Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Review Bombing Fallout C
Hollow Knight: Silksong’s review bombing, driven by poor Chinese localization and brutal difficulty, keeps its Steam rating at Mostly Positive.
I have watched the Hollow Knight: Silksong review saga unfold with a mix of fascination and frustration. Even in 2026, the conversation around Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel is still shaped by the review bombing campaign that began shortly after launch. What started as one of the most hyped indie releases in years quickly became a case study in how localization, difficulty, and player expectations can collide. The game’s global rating continues to reflect that collision, and the negative reviews have not stopped.
From Overwhelmingly Positive To Mostly Positive
I remember the early excitement. Silksong launched to an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, a result that felt earned after years of waiting. But according to SteamDB, that rating plummeted quickly. After being on the market for just a handful of days, the game sat at a Mostly Positive global rating. Only 76% of its reviews were positive, while 23% skewed negative. That is a significant drop for any game, let alone one with Silksong’s pedigree.
Here is the breakdown as I understand it:
Platform
Launch Rating
Later Global Rating
Positive Reviews
Negative Reviews
Steam
Overwhelmingly Positive
Mostly Positive
76%
23%
That table is not just numbers. It represents a flood of reviews from players around the world, especially in China. Team Cherry offered assurances, but the negative reviews kept coming on platforms like Steam. So I have to ask: when does a review score stop being a snapshot and start becoming a verdict?
Fans In China Still Aren’t Happy With Silksong
The biggest point of contention has been the game’s poor Chinese localization. This is not a minor complaint about a few awkward phrases. It is a fundamental issue that affects how players understand the story, the world, and the combat systems. Matthew Griffin, the head of marketing and PR for Team Cherry, confirmed on X that fixes to the localization are coming. That confirmation was welcome, but it has not stopped the negative reviews.
Why? Because trust, once broken, is hard to rebuild. Players who felt ignored or disrespected by a rushed localization are not necessarily going to change their reviews just because a patch is promised. They want action, not just words. And in 2026, that lesson still echoes across the industry.
Difficulty, Design, And The Rosary Problem
Localization is not the only reason people dislike Silksong. A lot of complaints surround the game’s difficulty, specifically how unfair it can feel. Some boss fights and enemy encounters pushed players past frustration and into resignation. There is a difference between a hard game and a game that feels hostile, and many reviewers argued that Silksong crossed that line too often.
There are also criticisms of certain design decisions, such as Silksong’s rosary problem. For players who wanted to love the game, these issues compounded. They did not just make the experience harder; they made the experience less rewarding. I can understand why some fans felt that the sequel had lost the elegant balance of the original Hollow Knight.
Team Cherry Says A Fix Is Coming, But Is It Too Late?
Team Cherry did respond. The first major update was positioned to make the game a lot easier, especially early on. The Moorwing and Sister Splinter bosses were set to become less challenging, and mid-game Bellway and Bell Bench prices were to be decreased. A handful of other tweaks were also planned to make the overall Silksong experience feel more balanced.
That sounds like a meaningful patch. But here is the problem: the upcoming patch would not address the Chinese localization, which was Silksong’s biggest point of contention. If Team Cherry has aspirations for Silksong’s rating to return to Overwhelmingly Positive, then it needs to fix this issue as soon as possible. Until then, Hollow Knight: Silksong will likely continue to get negative reviews, and its global rating could decrease even further.
So, is the fix too little, too late? For some players, yes. For others, the patch is a sign that Team Cherry is listening. I think the answer depends on what happens next. A balanced patch can repair gameplay frustration, but it cannot repair a localization