 50 hours or more, taking the long way and savoring secrets
- Completionists: 60+ hours to uncover everything and master the toughest trials
Your mileage will hinge on how often you stop to probe corners, remap routes in your head, or revisit earlier zones with fresh tools. Silksong loves a slow burn, the kind that turns a quick check-in into a three-hour “one more room” spiral.
The art of slowing down
Pharloom’s six zones don’t just look different; they feel different. Each area has its own cadence, a visual and sonic identity that nudges you to ease off the gas and take it in. The audio does the quiet heavy lifting, threading motifs that build emotional texture without a word. It’s a kind of visual storytelling that leans cinematic, but stays true to the tactile language of platformers.
There’s a literary quality to the way it unfolds. Characters surface, vanish, and return with layers added; environmental details suggest more than they state. Silksong rewards attention, not just execution.
Difficulty that respects your time
The challenge isn’t there to stonewall you; it’s there to make progress feel earned. Bosses are teachable, patterns legible, and paths re-readable once you know what to look for. You’ll repeat fights, yes—but repetition sharpens rather than grinds. Think of it like refining a route in a Metroidvania: every pass reveals a new line, a cleaner dodge, a smarter shortcut.
On modern hardware, load times and responsiveness help keep you in that loop. Deaths sting, but restarts are brisk, and the pull to try again comes naturally. It’s the good kind of stubborn. To read GamesIndustry.biz hits pause over holidays, back in 2026
The bottom line
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a long, absorbing journey—35 to 40 hours for the main story, 50 to 60 if you explore, and beyond for the dedicated. It’s built for players who relish challenge, get lost in labyrinthine design, and appreciate storytelling that trusts the audience. Team Cherry hasn’t just made a sequel; they’ve carved out a world worth lingering in, one careful step at a time.
