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Silksong Boss Guide: Defeat Sister Splinter and Claim Cling Grip

Sister Splinter boss guide: master three phases, manage vines, and defeat reinforcements to claim Cling Grip in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Players chasing wall-climbing freedom in Hollow Knight: Silksong will eventually meet Sister Splinter, a required Shellwood boss who guards the route to Cling Grip. As of 2026, the encounter remains a three-phase test of needle work, Silk management, and arena control. The fight does not exactly roll out a welcome mat: Sister Splinter hangs above the action, sends savage vines into the rafters, and later calls in bulky reinforcements. Yet her move list is short, and once players learn to make proper use of Silkspear, she is a walk in the gardens.

Where Sister Splinter Fits in Shellwood

Located in the heart of Shellwood, Sister Splinter is the main hurdle to joining both halves of the map and reaching Cling Grip. Unlike other bosses up to this point, she has three distinct phases. The ceiling becomes her stage, and the vines have a habit of crowding the floor whenever players try to settle into a rhythm. That is why the encounter is less about raw damage and more about keeping the arena from turning into a thicket.

Players who let the field fill with vines and splinterbarks will find themselves boxed in fast. Those who clear threats early, however, can dictate the pace of the fight. The boss herself is not the hardest part once her patterns are understood; the real challenge is refusing to let her extra tricks pile up.

Phase-by-Phase Priorities

Phase
New Wrinkle
Player Priority

Phase One
Vine zoning and a three-hit combo
Clear threatening vines with Silkspear; punish after the combo

Phase Two
Splinterbark reinforcements, often summoned first
Lay Sting Shard traps; remove stragglers quickly

Phase Three
A new vine attack and more numerous vines
Keep the field clear and avoid being overwhelmed

Each time Sister Splinter is staggered, she falls to the ground. When she returns to the ceiling, she moves to the next phase. Phase Two begins with reinforcements, and Sister Splinter almost always opens with them. Phase Three begins with her new vine attack, and all vine attacks become more numerous in appearance.

Managing Vines and Reinforcements

The main priority of this fight is to ensure that the vines and, after the last two phases, her reinforcements do not overwhelm the player. To accomplish this task, the recommended approach is straightforward:

• Use Silkspear to quickly remove vines that pose a threat.

• Normally attack vines when Sister Splinter is missing to conserve Silk.

• Lay Sting Shard traps to deal with splinterbark enemies.

• If necessary, use Silkspear to remove splinterbarks quickly.

• If Sting Shard traps are lacking in damage, purchase the crafting kit upgrade from the Forge Daughter in the Deep Docks.

This is a fight where tidiness pays. A single vine left alone can become a wall, and one ignored splinterbark can turn a clean attack window into a scramble. Players should treat crowd control as part of the boss damage rotation rather than a distraction from it.

Best Attack and Healing Windows

The best time to attack Sister Splinter is:

• After her three-hit combo.

• During the summoning of reinforcements.

• When she falls to the ground during a stagger.

Likewise, players can choose to heal during these times and do so safely. There is no shame in taking a breath when the arena is under control; in fact, a quick heal often prevents the next mistake. The fight rewards patience more than greed.

Why the Fight Works

As long as players keep tabs on all the tricks Sister Splinter tries to play, she is a pushover herself. Keep the field clear, and the boss can be defeated at the player's own pace. The arena rewards discipline: remove the vines, thin out the reinforcements, punish the recovery windows, and repeat. The core lesson is simple, even if the execution takes a few attempts.

Sister Splinter drops no physical reward when she is eventually defeated. However, continuing left from her boss room brings players to a new area with several tricky platforming sections. Follow the path to reach Herrah's statue, then bind the power that the statue gives. The result is the highly valuable Cling Grip ability, which allows players to climb walls to new locations.

For anyone who has been eyeing distant ledges and unreachable routes, that reward is the real prize. Sister Splinter may guard the way, but she is ultimately a gatekeeper with a short move list and a very clear weakness: a tidy arena.

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Silksong’s Air Attack: Elegant in Motion, Brutal in Hunter’s March

Hollow Knight: Silksong's Hornet diagonal air attack sparks debate as Hunter's March turns its stylish precision into a punishing test.

By 2026, Hollow Knight: Silksong has had enough time to settle into the conversation, but one of its boldest changes still splits players right down the middle. Hornet’s diagonal air attack is fast, theatrical, and unmistakably different from the simple downward pogo slash that Hollow Knight fans spent years mastering. For one player, it began as a welcome bit of variety and slowly became the source of a very personal nightmare in Hunter’s March. So what happens when a move that looks elegant in motion turns into a precision test with almost no room for error?

The appeal is obvious at first. Hornet does not bounce straight down like the Knight; she dives in a diagonal arc, giving her air game a more acrobatic, aggressive feel. A sequel should iterate, shouldn’t it? Silksong was never going to copy its predecessor move for move. New kingdom, new quest tracking, new tools, new animations—Hornet needed a combat identity of her own. The diagonal dive fits that identity. It looks stylish, it feels quicker, and it encourages players to think about positioning rather than simply tapping down and trusting a wide, predictable hitbox.

Early on, the move even seems to work beautifully. In the opening areas, a player can ping off red flowers, land on a platform, and feel like a genius. The animations sell the fantasy. Hornet twists, strikes, and recovers with a dancer’s grace. When the platforming is forgiving, the diagonal arc feels like a clever twist on a familiar Metroidvania rhythm. A few red flowers above a spike bed might take a try or two, but success brings that satisfying click of a mechanic falling into place.

Then Hunter’s March arrives, and the tune changes.

Hunter’s March is not interested in letting anyone feel clever. It stacks tougher combat encounters on top of platforming segments that demand pinpoint accuracy, and it uses red flowers liberally. The area becomes a gauntlet where every jump, every attack, and every recovery has to be deliberate. Calm, precise inputs are the whole game. But calm is exactly what a player loses after an hour of repeated deaths, especially after permanently losing 500 Rosary Beads. At that point, the red flowers stop looking like a fun challenge and start looking like a personal insult.

The problem is not simply that the air attack is different. The problem is that its arc is difficult to predict under pressure. Hornet’s diagonal dive asks players to position themselves almost directly on top of a flower or enemy to make the hit land where they expect. That is risky in a game with unforgiving hit detection. In a quiet room, with full health and a clear head, the move can be managed. In Hunter’s March, with airborne ants buzzing around and spikes waiting below, an inch of drift is enough to turn a perfect bounce into a respawn screen.

And Hunter’s March does not stop at red flowers. It throws airborne enemies into the mix, almost as if designed to kick a struggling player while they are down. One player described the cycle with painful clarity: land a perfect red flower bounce, get hit mid-jump by a bug, fall into spikes, respawn, get hit by the same bug, and die again in roughly three seconds. Is that a skill issue? Partly, yes. Frustration, fatigue, and stubborn repetition make everything worse. But the mechanic itself is finicky. That is not just a mood talking.

Move
Feel
Strength
Weakness

The Knight’s pogo slash
Wide, predictable, forgiving
Easy to aim downward in platforming
Less dynamic in combat

Hornet’s diagonal air attack
Fast, stylish, acrobatic
Encourages positioning and aggression
Arc is hard to predict under pressure

That comparison is the heart of the debate. The Knight’s pogo was not elegant, but it was reliable. Its wide arc made red flower platforming readable. Hornet’s dive is more exciting in combat, yet it asks for a kind of precision that Silksong’s platforming does not always make pleasant. Players have to unlearn the old rhythm and learn a new one, and Hunter’s March is the exam. Not everyone enjoys taking that exam while a swarm of ants is trying to write on the same paper.

To be fair, the move is not a failure. It gives Hornet a distinct feel, and Silksong’s combat is clearly built around that difference. The sequel wanted more dynamic encounters, and the diagonal dive supports that goal. But there is a difference between a mechanic that rewards mastery and one that punishes players for failing to read an arc that never feels fully trustworthy. In 2026, that tension is still part of the Silksong conversation. The game is brilliant, but brilliance does not make every design choice painless.

So where does that leave Hornet’s air attack? It is a bold idea with a sharp edge. In the right hands, it looks like a dance. In Hunter’s March, after too many deaths and too many lost Rosary Beads, it can feel like a trap. Players may eventually master it, but they will not forget the red flowers that taught them. Is that innovation, friction, or both? For many, the answer is probably both—and that is exactly why Silksong’s most stylish move remains one of its most divisive.

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Silksong's Beautiful Brutality: When Difficulty Divides a Kingdom

Hollow Knight: Silksong's brutal difficulty divides veterans, earning 92% positive Steam reviews as players debate whether its pain is fair.

By 2026, the story of Hollow Knight: Silksong is no longer just a story about a long-awaited sequel. It is a story about a kingdom that opened its gates and immediately tested the patience, reflexes, and pride of everyone who stepped inside. After six years of near-silence from Team Cherry, players had imagined many versions of the follow-up to Hollow Knight. They expected mystery, atmosphere, and challenge. What many did not expect was a sequel that would hit so hard that its own community would split over whether the pain was the point.

The first wave of travelers entered Silksong with the confidence of veterans. They had survived the original Hollow Knight. They knew its rhythms. They had learned to read enemy tells and to treat death as a lesson. Silksong, however, met them with a different temperament. The platforming demanded sharper timing, especially once the diagonal bounce entered the vocabulary. Enemies did not merely punish mistakes; some of them hit twice as hard. Traps waited in places that felt almost personal. The game was not cruel by accident. It was cruel with a smile.

A Sequel That Chose Pain

For years, Team Cherry had kept its cards close. The community had seen characters and fragments of the world, but little that revealed how severe the sequel would become. When Silksong finally arrived in 2025, the answer became clear: it was harsher than the original in nearly every direction. The platforming was more intricate. The combat asked for cleaner reactions. The world seemed to be constantly setting little tricks and traps for anyone who grew too comfortable. What had once been a dance became a gauntlet.

That intensity produced a fascinating divide. Some players welcomed the sharper edge. They saw Silksong as a sequel that trusted its audience, a game that refused to soften the Hollow Knight formula just to be pleasant. Others felt something different. They felt that the challenge had crossed a line from demanding to unfair. The conversation around the game became less about whether it was good and more about whether its difficulty was the right kind of hard.

The Numbers Behind the Sighs

A snapshot shared within the Hollow Knight community made the divide visible. Silksong was sitting at 92 percent positive reviews, while the original Hollow Knight held 96 percent. That gap may look small on paper, but in the world of Steam reception it carried weight. Silksong had landed in Very Positive territory rather than the original's higher perch, and nearly 20,000 negative reviews had gathered around it. Not all of those complaints were identical, but many of them pointed in the same direction.

Game
Positive review share
Community mood

Hollow Knight
96%
Revered as a demanding classic

Hollow Knight: Silksong
92%
Admired, but argued over

The negative reviews did not simply say that the game was bad. Many of them said that it was exhausting. The complaints clustered around a few familiar pressure points:

• Enemies that dealt double damage, turning small mistakes into immediate disasters.

• Platforming that demanded precise diagonal bounces and punished hesitation.

• 🪤 Traps and tricks that seemed designed to ambush confident players.

• Currencies that felt scarce, making every loss sting more.

• Boss battles that overwhelmed players before they could find a rhythm.

• A charm system that some felt was a downgrade compared with the first game.

Each issue might have been manageable alone. Together, they created a sequel that felt more punishing than many players had signed up for. The result was not a failure of ambition, but a collision between ambition and expectation. Silksong wanted to be brutal. A portion of its audience wanted to love it without feeling bruised by every room.

A Review That Captured the Divide

Among the criticism, one Steam review from user hotel wifi summed up the tension with painful clarity: I absolutely love Hollow Knight, I want to love Silksong. The challenge is just frankly too much. That sentence became a small mirror for the larger debate. It was not the voice of someone who hated the game. It was the voice of someone who had arrived with affection and found the door harder to open than expected.

That distinction matters. Silksong's difficulty is not a flaw in the eyes of every player. For some, the double-damage enemies and intricate platforming are proof that Team Cherry refused to coast. They see a sequel that respects mastery and rewards persistence. For others, the same design choices create a wall that never quite becomes a welcome challenge. The kingdom is beautiful, but the toll to cross it can feel steep.

Why Difficulty Is Not Automatically a Flaw

A game can be difficult and still be fair, rewarding, and beloved. The original Hollow Knight proved that. The argument around Silksong is therefore not really about whether hard games should exist. It is about whether this particular combination of hard edges serves the experience. When enemies hit twice as hard, when currency feels scarce, and when platforming demands precision, the player's margin for error shrinks. If that shrinkage feels intentional, it can create tension and triumph. If it feels arbitrary, it can create frustration.

The most thoughtful defenders of Silksong argue that the sequel is asking players to unlearn old habits. The diagonal bounce is not just a new move; it is a new language. The tougher enemies are not just damage sponges; they are reminders that the old confidence will not carry over. In that reading, the pain is part of the sequel's identity. It is a story about a kingdom that does not owe its hero an easy path.

The most thoughtful critics do not reject that idea outright. They simply ask whether the game gives enough breathing room for players to learn. A brutal encounter can be thrilling when the rules are clear and the retry loop is quick. It becomes draining when scarce resources and overwhelming bosses stack the pressure higher than the lesson requires. That is where the phrase unfair begins to appear, and where a review score can slip from reverence to reservation.

The Kingdom That Keeps Testing Its Travelers

By 2026, Silksong remains a fascinating case study in how difficulty shapes a community's memory of a game. It is admired, argued over, defended, and criticized in the same breath. The 92 percent positive score is not a disaster; it is a signal. It says that many players found something worth loving, but a meaningful number found the journey harsher than they could enjoy. The 96 percent of the original still casts a long shadow, not because Silksong is lesser in every way, but because Hollow Knight set a standard that felt demanding without always feeling punishing.

Team Cherry's sequel chose pain, and that choice gave the game a sharper identity. It also gave its audience a sharper debate. In the end, Silksong is not simply a harder game than its predecessor. It is a game that asks what players are willing to endure for beauty, mystery, and mastery. Some travelers will answer with patience. Others will answer with a sigh. The kingdom keeps testing them either way.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong — How to Unlock Silk and Soul and Act 3

Unlock Silksong's hidden Act 3, Abyss, with the Silk and Soul Wish—complete key Wishes, gather fleas, and choose wisely against Grand Mother Silk.

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, the credits first appear at the end of Act 2, but that is not the true stopping point for diligent players. A secret Wayfarer Wish called Silk and Soul opens the path to the hidden third act, Abyss, provided it is completed before the confrontation with Grand Mother Silk. The route is not a simple boss trigger. It is a broad side-content gate that asks players to finish Wishes, build connections across Pharloom, gather fleas, collect several souls, and then make a very specific choice during the final battle of Act 2.

Act 3 adds extra story material and a larger roster of bosses for players to test their skills against. Full 100% completion is not required, but a significant portion of the game's side content must be cleared. That makes Silk and Soul a natural capstone for exploration-minded players who have already invested in the towns, wish boards, and optional encounters of Silksong.

️ What Silk and Soul Requires

The Wish does not appear immediately. Players must first complete every possible Wish, including those posted on the wishboards in Songclave, Bonebottom, Bellhart, and The Citadel. This is the longest part of the process, and it touches nearly every corner of the game's side content.

Wish type
Wishes to clear

Ascend
Pharloom's Crown

Delivery
Liquid Lacquer; Queen's Egg

Donate
An Icon of Hope; A Lifesaving Bridge; Bellhart's Glory; Bone Bottom Repairs; Building Up Songclave; Restoration of Bellhart; Strengthening Songclave

Gather
Alchemist's Assistant; Berry Picking; Great Taste of Pharloom; Rite of the Pollip; Silver Bells

Grand Hunt
Savage Beastfly; The Hidden Hunter; The Terrible Tyrant; The Wailing Mother

Hunt
Broodfest; Cloaks of the Choir; Crawbug Clearing; Fine Pins; Flexible Spines; Garb of the Pilgrims; Roach Guts; Volatile Flintbeetles

Learn
Architect's Melody; Bugs of Pharloom; Conductor's Melody; Vaultkeeper's Melody

Open
Grand Gate

Save
The Threadspun Town

Search
Silent Halls

Seek
The Great Citadel

Sprint
Fastest in Pharloom

Wayfarer
Balm for the Wounded; Infestation Operation; My Missing Brother; My Missing Courier; Pinmaster's Oil; Rite of Rebirth; The Lost Fleas; The Lost Merchant; The Wandering Merchant; Trail's End

Once those Wishes are done, players must speak with Pavo in Bellhart. Pavo awards them their own Bellhome, which sits at the top of the area. This is a reward and a marker of progress, but it is not the end of the preparation.

Fleas, Caravans, and the Caretaker

The next requirement is the flea caravan. Players need to collect at least 25 fleas, then get Fleamaster Mooshka to move the caravan three times. The final destination is the Putrefied Ducts area. This step rewards patient exploration because the fleas are scattered across Pharloom and are easy to overlook during a first pass.

After the caravan reaches the Putrefied Ducts, players should head to Songclave and speak with the Caretaker. The Caretaker shares a plan to bring an end to Grand Mother Silk's reign of terror once and for all. At this point, the Wish is close to completion, but several soul-collection tasks remain.

🧭 The Four Souls and the Snare Setter

Silk and Soul requires four specific acquisitions. Each one sits in a distinct area, so players should expect a final tour of Pharloom before returning to the Caretaker.

• 🪶 Speak to the Maiden in the Bonebottom area to get the Maiden's Soul.

• Speak to the Bell Hermit in the pipe beneath the Bellhart Bellway to get the Hermit's Soul.

• Pick up the Seeker's Soul from the cave to the left of the bench at the top of Bilewater.

• ️ Get the Snare Setter from the table in the area above the bench in Weavenest Atla.

With those items secured, players must return to the Caretaker in Songclave. The Wish then completes, and the trap for Grand Mother Silk is ready.

️ Triggering the Trap at The Cradel

Players should then head to the top of The Cradel. Just before the area where they fight Grand Mother Silk, they will run into the Caretaker. The Caretaker explains that the trap has been set and that all players need to do is play Needolin to trigger it.

The boss fight itself proceeds as normal, but the critical choice comes afterward. Instead of binding Grand Mother Silk, players must choose to play Needolin. This decision unlocks the third of Silksong's five main endings and returns players to the title screen.

Breaking the Black Vines and Starting Act 3

When players load their save file again, they will find it covered in strange black vines. Pressing the action button multiple times breaks the vines. The save file can then be loaded, and Act 3 of Silksong begins.

This final step is easy to miss because the title screen gives little explanation. The vines look like an obstruction, but they are actually the threshold to the secret act. A few presses are enough to clear them and continue the journey.

A Route Built on Side Content

Silk and Soul is less a hidden room and more a reward for engaging with Silksong's world. The Wish boards, town projects, flea caravan, soul pickups, and final Needolin choice all feed into the same unlock. Players who rush the main path will reach the Act 2 credits, but those who complete the side content and make the right choice at Grand Mother Silk will see the story continue into Abyss.

The route is long, but it is also one of the clearest examples of how Silksong ties exploration to narrative progression. For players aiming at the secret third act in 2026, the key is patience: finish the Wishes, move the caravan, collect the souls, and remember that the final battle has a second option. ️

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I Survived Silksong's Widow Boss: A 2026 Guide to Haunted Bellhart's Two-Phase Nightmare

Hollow Knight: Silksong Widow boss in Haunted Bellhart is a multi-phase skill check with brutal patterns and hard-won counters.

HAUNTED BELLHART, Silksong — I have spent the better part of 2026 replaying Hollow Knight: Silksong's Widow fight, and I can report that this boss remains the moment where Team Cherry stops holding your hand and starts checking your homework. The first time I dropped into the arena, I thought I understood the assignment. Twenty minutes later, I was a very confident corpse. Widow is not just another obstacle in the Haunted Bellhart; she is the first main boss in Silksong that truly commits to a multi-phase identity, complete with a roar that signals the change and a completely rebuilt attack pattern.

Where I Found Widow in 2026

Widow is a main boss, so the fight is inevitable if you are pushing through Silksong's story. My route was simple: clear Greymoor for the first time, reach the Haunted Bellhart, then keep going left into Shellwood because the Bellhart itself does not open up immediately. After clearing Shellwood and beating Sister Splinters, I picked up the Cling Grip ability. That ability is the key to re-entering Bellhart through the area to the right of the boss room. From there, I followed the dark tunnels until the arena opened up.

Before jumping down, I strongly recommend taking the left path first and finding the nearby bench. That bench, combined with the elevator beside it, turns a long corpse-run into a short jog. I learned that the hard way after my first three attempts.

Phase One: Reading the Silk Chalkboard

Widow's arena is a music box that someone keeps winding backward while throwing rocks at your ankles. She leaves the battlefield when she is not attacking, which means most of your damage has to happen during her animations. Her phase-one boulder pattern is a pop-up book where the pop-up is a meteor and the page is your face. The phase transition itself is a theater curtain dropped mid-sentence, then yanked up to reveal a different play.

Attack
Wind-Up Tells and Description
My Suggested Counter

Boulder Attack
Widow appears and strikes the silk for a tune. White lines appear on screen. After a charge, a boulder falls along the white line, hits the ground, bounces once, and hits again.
A perfect parry is possible, but I prefer moving out of the trajectory, ideally toward the boss, so I can get hits in.

Slash Attack
Widow appears midair, launches herself in your current direction, then turns toward you and constantly slashes while moving across the battlefield.
Dash out as she launches, then jump up to avoid the slashes.

Movement Restriction Attack
Widow goes down on four legs and moves swiftly from one end of the battlefield to the other as white rays appear. Giant spikes and boulders spawn from the ground.
Jump as she crosses, hit her head, then glide in the direction where she started.

The real danger in phase one is Widow attacking while a boulder is already falling. That combination hides her animation and shortens your reaction time. I also had to accept that she is not a punching bag; she is a lesson in patience. Good damage windows include the boulder attack, the second part of her slash attack when you can land a downward hit, and even the boulders themselves if you are low and need a downward strike to stay safe.

Phase Two: The Fake Victory

After the first stun, Widow appears to die. I actually celebrated. Then she went back into hiding and respawned for phase two, and the fight became a different beast. Her attacks look familiar, but their pattern is rebuilt around pressure and frequency.

Attack
Wind-Up Tells and Description
My Suggested Counter

Buffed Boulder Attack
Widow plays music on the silk, and three to four boulders fall directly below at specific locations. This is her most common distraction tool.
Stay mindful of your position, move out of the trajectory, and do not get clipped by the second bounce.

Diagonal Boulder Attack
Two diagonal white lines appear beside each other. The fall location is hard to predict, and the bounce covers a large part of the arena.
Move to the opposite side of where the diagonal lines are facing.

Slash Attack
Only the second version of the slash appears, but you get very little time to react.
Keep your eyes on the boss. When she readies her blades, jump up.

Phase two is less about learning new moves and more about surviving the overlap. I routinely saw vertical and diagonal boulders falling while Widow prepared a slash. In those moments, not getting hit matters more than squeezing out damage. My best hit windows were a downward attack as she passed me during the slash, and a dash toward her when she played music, provided I was not standing on a boulder's path.

Healing and Final Advice

Healing in this fight is a midair transaction. In phase one, I found my safest heal during the Movement Restriction attack. In phase two, I healed after a downward strike on her Slash Attack. That timing is narrow, but it is real.

My final takeaway for 2026 is simple: Widow is a memory test disguised as a boss fight. Learn the tells, respect the bounce, and treat phase two like a traffic jam made of boulders and blades. Once you stop rushing her, the Haunted Bellhart stops feeling haunted and starts feeling like a classroom you finally passed. ️️",

"title_note": "

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How I Mastered Parrying in Hollow Knight: Silksong (2026 Guide)

Master Hollow Knight: Silksong parrying: time Hornet’s Needle to nullify all damage and gain a decisive combat edge.

I still remember the first time a boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong made me feel like a total rookie. I was spamming the attack button like a panic-stricken pianist, and the game punished me hard. Then I heard it — a crisp little ping — and saw a white flash. That was the moment I realized parrying was not just some fancy trick; it was the difference between getting steamrolled and feeling like a proper needle-wielding badass.

In Silksong, parrying lets you nullify all incoming damage from an attack. No joke — all of it. It is one of the most useful combat tricks you can master, and even though it is not strictly required to beat the game, it gives you a massive edge. In certain boss fights, especially the ones with relentless attack patterns, parrying is a genuine game-changer. You are not just dodging; you are meeting the enemy's weapon mid-swing and telling it, 'Not today, buddy.'

The core mechanic is all about timing. You need to time Hornet's Needle swing so that it meets the enemy's weapon mid-attack. If you nail it, you get a satisfying 'ping' sound effect, a small white flash, and a minor hitstop that confirms your success. That feedback loop is addictive. Once you get a taste of it, you will start hunting for parries like a treasure goblin.

But here is the catch: there is downtime between each of Hornet's swings. You cannot mash the attack button and expect to parry with any consistency. I learned that the hard way. The trick is to attack just before the enemy's attack, so both weapons meet midway and bounce off each other. Think of it as a high-speed handshake, except the handshake involves sharp objects and mortal danger.

Parrying depends entirely on matching the enemy's movement. You need to read your opponent's actions before they strike. The only way to regularly pull this off is by learning enemy movesets. Since Silksong has many enemy types and each one's attack animations are different, mastering this mechanic requires time and experience. As of 2026, the community has pretty much settled on this: parrying is a skill issue, but a fixable one. Practice makes perfect, and eventually your muscle memory kicks in.

Not every attack in Silksong can be parried. For example, the Bell Beast, an early-game boss, tries to crush Hornet using its body. That attack — and others like it — cannot be parried because Hornet cannot use the Needle to deflect an entire enemy body. In contrast, Lace, a boss found in the Deep Docks, can be parried because she wields a weapon. Generally, only attacks involving weapons like swords, axes, and spears can be parried. So do not try to parry a giant rolling monster with your face. It will not end well.

Here is a quick breakdown I wish I had when I started:

Attack Type
Parryable?
Why

Sword, axe, spear attacks
Yes
Weapon meets weapon mid-swing

Body slams and crushes
No
Hornet cannot deflect an entire body

Projectiles
️ Depends
Test carefully, but do not assume

In Silksong, Hornet can unlock multiple Crests to gain new movesets. Since these Crests change how attack animations work, they also change the rhythm of parrying. Hornet's default weapon, the Hunter Crest, provides a balanced approach. The Wanderer Crest is faster but with less reach, while the Reaper Crest is slower, but its attacks reach farther and push back enemies.

Since parrying relies a lot on getting the rhythm of combat down, it is impossible to say which Crest's moveset will prove the best for a certain player. In general, however, the Wanderer and Reaper are easier to master than others. Wanderer's fast attack animation provides more room for error, and Reaper's longer range makes deliberate parry attempts easier to pull off. I personally bounced between Wanderer and Reaper for a while before settling into a comfortable groove. Hunter is great for a balanced playstyle, but if you are still learning the parry timing, Wanderer's speed is a forgiving teacher.

So, what is my advice after all this trial and error? Do not spam. Read the enemy like a book. Listen for the ping. And remember: parrying is not about being flashy — it is about being clutch. In 2026, with the meta firmly established, I can confidently say that parrying is one of the most rewarding skills in Silksong. It turns boss fights from brick walls into puzzles you can solve. And when that white flash hits and the hitstop lands, you will feel like the coolest bug in Hallownest. ️

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Silksong Act 1 to Act 2: A Witty Guide to the Last Judge

This Silksong Act 2 route through the Blasted Lands shows how to beat Act 1: restore Bellhart, get the Needolin, and defeat The Last Judge.

So you’ve discovered that Silksong has acts, and Act 1 is less a gentle tutorial and more a very polite hostage situation. The screen announces Act 1: Pharloom, and I immediately think: great, another beautiful kingdom that wants me dead. Hornet’s opening goal is simple on paper — reach the Citadel, learn why she was brought there, and figure out who had the audacity to capture her. In practice, that means mandatory bosses, required abilities, sprawling zones, and one boss runback I can only describe as cardio with spikes. As of 2026, the route is still the same, so here’s how I get from Act 1 to Act 2 without pretending I’m calm.

The short version, for people who like checklists

Step
What I do
Why it matters

1
Reach Haunted Bellhart after beating Moorwing in Greymoor
Opens the road toward the Weaver and the Needolin

2
Use Drifter’s Cloak to break the ceiling in the far top-right corner of Far Fields
This is how I get into Greymoor in the first place

3
Defeat the Weaver above Haunted Bellhart, entering from Shellwood’s top-right corner
Restores Bellhart and grants the Needolin

4
Go to Shellwood’s Bell Beast Station and continue left
Finds the entrance to the Blasted Lands

5
Cross the Blasted Lands to the far top-right corner
Leads to the Citadel entrance and The Last Judge

6
Play the Needolin at the Citadel gate and defeat The Last Judge
Triggers Act 2: Citadel of Song

Step 1: Greymoor, Moorwing, and the world’s least relaxing ceiling

To get to Greymoor, I first need the Drifter’s Cloak and a strong desire to break architecture. The entrance is in the far top-right corner of the Far Fields, where I use the cloak to smash through the ceiling. From there, I push through Greymoor until Moorwing goes down. That fight is not exactly a tea party, but beating Moorwing gets me to Haunted Bellhart. The name alone should tell me this is not a vacation spot.

Step 2: Restore Haunted Bellhart by beating the Weaver

Haunted Bellhart needs help, and by help I mean a boss fight. The Weaver’s room is directly above the town, but I cannot just knock on the front door. I have to approach from the top-right corner of Shellwood. Is it convenient? No. Is it mandatory? Yes. Defeating the Weaver restores Haunted Bellhart and gives Hornet the Needolin. That musical ability is not just for flavor — it is required to enter the Citadel. So I practice my tunes and pretend I am a very dangerous street performer.

Step 3: Shellwood Station, then left into the Blasted Lands

Once I have the Needolin, I head to the Bell Beast Station in Shellwood and continue left. That path leads to the Blasted Lands, a zone that looks like it was designed by someone who hates comfort. Harsh winds, hazardous ground that deals two Masks of damage, and tough platforming puzzles all take turns ruining my day. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, apparently, and usually while I am mid-jump.

Step 4: The Blasted Lands runback, also known as character building

I make my way to the Bench next to the Bell Beast Station shown on the map, then push toward the far top-right corner. This is one of the most challenging boss runback routes in the game, and I feel that in my soul. The Blasted Lands do not care about my feelings. They care about wind, spikes, and my ability to remember a jump pattern under pressure. Do I enjoy it? Absolutely not. Do I keep going? Obviously.

Step 5: The Citadel gate, the Pilgrims, and The Last Judge

After surviving the runback, I finally reach the Citadel entrance. Inside the entrance hall, I talk to the Pilgrims and learn that I must play music to break the seal on the gate. I play the Needolin, the bells on the door ring out, and for a few moments I think maybe this will be peaceful. Then The Last Judge appears. Of course it does. I defeat this boss, continue through the gate, and watch Hornet enter the Citadel in a cutscene that previews the areas ahead. Then the text Act 2: Citadel of Song appears, and Act 1 is officially over.

The exploding boss warning I wish I could tattoo on my brain

Act 2 begins as soon as I defeat The Last Judge, and the cutscene should play after the boss goes down. But here is the trap: The Last Judge explodes on death. That explosion can kill Hornet and reset the fight. So yes, I celebrate carefully. I do not stand next to the dying judge like it is a fireworks show. I have learned that lesson in the most embarrassing way possible.

What I should know before leaving Act 1

Do I need to do everything in Act 1 before moving on? Not for the main path. The mandatory checklist is above. But I still like to arrive prepared, because the Blasted Lands are unforgiving and The Last Judge is not interested in my excuses. Once I reach the Citadel, a new Fast Travel system unlocks for Act 2 areas. There is also a Bell Beast Station within the Citadel, and it connects Hornet back to Act 1 areas in Act 2 and beyond. So if I miss something, I can come back later. That is a relief, because my Act 1 memory is already a museum of questionable decisions.

So is Act 2 worth the runback? Yes. The Citadel of Song is gorgeous, terrifying, and full of new problems for me to solve. I just wish The Last Judge would stop exploding with such enthusiasm.

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Silksong: How I Unlocked the Double Jump (Faydown Cloak) on Mount Fay

Get the Silksong Double Jump skill, the Faydown Cloak, with this Mount Fay route guide covering cold hazards, Clawline, and key preparation.

I went into Mount Fay thinking I was ready. I had my hook, I had a little patience, and I had exactly zero idea how much the mountain wanted me to fail. If you are hunting the Double Jump skill in Silksong, also known as the Faydown Cloak, this is the climb that gives it to you. As of 2026, the route still asks for the same core skills, the same cold management, and the same willingness to restart when one jump goes sideways. So let me walk you through how I did it, where I messed up, and what I wish I had known before I froze my way up that snowy nightmare.

First, the honest version: Mount Fay is not here to make friends. The climb has very few benches, almost no chances to heal, and cold damage that keeps ticking while you platform. There are no enemies during long stretches of the ascent, which sounds nice until you realize that means no easy healing either. The cold is a patient predator. It waits while you line up a hook shot, it waits while you panic-jump between breakable platforms, and it waits while you wonder why you thought this was a good idea. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.

What you actually need before the climb

Requirement
Why it matters

Clawline
You need it to hook onto enemies, hoops, and walls. The route is built around it.

Ascendant's Grip
Not mandatory, but extremely helpful. It lets Hornet stick to walls she touches, which makes the wall-jump sections far less punishing.

Warm spots
Treat them like lifelines. You cannot stay in the cold too long.

Patience
Falling can send you back to the start of a section, and some mistakes cost the whole climb.

You reach Mount Fay through The Slab. There are two ways to get there: travel from the Choral Chambers, or get kidnapped to The Slab without reaching the Choral Chambers first. Here is the catch: you still need the Clawline skill, and that means you will end up going through the Choral Chambers anyway. So do not try to skip the homework. Get the hook, then come back to the snow.

The climb, step by step-ish

I started from the bench next to Shakra. From there, go left and jump to the two platforms above the frozen lake. From the tiny platform, make a big leap toward the far platform and use the hook to reach it. Once you get outside, leap to the floating rock and be ready to jump again immediately after contact. The mountain likes to pretend you have time to think. You do not.

After the floating rock, you will find three platforms that break after a short delay. Bounce between them and aim for the next floating platform above. From there, jump and hook onto the enemy in front of you, then quickly target the hoop above and hook onto that too. Jump to the wall, climb it with wall jumps, and when you are level with the ring, hook onto it and hop onto the platform beside it. Before that platform breaks, leap to the next wall above and keep wall jumping until you reach the warm spot.

Then comes the spike section. Jump onto the wall and keep ascending between the two walls while avoiding spikes. Eventually, Hornet needs to float between the spikes to reach the other side. After that, you get a new set of platforms and enemies. Keep moving. Even after the spike hell, you are still in midair and there is no warm spot nearby. Hook the enemy, leap to the platform beside it, hook the next enemy, reach the wall, and wall jump onto the ledge above. If you keep moving left after the ledge, you should reach the second warm spot.

Inside the cave, avoid the enemy if you can. It does not drop anything important, and HP is precious up here. Drop down, keep Hornet on the left side, and land on the first floor you encounter. Keep going left until you reach another frozen lake. Jump to the enemy in front to stay high, float until you see a hoop, and use it to bounce onto the wall beside it and into the next warm spot. Repeat the enemy-hoop-warm-spot rhythm until you reach the tower door.

The part where the mountain gets mean

The tower is not the end. Climb the walls above it, ascend onto the floating rock, and harpoon the nearby enemy to get enough force to climb higher. From the floating platform, leap to the hook next to it, then jump again toward the flying enemy. After that, the puzzle gets repetitive with more walls, spikes, and floating platforms. Repetitive does not mean safe. This is where I got lost for a minute because the next enemy felt unreachable. Do not be a hero. Get into the cave and keep ascending until you reach another frozen lake.

Hook onto the bug, use the momentum to jump onto the breakable platform at the end, and keep harpooning between enemies and breakable platforms until you reach the last bug. Hook onto the left wall and bounce onto the ledge to reach the next warm spot. After progressing left, you will find a small frozen lake with a large rock in the middle. Hook the first bug, jump onto the rock, and stay on top of it. The rock breaks, but staying on it keeps Hornet out of the lake. Hook the last enemy before entering the chamber where rocks cover the exit.

Once you leave the cave, there is no more warmth for a while. Use the harpoon on the bug outside, bounce left, and hook onto a hoop. From there, the distances get smaller, so you can move freely between hoops and enemies. Eventually, wall jump into the hole that leads to the next area and the first bench. That bench felt like a five-star hotel. Okay, deep breath.

The final stretch is the same song with a louder chorus. Jump to the wall above the bench chamber, hook the ring beside it, jump to a higher wall, hook another hoop, and aim for the big rock on the left. Keep going up until you find the warm spot between the spikes. Float around the spikes, avoid them, and hook enemies to stay in the air. One mistake here can drop you through the mountain and send you back to the beginning. Jump right to the three breakable platforms, bounce between them, and keep alternating between enemies and breakable platforms until you reach a wall you can wall jump onto. Leap onto the bug between the ledges, reach the further ledge, and find the warm spot after the higher mountain.

After that, wall jump upward, hook the bug, and aim your momentum at the breakable wall beside it. Bounce onto the actual wall after it breaks, wall jump up while avoiding spikes, and use the bug and breakable platform to reach the next wall. That takes you to the last challenge. In the final area, find the air current on the left side. It carries you to the top, and that is where the Faydown Cloak is waiting. Claim it, and you can finally double jump in Silksong.

My quick survival tips

• Move fast, but do not rush the hook aim.

• Warm spots are not checkpoints, so do not treat them like a save button.

• Avoid unnecessary fights. Your HP is more valuable than a random enemy drop.

• If you have Ascendant's Grip, use it. The wall-stick effect is a small mercy in a very unmerciful place.

• When you fall, take a second before jumping back in. The mountain is patient. You should be too.

Mount Fay is a beast, but it is a beatable beast. Once you know the rhythm of hooks, hoops, breakable platforms, and warm spots, the climb starts to feel less like chaos and more like a very cold dance. And when you finally get that Faydown Cloak, the double jump is worth every frozen restart. You have got this.

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Désiré Doué Star Performer: FC 27 Card Guide

Désiré Doué’s FC 27 Star Performer card offers elite pace and dribbling, with tips to obtain it and earn FC 27 Coins fast.

Introduction About Désiré Doué

Désiré Doué is a dynamic French footballer known for his flair, technical ability, and confidence in one-on-one situations. Born in Angers, France, he developed through the Rennes academy, where his creativity and maturity quickly made him one of the most exciting young talents in French football. His rapid rise earned him a move to Paris Saint-Germain, allowing him to perform on one of the biggest stages in the game.

Operating primarily as a right winger, Doué combines close control, acceleration, and intelligent movement to create danger in the final third. He is comfortable receiving the ball in wide areas before driving inside onto his stronger foot, beating defenders with quick changes of direction and delivering decisive passes or shots. His composure on the ball also enables him to contribute in midfield positions when required.

As a right wing player, Doué stands out for his versatility, attacking ambition, and willingness to take responsibility in important moments. He brings energy and unpredictability to his team’s attack while continuing to develop his tactical awareness and end product. With his natural talent and strong work ethic, he is regarded as one of France’s most promising attacking players.

Désiré Doué's Star Performer card

Désiré Doué’s Star Performer card is a Right Wing with an overall rating of 87, supported by 85 pace, 83 shooting, 80 passing, 91 dribbling, 56 defense, and 81 physicality. As a winger, this card excels as a sharp attacking outlet, using his outstanding dribbling and pace to quickly tear apart the opposing team’s defense, create dangerous chances, and seize the opportunity to score a goal and seal the deal in the game.

How to Obtain Désiré Doué's Player Card

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Team Cherry's Silksong Proves Respecting Players Still Pays Off

Hollow Knight: Silksong proves consumer-friendly gaming can thrive through fair pricing, no microtransactions, and polished content.

By 2026, Hollow Knight: Silksong has settled into its well-earned reputation as one of the most consumer-friendly releases in recent memory. Team Cherry's long-awaited sequel arrived in 2025 with little fanfare compared to the industry's usual hype machine, yet it delivered a massive, polished experience at a fair price. More than a year later, the game stands as a quiet rebuke to the nickel-and-dime tactics that have become all too common in gaming.

The story of Silksong's development is well known by now. It began as DLC for the original Hollow Knight, but Team Cherry eventually expanded it into a full sequel. A shadier studio might have chopped that DLC into a mini-release and charged a premium for it. Team Cherry did the opposite. Silksong is not an expensive game, and by most accounts it is significantly larger than the original Hollow Knight. It manages to feel familiar to veterans while resisting the urge to be a simple copy-paste job with new levels.

The Anti-Cash-Grab Playbook

Team Cherry never seemed interested in juicing customers. There were no microtransactions, no paid cosmetic packs, and no get it now or you don't love Hollow Knight marketing blitz. The company kept its head down, released trailers that promised only what the final product delivered, and let the game speak for itself. As one observer noted, the industry can sometimes disintegrate like cotton candy dipped in a stream, but Team Cherry stayed above the mess.

Aspect
Silksong's Approach
Common Industry Practice

Price
Fair, no hidden costs
$70 base + microtransactions

Communication
Quiet, honest, no overpromising
Endless hype, vague promises

DLC origins
Expanded into full game, no extra charge
Cut content sold as paid DLC

Launch
Little fanfare, massive sales
Months of ARG, events, delays

The contrast with other major releases is stark. Take Borderlands 4, for example. Its run-up featured a parade of interviews filled with PR speak that simultaneously promised more of the same and something completely different. Even discussions around its price felt like an attack on fans who dared to question the cost. Silksong never made fans feel bad for asking for the game. It never mocked people for hoping the price would be reasonable. And it never sat back waiting for fans to come to it. It was a symbiotic relationship, not an antagonistic tug-of-war.

Underpromise, Overdeliver

Team Cherry's approach was not just about money. It was about respect. The studio announced a game, took its time, did not antagonize its audience, and released a finished product to massive sales and thunderous applause. There was no Duke Nukem Forever-style parade of grandiose claims. There was no half-year-away release date that inevitably slipped. When the final release date arrived, Team Cherry was absolutely serious about it. Ironically, the launch had so much fanfare precisely because it was done with little fanfare.

It is easy to forget that many developers face enormous financial pressure and cannot always make independent decisions about promotion or release. Some anti-consumer choices come from that strain. But Silksong shows that respecting players is not a luxury. It is a strategy that pays off. The proof is in the pudding: the game sold like hotcakes, and the goodwill Team Cherry built over years of honest communication turned into a tidal wave of support.

A year later, Silksong's reputation has only grown. Players still praise its value, its scope, and the way Team Cherry treated them like adults. In an industry that often seems more concerned with slipping things past the customer goalie than doing the game justice, Silksong is a breath of fresh air. It did not try to take your money. That is exactly why it deserved it.

The lesson for other developers is clear: no need to promise the moon. Just deliver a great game at a fair price, communicate honestly, and treat the audience with respect. Team Cherry walked the walk, and fans rewarded them. As the saying goes, the cream rises to the top.

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Hollow Knight's Steam Revival: Silksong's Halo Effect in 2025 and Beyond

Hollow Knight hit a new Steam concurrent-player peak of 92,866 after Silksong's 2025 launch, proving a sequel's halo can revive a legacy indie.

When Hollow Knight: Silksong arrived in 2025, attention naturally shifted to Team Cherry's long-awaited sequel. Yet something unexpected happened on Steam: the original 2017 Hollow Knight climbed alongside its successor. Publicly tracked data showed the original reaching 92,866 concurrent players, an all-time peak that was still rising when the figure was recorded. For a game first released years earlier, the number was remarkable. It marked the first time the original had ever crossed the 90,000 concurrent-player milestone on Steam. The sequel was larger in raw scale, with Silksong peaking at 587,150 players, but the original's revival told a distinct story about legacy, discovery, and the strange halo effect a sequel can create.

A Record Built on Word of Mouth

Hollow Knight has long been regarded as one of the best Metroidvania games ever made. Its 2017 release found immediate critical success, and positive word of mouth helped turn an indie project into a commercial success. The game has since surpassed the 15 million sales mark, a remarkable achievement for Team Cherry. Its reputation rests on a hand-drawn world, precise combat, exploration, and lore that rewards curiosity. By the time Silksong approached release, many players had heard of Hollow Knight without having played it. The sequel's launch created a new sense of urgency.

The Numbers Behind the Surge

Milestone
Figure
Context

Original Hollow Knight peak before the 2025 surge
20,324
August 2022

Original Hollow Knight peak in the prior month
70,000+
Month before Silksong's launch

Original Hollow Knight new all-time peak
92,866 and rising
Around Silksong's launch

Silksong peak
587,150
Same period

Original Hollow Knight lifetime sales
15 million+
Since 2017

Before the 2025 surge, the original Hollow Knight's all-time Steam peak was 20,324 in August 2022. During the month before Silksong's release, that figure had already climbed past 70,000. The new peak of 92,866 was more than four times the older record. Silksong's 587,150 peak dwarfed the original's number, but the contrast did not diminish the achievement. It framed it. The sequel was a major event, and the original was benefiting from the same cultural moment.

🧭 Why Players Returned

Public data cannot explain every individual motive, but several patterns are clear:

• Sequel hype as a discovery engine. The enormous attention around Silksong led many gamers to finally try the original for the first time.

• ️ Community recommendation. Hollow Knight's reputation as a landmark Metroidvania made it an obvious starting point for newcomers.

• 🧩 Lore and continuity curiosity. Players interested in Silksong's world had reason to explore the foundation laid by the first game.

• ️ Revisiting a favorite. Some returning players simply wanted to replay a celebrated title while the sequel dominated conversation.

• Mixed early reactions to Silksong. Some players expressed serious gripes with the sequel, although the game was largely excellently received by the community.

The revival also showed that a sequel does not necessarily replace its predecessor. For many players, Silksong may have been the entry point, but the original offered essential context. That dynamic can filter newcomers back toward the sequel later, creating a loop between the two games rather than a simple handoff.

️ A Sequel That Lifted Its Predecessor

Viewed from 2026, the 2025 episode remains a notable case study in how sequels can expand an audience for the original. Hollow Knight was already successful, acclaimed, and commercially proven. The new peak did not create its reputation; it revealed how much latent interest still surrounded the game. The original's 92,866 peak is modest next to Silksong's 587,150, but it is larger than any previous Hollow Knight peak, and that is the point. A older title briefly became part of a live conversation again.

The moment also underlined Team Cherry's unusual position. A small independent studio had produced a defining Metroidvania and then a sequel that commanded massive attention. The original game's resurgence suggested that players valued the foundation as much as the new release. For newcomers, Hollow Knight remained approachable, celebrated, and historically important. For returning players, it offered familiarity during a period of intense sequel excitement.

What the Revival Signals

The revival signals enduring demand for handcrafted Metroidvania experiences. It also highlights how community conversation can give older titles a second life. Hollow Knight's 15 million sales already proved its long-term reach, but the 2025 Steam peak added a different kind of evidence: even after years on the market, the game could still attract a huge simultaneous audience. In 2026, the lesson is clear. A sequel is not only a continuation; it can be a doorway back to the game that started it all.

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Great Conchflies in Silksong: A Double Date With Two Burrowing Bugs

Great Conchflies in Hollow Knight: Silksong is a one-phase Blasted Steps duo; treat the fight as calm whack-a-mole and dodge their two moves.

Some bosses announce themselves with operatic fury. The Great Conchflies announce themselves with the subtlety of two drills that have swallowed a kazoo factory and decided to redecorate the Blasted Steps. In Hollow Knight: Silksong, this pair waits near the main area of that windy biome, and in 2026 the encounter still has a reputation for being scarier on paper than in practice. The player does not need to out-chaos chaos. Treat the fight like a game of whack-a-mole played inside a sandstorm, and the twin bugs become far less terrifying.

Finding the Great Conchflies Without Becoming Sandpaper

The road to the lair is not a casual stroll. The player needs three specific movement abilities before the trip: Cling Grip, Drifter's Cloak, and Swift Step. Those three gifts allow dashing, gliding, wall grabbing, and wall climbing, which are all required to explore the Blasted Steps properly and to reach the double boss without turning into a very aerodynamic smear.

The entrance sits on the left exit of Shellwood, and Cling Grip is needed to unlock it. Once sandworms and an absurdly strong wind greet the player, the correct biome has been found. From there, the route is a chain of platforms, dangerous enemies, and one or two moments of quiet backtracking. The Blasted Steps are not a major story zone, so a little detour is expected.

At the fork where the path can go down or up, the player should choose up. Two enemies wait above, and the bell-wielding one can be annoying enough to deserve priority. After that, the wind becomes a helpful glide toward the right. Four enemies patrol the path; they can be ignored or defeated, depending on the player's patience and appetite for unnecessary risk. The next area follows to the right, where Shakra sells a map. Buying it is highly recommended before returning to the main route.

Back at the climb, the rightmost wall leads to high platforms and more enemies. The spider enemies on these platforms are devilish, and touching them is a bad idea with long-term consequences. Once the player drops to the ground again, following left leads to the Great Conchflies' lair. Entering it starts the boss fight.

The Fight: One Phase, Two Moves, Zero Need For Panic

The Great Conchflies do not get a second phase; they get a second bug. Their shared health bar is a bureaucratic loophole: two signatures on one form. The pair has only one phase and two moves, and neither bug actually targets the player while attacking. That sounds strange, and it is, but it also means the fight is less a duel and more a pair of malfunctioning compasses arguing over north. Calm observation beats frantic button-mashing.

Move
What It Looks Like
Best Response

Burrow burst
Dust appears before a Conchfly bursts in or out of the floor and walls.
The player should note the dust direction, stand at the edge of the incoming path, and strike when the bug gets stuck for a second or two. If positioning feels shaky, stay near the arena center and jump or dash.

Bouncing spike
One Conchfly appears and spits a small spike that bounces three times before vanishing.
Dash underneath the boss and hit it from below with enthusiasm. The spike is the only real distraction.

The first move is the common one, and its dust telegraph is the entire strategy. The player should not chase the Conchflies around like a caffeinated moth. Waiting near the center or near the edge of the incoming direction keeps the fight readable. When a bug bursts into the arena and drills in place, that is the invitation to deal damage.

The second move turns one Conchfly into a grumpy vending machine that dispenses exactly one bouncing spike. The player should dash under the boss and punish it from below. Two or three hits per moveset are perfectly fine. There is no need to force a heroic combo, and there is no need to worry about killing one boss first, because the pair shares HP. When one falls, the other escapes immediately, so the fight ends with one defeated Conchfly and one very lucky survivor.

🪡 Rewards and the Pinstress

Defeating the Great Conchflies does not shower the arena with loot. The immediate reward is the noble feeling of surviving two giant insects with a combined sense of direction borrowed from a broken GPS. The real prize comes after the fight: following left leads to the Pinstress, who grants the Needle Strike ability.

Needle Strike lets the player hold the attack button to perform a charged attack in combat. In practical terms, it is a can opener for future problems. The Great Conchflies may not be the most fearsome bosses in Silksong, but they are a memorable test of patience, positioning, and the ancient art of not panicking when two large insects start playing percussion with the floor.",

"language": "en

Once the arena goes quiet and the Needle Strike unlock settles in, many players start thinking about what to pick up next between Silksong sessions. That is where a little prep work pays off, especially if you are weighing a new title against your backlog or waiting for a sale before committing.

DealNest is a handy place to check before buying, with [game price comparison]( that helps you see where a title is listed and whether it is worth grabbing now or holding off for a better offer.

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MIO: Memories in Orbit Is the Metroidvania Silksong Fans Should Watch

MIO: Memories in Orbit is a compelling Silksong alternative, blending hand-drawn exploration, tough combat, and rich lore in a haunting robot world.

Players who watched Hollow Knight: Silksong turn launch day into a stress test for storefronts already know the rhythm: finish a demanding campaign, stare at the credits, and start hunting for the next Metroidvania that can fill the silence. That is where MIO: Memories in Orbit enters the chat. Douze Dixiemes' hand-drawn adventure has been building a quiet reputation as one of the most Silksong-adjacent games on Steam, and in 2026 it remains a title fans of moody exploration, tough combat, and lore-rich worlds should keep on their radar.

On the surface, MIO wears its inspirations on its sleeve. The world looks hand-drawn. The map stretches its legs in a way that invites backtracking and note-taking. Some enemies lean insect-inspired, and the combat carries Soulslike weight rather than floaty button-mashing. Those ingredients explain why Silksong fans keep circling back to it: it scratches the same itch without pretending to be a clone.

Element
Why Silksong fans may care

Hand-drawn art
Gives the world a storybook mood that rewards slow looking

️ Huge map
Encourages exploration, secret-hunting, and mental note-taking

Insect-inspired enemies
Echoes the creepy-crawly flavor many genre fans enjoy

️ Soulslike combat
Suggests deliberate fights with real risk and reward

NPC-driven lore
Lets players piece together the world through conversations

Where MIO: Memories in Orbit pulls away is in its setting. Instead of an ancient kingdom like Pharloom, it presents a futuristic world where robots have gone rogue. That contrast is not a bug; it is part of the appeal. The game uses art and music to tell environmental stories, and players uncover details by talking with interesting NPCs. The result sounds less like a copy and more like a cousin with a different accent. The world has a personality of its own, and that matters when a genre is crowded with lookalikes.

Focus Entertainment is publishing, and that name carries weight. The company has backed My Time at Portia, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, the A Plague Tale series, Atomic Heart, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Douze Dixiemes is smaller but promising; its 2020 release Shady Part of Me holds Very Positive reviews on Steam. That track record is no small feat for a studio with only one other title to its name. It suggests MIO has a real chance to land as a polished, atmospheric experience rather than a rough genre exercise.

Practical note for 2026: players should check the current store page for launch status, demo availability, and platform details before planning a weekend around it. The game's public messaging has centered on a 2025 target and a playable demo, so the smart move is to verify the latest status rather than rely on old chatter. A wishlist remains the simplest way to catch updates. Frankly, that small step is worth it for anyone who likes to be ready when a genre gem lands.

Combat in MIO appears to have teeth. The trailers and screenshots suggest deliberate encounters, not endless swarms. The map seems built for players who like to peek into corners and remember locked doors. The music and hand-drawn illustrations do a lot of the heavy lifting, giving the world a personality that can stand beside its inspirations. Fans of Silksong's challenge and replayable loop will likely appreciate that MIO is not trying to smooth away the difficulty; it wants players to earn their progress.

Silksong's shadow is long, but it is not the only shadow worth standing in. MIO: Memories in Orbit has enough of its own identity -- rogue robots, futuristic ruins, NPC-driven lore -- to avoid feeling like a retread. For players who finished Silksong and want another Metroidvania with atmosphere, challenge, and a map that rewards curiosity, it is worth keeping an eye on. If that sounds like their jam, MIO may be the next stop after Pharloom.

While waiting for release dates and demo windows to settle, the practical side of being a patient player is keeping an eye on prices across storefronts. Wishlists help with notifications, but they do not always surface the sharpest discount at the right moment, especially when multiple retailers run overlapping promotions. That is where a little preparation pays off: bookmarking [this price tracking tool]( makes it easier to see how a game's cost shifts over time instead of checking each store page individually.

For anyone planning to pick up MIO alongside other Metroidvanias in their backlog, that habit tends to save more than a few dollars over a year. Set a target price, let the alerts do the work, and spend the saved budget on the next atmospheric indie that catches your eye.

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My Missing Courier Quest Guide: Finding Courier Tipp in Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong's My Missing Courier quest guide reveals Courier Tipp's location and unlocks three powerful Bellhart shop rewards.

I'll be honest: I almost skipped the My Missing Courier quest in Hollow Knight: Silksong. After beating Widow and freeing the captives in Bellhart, I saw a new Wish Board appear next to the shop, but I figured it was just another fetch quest. Boy, was I wrong. This side quest is one of the most rewarding early-game detours you can take, because it unlocks three fantastic items in the Bellhart shop. If you're stuck wondering where that pesky courier wandered off to, don't worry—I've got you covered.

How to Start My Missing Courier Quest

First things first: you can't even accept this quest until you've defeated Widow, the boss of Bellhart. That fight becomes available after you complete Shellwood and take down Sister Splinter. Once you've beaten Widow and freed the webbed-up captives, a Wish Board will pop up right next to the shop. Talk to the shopkeeper first—she'll mention her courier is missing—then interact with the Wish Board to officially accept the quest. Simple enough, right?

Finding the Missing Courier

Here's where things get tricky. The courier is hidden in Bone Bottom, but the fastest route is actually from the Blasted Steps region. From the fast-travel point in Shellwood, head west into Blasted Steps. You'll soon hit a large gap in the ground—jump down and use your Drifter's Cloak glide ability to hover to the left side of the area. Keep going downward, hugging the left wall as tightly as you can. If you're doing it right, you'll eventually hear an NPC's voice. That's your cue that you're close.

You'll land on a small platform where a very exhausted-looking bug is resting. Talk to him—his name is Courier Tipp—and exhaust all his dialogue. He'll thank you and head back to Bellhart. Now all you have to do is return to the shopkeeper and speak to her to wrap up the quest. Easy peasy, as long as you don't miss that leftward glide.

My Missing Courier Quest Rewards

This is the part that makes it all worth it. Before completing the quest, Bellhart's shop only sells a Rosary Necklace and a Shard Bundle. After rescuing Courier Tipp, the inventory expands significantly. Here's what you can buy:

Item
Price (Rosaries)
What It Does

Spool Fragment
270
Needed to increase your Silk Meter (you need two total)

Memory Locket
330
Adds an extra Tool slot to your crest

Multibinder Tool
880
Extends the act of binding, but increases healing effects

The Multibinder is the star of the show, in my opinion. It fits into a blue Tool slot, and its in-game description says it 'extends the act of binding, but increases its healing effects.' After testing it myself, I found that it heals four masks instead of the usual three. The catch? Hornet now needs to Bind twice to recover her health. It takes some getting used to because of the delay, but once you master the timing, it's an absolute lifesaver against bosses.

So there you have it—don't sleep on this quest like I almost did. The expanded inventory alone is worth the detour, and the Multibinder might just become a permanent fixture in your build. Happy hunting! ️

Bargain hunting doesn't have to stop at Bellhart's shop. If you're the type of player who wants every purchase to count—whether it's Rosaries for a Multibinder or real money for your next game—it helps to have a smart comparison tool on your side.

DealNest makes that easy with [game price comparison]( so you can check deals across stores before committing. It's a handy stop for stretching your gaming budget beyond Pharloom.

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September on Game Pass: A Story of Silksong, Couch Chaos, and Cozy Farms

Xbox Game Pass September games feature Hollow Knight: Silksong and A Way Out for thrilling solo and co-op play.

September has a way of feeling like a reset button for gaming. The summer release rush has cooled, the holiday season hasn’t quite kicked into gear, and players are left with a rare mix of heavy-hitters and sleeper picks to explore. It’s the perfect moment to dive into games that demand time—whether it’s an epic new release or a cozy sim that pairs well with the season’s slower pace. And Xbox Game Pass offers players the perfect ground to explore this space.

For one fictional player named Jordan, this September felt like an invitation. After a busy summer, Jordan opened Game Pass and found a lineup that seemed to speak directly to every mood. There was the long-awaited sequel fans had been clamoring for, a co-op title guaranteed to spark drama on the couch, a stylish cult hit that rewards curiosity, and a fan-favorite farming sim that felt tailor-made for the early days of fall. Whether Jordan wanted intensity, comfort, or something to share with friends, the lineup covered it all.

If you’re a Metroidvania fan and haven’t jumped on the hype yet, there’s little reason to wait. Hollow Knight: Silksong arrived on Game Pass, and by now the platform collapses from sheer demand should be a distant memory. Jordan downloaded it as quickly as possible, curious to see if the sequel could live up to impossible expectations. As a follow-up to one of the most beloved indie games of all time, Silksong carries a heavy burden—and somehow, it lives up to it. Its haunting environments and surprisingly challenging learning curve pull players in, while expanded movement options, improved combat depth, and new biomes bring fresh challenges without losing the precision and atmosphere that made Hollow Knight so iconic. For fans of Metroidvanias and exploration, Silksong is a no-brainer. It’s rare for a game to dominate the spotlight this completely, but Team Cherry more than earned it.

Later that week, Jordan hosted friends for a long weekend of socializing. Instead of opting for well-known couch co-op favorites, Jordan pitched a title that would stir the pot just a little bit more than most: A Way Out. The result was full-on shouting matches—and Jordan couldn’t have been prouder. Split Fiction and It Takes Two fans will immediately recognize the formula, since A Way Out was developed by Hazelight Studios. But what sets this one apart is its gritty narrative about two escaped convicts who rely on one another to survive. Unlike many lighthearted co-op titles, A Way Out pushes players to make tough calls, and that tension makes for truly unforgettable moments. The room was loud, the decisions were divisive, and everyone left with a story to tell.

When the friends went home, Jordan turned to something quieter but no less gripping: Control: Ultimate Edition. If Silksong is the headline grabber and A Way Out is the grim party-starter, Control is the game that sneaks up on players with style. Remedy Entertainment’s award-winning supernatural action game thrives on mood, setting, and mystery, drawing players into the Federal Bureau of Control’s shifting headquarters, the Oldest House. With the Ultimate Edition on Game Pass, the experience is at its most complete—both expansions are included, and the extras serve as additional boons. The result is a sharp, stylish action game that blends eerie worldbuilding with dynamic gameplay. For anyone looking to spend nights lost in atmosphere and questions, Control still delivers one of the most original gaming experiences of the last decade.

As fall begins and temperatures drop, sometimes all a player needs is a cozy activity to unwind. Bonus points if it fits the autumn vibe. For gamers, Stardew Valley is the ideal game to quiet the chaos of a busy day. With the 1.7 update recently announced, now is the best time to get into the game’s rhythms. What makes Stardew special isn’t just its farming sim mechanics, but the way it quietly becomes about building routines, relationships, and a sense of community. Every season feels different, and fall in particular makes the game shine with its orange-hued palette, slower pace, and some of the best festivals in the game. Whether Jordan put in twenty minutes before bed or lost hours to fishing and mining, Stardew Valley remained one of Game Pass’s most comforting staples.

Game
Mood
Why It Fits September

Hollow Knight: Silksong
Intense, atmospheric
A challenging Metroidvania that demands focus and rewards exploration

A Way Out
Tense, social
Couch co-op that sparks drama and unforgettable moments with friends

Control: Ultimate Edition
Mysterious, stylish
Supernatural action with eerie worldbuilding and complete expansions

Stardew Valley
Cozy, comforting
A farming sim perfect for fall routines and quiet evenings

By the end of the month, Jordan had cycled through all four moods without ever leaving Game Pass. September’s lineup had offered a rare balance: the adrenaline of Silksong, the chaotic laughter of A Way Out, the cerebral pull of Control, and the gentle rhythm of Stardew Valley. It was a reminder that a good subscription service isn’t just about quantity—it’s about having the right game for the right moment. And as the leaves turned and the nights grew longer, Jordan knew exactly where to go for the next reset.

Of course, subscription libraries shift over time, and the game that fits tonight’s mood may not always stay in the catalog. When a favorite leaves Game Pass or a sale makes sense for keeping something permanently, it helps to know where to look before committing.

That’s where DealNest comes in handy. If you’re curious about picking up a title from this lineup—or anything else on your wishlist—you can [check game prices]( and compare current offers without turning a quick purchase into a whole research project.

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Five Early Tools That Turned Hornet’s Pharloom Nightmare Into a Joyride

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s best early tools give Hornet vital health, speed, damage, and survival advantages across Pharloom.

By 2026, Hollow Knight: Silksong has settled into its reputation as a gorgeous, merciless pilgrimage through Pharloom, and Hornet’s first hours remain a masterclass in humility. Team Cherry did not pull their punches: even the so-called harmless critters can knock two masks off her health bar, the needle feels about as threatening as a butter knife until its first upgrade, and the skies are crowded with winged nuisances that fling projectiles like they are paid per shot. In that kind of environment, every tool matters. The good news is that a handful of early pickups can turn a desperate scramble into a swaggering, silk-slinging joyride. These five tools gave Hornet breathing room, bite, and a few well-earned laughs.

Plasmium Phial: The Blue Mask That Bought One More Breath

Pharloom teaches its first harsh lesson quickly: even the most ordinary enemy can deal two masks of damage. Hornet can heal, sure, but the math is ugly. Take two hits, heal once, and she is already down to a thin margin against anything fierce. The Plasmium Phial’s blue mask changes that arithmetic. It is not glamorous, but it is clutch. That extra hit is often the difference between a victorious boss attempt and a sad little crumple on the floor. Because mask fragments are scarce in the early hours, the phial feels extraordinarily influential, and it is refreshingly accessible: finish the quest from the NPC at the top of Wormways and it is hers.

Flea Brew: A Temporary Shot of Quick Slash

Quick Slash is one of the best charms in the original Hollow Knight, and Flea Brew is its temporary cousin in Silksong. When Hornet drinks it, she runs and attacks faster, which makes the whole game feel more dynamic. Slow enemies suddenly look like they are moving through treacle, and stunned bosses become a personal pincushion. The effect does not last forever, and recharging it costs Rosaries, so it is not a free lunch. Still, for players who are comfortable with the controls and not short on cash, it is a brilliant way to squeeze out extra damage. Speed was powerful in Hallownest, and Pharloom is no exception. Hornet just has to remember to keep her pockets full.

Curveclaw: A Bone With a Grudge Against Flying Pests

Team Cherry clearly had fun designing flying enemies. Pharloom is full of them, and many hurl projectiles in every direction while hovering just out of reach. The Curveclaw is the answer. It is the trickiest tool on this list to master because the thrown bone follows an awkward arc, but once Hornet gets the hang of it, it becomes an excellent way to swat winged nuisances out of the sky. Practicing in a moderately safe room is worth the trouble. Each area seems to have its own set of airborne troublemakers that are more irritating than some bosses, so the Curveclaw ends up carrying more weight than it first appears. The Mottled Skarr merchant sells it, and the Rosaries are well spent. Threat reduction is a bargain at almost any price.

Flintslate: Set the Needle Ablaze

Many players spend ten hours or more before their first needle upgrade, and during that stretch the weapon can feel like it does barely any damage. The Flintslate fixes that by temporarily imbuing the needle with fire. It is a bit like Charcoal Pine Resin from Dark Souls: a simple buff that makes a noticeable difference in damage output. Hornet still has to swing, dodge, and survive, but the extra fire damage makes boss fights less of a marathon. Its number of uses per recharge is generous enough to extend the effect through an average encounter, so with a little planning she can keep her needle burning for most of the important fight. It may not turn a loss into a win by itself, but it makes life much easier against enemies that would otherwise tear her to bits.

Threefold Pin: Daggers Between Every Slash

When damage output is the problem, the Threefold Pin is a saving grace. The button combinations for tools can feel unintuitive at first, but once Hornet gets the rhythm down, these little daggers are a game changer. Throwing them between needle slashes lets her fly through screens, whether she is carving up regular enemies or chipping away at a boss. The damage they deal in tandem is out of this world, and the pin is easy to aim from both close range and a distance, making it wonderfully versatile. It is the most fun and most powerful early tool on this list. With the Threefold Pin in her kit, Hornet feels less like a struggling wanderer and more like a proper menace.

The Short Version

Tool
Role
Why Hornet Keeps It Close

🧪 Plasmium Phial
Survival buffer
Grants an extra blue mask, buying one more hit in a tight spot

Flea Brew
Speed burst
Temporary Quick Slash effect for faster running and attacking

🦴 Curveclaw
Anti-air
Swats projectile-hurling flyers out of the sky with practice

Flintslate
Damage boost
Sets the needle ablaze for noticeable extra damage

️ Threefold Pin
Burst damage
Throws daggers between slashes for versatile, high damage

None of these tools are a magic wand. Pharloom still demands patience, pattern reading, and the willingness to take a few lumps. But in 2026, with new players still discovering Silksong and veterans revisiting its early zones, these five pickups remain a superb foundation. They are not crutches; they are part of the dance. Hornet’s journey becomes a little less nightmare and a little more joyride when she has the right trick up her sleeve. So if the early game is handing her a rough time, she should bite the bullet, gather a few Rosaries, and let these tools do some of the heavy lifting. After all, Pharloom is no walk in the park—and a clever hunter takes every edge she can get. ️

If all this tool talk has you itching to jump back into Pharloom—or finally see what the fuss is about—keeping an eye on [PC game discounts]( can make the trip easier on your wallet. DealNest gathers current deals and price drops across a range of PC titles, so it is a handy stop for anyone building a library or hunting down a game they have been waiting to grab.

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The Reaper Crest in Silksong: A Cheerful Guide to Spiked Cogs

Find the Hollow Knight: Silksong Reaper Crest in Greymoor with this route guide, including the Halfway Home Bench and Chapel gauntlet.

Crests in Hollow Knight: Silksong are not just fancy hats with a combat license. They change how Hornet attacks, alter the feel of platforming, and come with different tool slots. Here is the delightfully awkward part: when a player acquires a new Crest, they must unlock all the slots on that new Crest, even if they had already unlocked every slot on the old one. So yes, the collection journey involves a little backtracking, a little grinding, and a lot of quiet muttering. Since Crests significantly change combat and platforming, players must acquire all of them to determine what works best for their playstyle. In 2026, the Reaper Crest remains one of the early-ish prizes worth chasing, and its location is tucked into Greymoor.

Why the Reaper Crest Matters

The Reaper Crest is not a subtle sidegrade. Its description states that it allows Hornet to attack with heavy, arcing slashes and reap additional Silk from enemies. For players who enjoy wide swings and a Silk-hungry toolkit, that sounds less like a Crest and more like a business proposal. The catch is that the new Crest comes with fresh tool slots to unlock, so it is not plug-and-play. The player has to invest a bit before the Reaper Crest reaches its full, slash-happy potential.

The Route to Greymoor and the Halfway Home Bench

To get the Crest, players must first progress through the game until they reach Greymoor, which is a main story location. Once they arrive, the route begins by turning left toward the Halfway Home Bench. Interacting with this bench is important, because it will be used quite a lot when exploring the area and running back to the boss room. From the Halfway Home Bench, the player heads left again and triggers an encounter. Deal with the enemies so the room can be exited, then continue left. The enemies standing outside are best ignored, and the player should head further left into the tower.

The goal is to go even further left, but that door is locked at first. Instead, the player goes up the tower, sticks to the left side to exit, and drops all the way down to the lever that opens the gate. What could possibly go wrong? Only a tower, a locked door, and a lever with main-character energy.

The Chapel of the Reaper and the Spiked Cog Gauntlet

From that large room, the bottom-left hole leads down to the Moorwing boss arena, so it can be ignored for now. Instead, the player heads toward the middle section on the left, climbs some platforms, and heads inside to find the Chapel of the Reaper. The Chapel is not lengthy by any means, but there is an encounter that might be difficult depending on when the player visits to acquire the Crest.

First, drop down and head right to spot a moving wheel that is making spiked cogs move alongside it. The player needs to jump and dash toward the platforms and go further up without getting hit by the cogs, as they deal damage. A down Pogo on these spiky cogs is possible, but it is not recommended, especially with the starting Crest equipped. The cogs do not accept apologies, and they certainly do not respect optimism.

Once the platform above is reached, the player must fight a bunch of enemies that spawn one or two at a time. This section can be annoying, but the enemies are all previously encountered foes, so there is a decent chance the player knows how to deal with them. Once the encounter is finished, head up to find a body that can be interacted with using the Bind button. This rewards the Reaper Crest. A body, a button press, and a shiny new combat toy — what a lovely little transaction.

Is the Reaper Crest Worth It?

Detail
Information

Location
Chapel of the Reaper in Greymoor

Prerequisite
Reach Greymoor and use the Halfway Home Bench

Main hazard
Spiked cogs on a moving wheel

Combat trial
Enemy waves spawning one or two at a time

Reward
Reaper Crest

Combat style
Heavy, arcing slashes and extra Silk from enemies

For players who like sweeping attacks and extra Silk, the Reaper Crest is a tempting prize. For players who hate timed jumps near angry machinery, it is a character-building experience. Either way, the Crest collection journey in Silksong rewards curiosity. After all, how else is a player supposed to discover which Crest truly fits? The answer, as usual, involves a bench, a tower, a lever, and a wheel of cogs with absolutely no sense of mercy.

Crest hunting is as much about experimentation as acquisition, and half the fun comes from mixing abilities until a build finally clicks. That same curiosity often spills over into browsing new worlds, comparing releases, and keeping an eye on worthwhile discounts between play sessions.

For players who like to plan their next purchase as carefully as their next Crest loadout, DealNest offers a straightforward place to [check game prices]( without turning a quick look into a full side quest.

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Conquering the Hunter's March in Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hunter's March in Hollow Knight: Silksong challenges pilgrims with brutal fights, hidden loot, movement puzzles, and essential routes to master.

The Hunter's March does not welcome visitors. It tests them. In 2026, as new pilgrims continue to arrive in Hollow Knight: Silksong, this brutal stretch of the world remains one of the early game's most demanding detours. A traveler who wishes to see everything the March hides will need patience, sharp reflexes, and two crucial movement tools: the Cling Grip and the Drifter's Cloak. Without them, some paths simply cannot be climbed. With them, the March becomes a gauntlet of ant soldiers, hidden traps, wind currents, and a final beast that guards a precious reward.

The Path from The Marrow

The entrance to the Hunter's March waits inside The Marrow. The traveler can ride the Bell Beast to the area, then head right until the path ends at a pit. A door at the bottom opens into a small chamber, and there the first obstacle waits: Skarrgard, an enormous bruiser with long reach and punishing jumps. He hits hard, but his recovery windows are generous. The reliable strategy is to wait for him to burrow underground, strike during the opening, and dash away before his next swing. Once Skarrgard falls, the March opens its jaws.

Challenge
Recommended Approach

Skarrgard
Wait for burrow, hit, dash away

Ant soldiers
Strike first, then reposition

Spike traps
Watch the floor closely and jump

Wind currents
Use Drifter's Cloak to drift safely

The Combat Arena and the Rosary Cache

Inside the March, the traveler faces a vertical choice. With the Cling Grip, they can jump straight up the entrance wall. Without it, they must bounce off bulbs using downward slashes. An ant waits above, and a flying ant follows soon after. The left path leads to a caged flea, while the right path climbs toward a split. The top alcove on the right hides a bevy of rosaries, but an aggressive ant general patrols the way. His down strike is his weakness; slash through it, then keep pressing right into a combat arena.

The arena is not cruel, only relentless. It recycles enemies the traveler has already learned, so patience and steady slashes carry the day. Beyond it, a large shaft opens with two entries on the left and right. The left entry holds a bench rigged with a trap, which must be disarmed before resting. The right door introduces Gilly, a quiet figure worth speaking to. Above the bench, a hidden passage leads to a large collection of Shell Shards. Even further left, across gaping holes and trapped floors, waits Mottled Skarr, a merchant who sells unusual weapons and items. Back at the shaft, riding to the top brings a second Skarrgard, this time with a companion. The fight can overwhelm, but calm pattern recognition wins. Afterward, a huge cache of rosaries sits at the end of the room. A bone door at the bottom left also unlocks a shortcut to Deep Docks, making future runs far kinder.

The Chapel of the Beast

With the Drifter's Cloak, the next jumps become almost gentle. A gust of wind blows upward, and a caged Memory Locket waits on a side platform. Breaking the cage and collecting the locket is worth the detour. Riding the wind to the top leads right, into the Chapel of the Beast. The chapel demands careful hovering, bulb bouncing, and spike avoidance. Enemies burst from cages, including a floating bug with a scissor attack that is easy to parry. A small bug with a shell of daggers patrols a gap, but simple hit-and-retreat tactics work. A bone door inside makes the run to the boss shorter, and that boss is the Savage Beastfly.

The Savage Beastfly punishes hesitation, but the arena leaves room to drift and counter. After the beast falls, the traveler inspects a bug husk in the next area and receives the Crest of the Beast. With that crest in hand, the Hunter's March is conquered. The journey through Hollow Knight: Silksong continues, but the March has left its mark: a hard-won lesson in patience, preparation, and the value of a well-timed dash. ️

Between tough platforming sections and boss attempts, it helps to have a calm plan for what to play next—and for spotting when a game you’ve been eyeing drops to a price that feels right. For travelers who like to keep their library as well-prepared as their route through Pharloom, DealNest offers a straightforward way to follow discounts without refreshing store pages constantly.

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Sister Splinter in Silksong: A Hilariously Thorny Guide to Shellwood's Rooty Menace

This Sister Splinter boss guide covers the Shellwood route, attack patterns, smart dodges, and rewards for a thorny Silksong victory.

Every so often, a video game boss arrives with the subtlety of a grand piano dropped from a third-story window. Sister Splinter, the freaky root-monster of Shellwood, is exactly that kind of boss: loud, thorny, and absolutely determined to flatten Hornet into a silk pancake. As of 2026, players are still getting tangled up in this fight, largely because of its Triple Slam attack, its habit of summoning flying friends, and its talent for turning the arena into a game of Tetris designed by a sadist. But fear not, fellow traveler: this guide will walk through where to find Sister Splinter, how to beat it without losing one's mind, and what shiny reward awaits after the dust settles.

Where to Find Sister Splinter (Without Getting Hopelessly Lost)

The route to Sister Splinter winds through Shellwood with the logic of a dream had by a slime mold. Players must progress through the lower layers of Shellwood until they reach the far left shaft leading upward. From there, make the way up, then take the top-right exit into a large room housing a Weaver statue at the very top. For now, exit that room via a door on the right, platform to the right through the next room, then unlock the elevator shortcut above the central Bench. From the central Bench, take the elevator up and go right, jump and slash flowers to reach the top-left of the next room, then continue left until Sister Splinter appears.

The best Bench for this fight is the central Bench in Shellwood, which connects to the elevator shortcut that should be unlocked on the way to the boss. This Bench can be unlocked earlier in the zone for a steep 60 Rosaries. From the Bench, take the elevator up, exit to the right, then make the way around the room in the far top-right of the zone until reaching two white flowers leading to the top-left exit (above the entrance to the room). Downward slash onto these flowers to get across, then keep going left to safely return to Sister Splinter.

️ How to Beat Sister Splinter (Without Becoming a Thorn Cushion)

The fight itself is a dance of anticipation. Sister Splinter's Triple Slam attack is the star of the show, and it lands with the gentle finality of a piano dropped down an elevator shaft. The key is to learn the tells, dodge between slams, and sneak in a few hits. If dodges are timed well, players can jump up and attack Sister Splinter in between each slam, netting a handful of additional hits during this move.

The Multi-Thorn attack is the other headache. When the room gets blanketed in thorns, players without enough Silk to cast Silkspear should get to the center of the room, then rapidly hit the two thorns on both sides when they appear. After clearing the middle space, go toward one wall and hit vines on the way. Though vines will respawn at first, they stop respawning after about three waves. Clear at least three thorn vines' worth of space to have room to dodge the slam.

Traps and tools that damage enemies in mid-air are practically essential for the parts of the fight when a flying ally appears. The Longpin tool, for example, is thrown in an arc like a spear and can hit both Sister Splinter and any flying enemies at the top of the arc, even if they are near the ceiling out of Hornet's normal reach. Longpin also pierces through vines in its way; spamming this tool can quickly break multiple vines at once (if there is enough Tool ammo to spare).

Tool / Trap
Why It's Useful

Longpin
Arcing throw hits airborne enemies and pierces vines; spam to clear thorns fast.

Silkspear
Great for clearing the Multi-Thorn attack if Silk is available.

Mid-air traps
Essential for dealing with flying allies while focusing on Sister Splinter.

What Happens After Beating Sister Splinter?

After Sister Splinter is finally put out of its misery, access to the rest of Shellwood unlocks. Most notably, the exit to the left of the boss arena leads to the top half of another room Hornet ventured through earlier. Make the way around the central pillar and a Weaver statue will appear. Bind in front of this statue to get the Cling Grip ability. This is an extremely useful movement ability for Hornet, allowing her to grab onto vertical surfaces and wall jump. Getting Cling Grip lets players continue through Shellwood to the Widow fight to save Bellhart, and it also opens up previously-inaccessible areas in old zones. It is like being handed a master key after spending hours picking locks with a bent paperclip.

So there it is: a thorny boss, a slightly convoluted runback, and a reward that makes every wall in the game look like a ladder. With a little patience, a few well-aimed Longpins, and the ability to dodge like a caffeinated squirrel, Sister Splinter will be nothing more than a bumpy footnote on the road to Bellhart. ️

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The Terrible Tyrant: A Silksong Side Quest Worth the Hunt

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s The Terrible Tyrant quest demands Wall Cling and patience before the Skull Tyrant fight.

By 2026, Hollow Knight: Silksong has had time to reveal its quieter pleasures, and one of them is a side quest that turns a simple errand into a proper hunt. The traveler had already survived the early dangers of Moss Grotto, the Marrow, and the Deep Docks, but Bone Bottom still felt like a haven. That was where a new notice appeared after the Bell Beast was brought back, and that was where The Terrible Tyrant began. It was not a quest for someone who wanted a quick reward. It demanded Wall Cling, a little patience, and the willingness to hit suspicious walls.

A Quest That Waits for the Cling Grip

The first lesson was simple: The Terrible Tyrant could not be started without the Wall Cling ability. Once that power was in hand, the Bell Beast needed to be back in Bone Bottom. Only then did the quest appear, as if the settlement had finally trusted the traveler with a job beyond gathering berries. The path to the target began along the lowest corridor of the Marrow map. The traveler followed it until a mechanical platform offered a zip across the lava. On the far side, a new route opened up, one that only Cling Grip could reach.

That route was not welcoming. Narrow passages were lined with spikes, spiky enemies patrolled the edges, and skull spiders dropped from awkward angles. The traveler learned to move slowly, strike first, and treat every wall as a possible secret. The way forward was hidden behind more than one false surface, so every wall deserved a hit. At the end of that dangerous path, the traveler first headed left to pull a lever and open a shortcut. That small detour mattered. It turned a long, punishing return into a manageable one. Then it was time to head right, where the Skull Tyrant waited.

The Skull Tyrant Fight

By this point in Silksong, the Skull Tyrant is not a complex boss. Its moveset is limited, but its damage is not gentle. Each hit removes two masks, so the margin for error is thin. The fight boils down to three attacks: a running charge, a slam that sends rocks falling from the ceiling, and a jumping lunge. The traveler’s first mistake was drifting into the right-hand corner. Getting pinned there made every charge feel twice as dangerous. The better answer was to jump over the ground charge and strike from behind.

The rocks were the second problem. Light beams marked where they would fall, so the traveler kept one eye above the arena while circling the beast. The third lesson was about patience. The Skull Tyrant’s crown acts as armor, which means the usual pogo approach is not a safe shortcut. The traveler could not simply bounce on the boss and chip it down. Instead, the useful windows came when the creature screamed. Those pauses were short, but they were real. A ranged tool helped enormously, because the Skull Tyrant has a lot of HP, even with a sharpened nail. Without extra damage, the fight risked dragging on until mistakes piled up.

Boss attack
What to watch for
Best response

Running charge
A fast ground rush
Jump over it, then hit from behind

Slam
Light beams above the arena
Keep moving and avoid the marked spots

Jumping lunge
An aerial leap toward the traveler
Dodge, then punish the recovery

When the beast finally fell, the traveler did not forget the drop. The Crown Fragment was the proof of the hunt, and it had to be carried back to Bone Bottom. That return trip felt lighter thanks to the shortcut lever, but the reward was the real prize.

Rewards and Final Thoughts

Turning in The Terrible Tyrant quest brings 220 Rosaries. In Bone Bottom, that is a meaningful sum. It can be enough to finally buy one of the Simple Keys from a nearby merchant, or it can ease the cost of other early purchases. Many Silksong boss fights ask for effort and offer little more than survival, so a direct payment of 220 Rosaries stands out. The quest also teaches a useful rhythm: explore carefully, open shortcuts, learn a boss, and bring the proof home.

Quest fact
Detail

Prerequisite
Wall Cling / Cling Grip, plus the Bell Beast returned to Bone Bottom

Starting area
Bone Bottom

Target location
Lowest corridor of the Marrow, beyond the lava zip platform

Boss
Skull Tyrant

Turn-in item
Crown Fragment

Reward
220 Rosaries

In 2026, The Terrible Tyrant remains a fine example of what Silksong does well. It is not the hardest hunt in the game, and the Skull Tyrant will not trouble a prepared traveler for long. Yet the journey there is tense, the shortcut is satisfying, and the Rosaries are genuinely useful. For a player who has just earned Wall Cling, it is a side quest worth taking before the next grand challenge begins.

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