So here we are in 2026, and I am still nursing a grudge against a certain armored ant. Look, I beat Hollow Knight. I fancy myself a reasonably competent bug with a nail. Then Silksong came out in 2025, and Team Cherry apparently decided that seven years of development time should be spent teaching every early-game enemy how to hit like a freight train wearing boxing gloves.

I am not alone in this. Mere hours after launch, the internet was already doing what it does best: complaining. And honestly? The complaints have teeth. No fewer than three Reddit threads popped up with players howling about how quickly Silksong ramps up the difficulty compared to the original. One player, immaturenickname, put it perfectly: ‘In Hollow Knight, double damage felt like a big deal. Here, it’s like every enemy a step above fodder has it.’ Yes. Exactly. The welcome wagon in Silksong is not a wagon. It is a spiked wheel that deals two masks of damage and then asks if you would like another.

Here is the thing that really twists the knife: masks are hard to get. In Hollow Knight, you started with five masks, and you could build up to six or seven in no time. In Silksong, Hornet also starts with five masks, but those extra masks feel like they are locked behind a boss rush designed by a sadist with a spreadsheet. Another player, Conscious_Ad_7131, pointed out that double damage was super uncommon in the original and that masks were plentiful. In Silksong, double damage is basically the default setting for anything that is not a floating jellyfish. It makes the early game feel like you are

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