As a person who fell in love with Hollow Knight and metroidvanias in general (especially souls-likes), this game is pretty much what I expect Silksong to be without maybe the difficulty. This game has to be the best metroidvania and souls-like since I have played Hollow Knight from top to bottom. More people need to play this all time masterpiece.

Gameplay: 5/5

The parry mechanic alone is an interesting thing to talk about and put into practice (You can perfect parry to take no damage or do an imperfect block and take internal damage that can be regenerated if you don't take damage for a while unless you have other means around it), but everything is very clean. Bolstered blocks to counter specific attacks really turned the gameplay up by a lot and demanded a lot from the user, but nothing too ridiculous. Talisman attacks served to pop extra internal damage and supplement your basic attacks when you saw an opening. This is also a rare case where you really feel great about the skill tree upgrades, jades acting as the charms from Hollow Knight, and the tao fruit you consume to make your base strength more powerful. This game has some platforming challenges and puzzles as an additional spice to the game. Additionally, if the game is too hard for you, you have an easier difficulty option to make the game easier. This is great fast action-oriented gameplay that requires precise timings and rewards highly skilled players.

Graphics: 5/5

Excellent well drawn 2-D models that require low specs to play the game. Extremely intriguing and inviting backgrounds/environments to explore throughout the game invite you to invest in the story and gameplay more. Gameplay visuals are also extremely clear on what is blockable and what is not.

Sound: 5/5

The initial area music is odd (maybe on purpose to make it unsettling to the player), but otherwise the music for everything is fantastic. It sets the correct tone and complements the environments extremely well. Excellent hit/block/dodge/enemy attack confirmation as well with the sounds (not just the visuals). Everything you can ask for.

Story: 5/5

I wish some movies had well-written characters like this game. Every character has a purpose, a coherent background, and many comic-like drawings to show why they act the way they act. Overall story is also great with a great commentary on real-life topics and the perfect true ending in my opinion. Nothing is far-fetched, the pacing, anticipation, and twists are excellent. There are no complaints about anything regarding this topic.

Replayability: 3/5

Understandably, it is hard to find good replayability in single player games like this. Being able to replay the boss battles is a start, but disappointing we didn't at least get a new game plus to easily complete a few achievements a player may have missed. There also are two endings which can both be chosen and replayed on the same file which is nice, but outside of achievement hunting and finding the two endings, there isn't that much motivation to replay the game other than it was a masterpiece.

Final Verdict: 9.5/10

This game is the complete package outside of having a New Game+. If you hate this game, you must really dislike metroidvanias and souls-like games. I have not felt this good of a game since I have played titles like Crosscode, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Hollow Knight. It is in THAT tier of elite games I will always recommend to everyone looking for a challenging game with an intriguing story.

As a person who fell in love with Hollow Knight and metroidvanias in general (especially souls-likes), this game is pretty much what I expect Silksong to be without maybe the difficulty. This game has to be the best metroidvania and souls-like since I have played Hollow Knight from top to bottom. More people need to play this all time masterpiece. [u] Gameplay: 5/5 [/u] The parry mechanic alone is an interesting thing to talk about and put into practice (You can perfect parry to take no damage or do an imperfect block and take internal damage that can be regenerated if you don't take damage for a while unless you have other means around it), but everything is very clean. Bolstered blocks to counter specific attacks really turned the gameplay up by a lot and demanded a lot from the user, but nothing too ridiculous. Talisman attacks served to pop extra internal damage and supplement your basic attacks when you saw an opening. This is also a rare case where you really feel great about the skill tree upgrades, jades acting as the charms from Hollow Knight, and the tao fruit you consume to make your base strength more powerful. This game has some platforming challenges and puzzles as an additional spice to the game. Additionally, if the game is too hard for you, you have an easier difficulty option to make the game easier. This is great fast action-oriented gameplay that requires precise timings and rewards highly skilled players. [u] Graphics: 5/5 [/u] Excellent well drawn 2-D models that require low specs to play the game. Extremely intriguing and inviting backgrounds/environments to explore throughout the game invite you to invest in the story and gameplay more. Gameplay visuals are also extremely clear on what is blockable and what is not. [u] Sound: 5/5 [/u] The initial area music is odd (maybe on purpose to make it unsettling to the player), but otherwise the music for everything is fantastic. It sets the correct tone and complements the environments extremely well. Excellent hit/block/dodge/enemy attack confirmation as well with the sounds (not just the visuals). Everything you can ask for. [u] Story: 5/5 [/u] I wish some movies had well-written characters like this game. Every character has a purpose, a coherent background, and many comic-like drawings to show why they act the way they act. Overall story is also great with a great commentary on real-life topics and the perfect true ending in my opinion. Nothing is far-fetched, the pacing, anticipation, and twists are excellent. There are no complaints about anything regarding this topic. [u] Replayability: 3/5 [/u] Understandably, it is hard to find good replayability in single player games like this. Being able to replay the boss battles is a start, but disappointing we didn't at least get a new game plus to easily complete a few achievements a player may have missed. There also are two endings which can both be chosen and replayed on the same file which is nice, but outside of achievement hunting and finding the two endings, there isn't that much motivation to replay the game other than it was a masterpiece. [u] Final Verdict: 9.5/10 [/u] This game is the complete package outside of having a New Game+. If you hate this game, you must really dislike metroidvanias and souls-like games. I have not felt this good of a game since I have played titles like Crosscode, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Hollow Knight. It is in THAT tier of elite games I will always recommend to everyone looking for a challenging game with an intriguing story.