Hollow Knight: Silksong Beginner's Guide

New to Hollow Knight: Silksong? The basics of healing with silk, Rosaries, benches, crests and tools – and the habits that stop Pharloom from beating you.

Updated 3 November 2026Checked for patch Patch 5 (1.0.30000)3 sources
Image: Team Cherry / YouTube

Hollow Knight: Silksong is Team Cherry's 2D action-adventure sequel to Hollow Knight. You play Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, who is captured and taken to the kingdom of Pharloom and must climb to its shining Citadel. It came out on September 4, 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S (and Game Pass), Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. A free expansion, Sea of Sorrow, was announced in December 2025 for release in 2026.

The basics

Silk healsHit enemies to fill your silk spool, then bind to heal several masks at once.
RosariesThe currency for maps, tools and upgrades. Die and you leave them behind in a cocoon.
BenchesRest to save, heal, restock tools and swap crests.
WishesSide quests from the townsfolk, posted on wish boards. They reward tools and upgrades.

Habits that keep you alive

Buy maps and the CompassShakra the mapmaker sells most area maps. The Compass tool shows where you are.
Get your cocoon backAfter a death, return to your cocoon to recover the Rosaries you dropped.
Try every crestEach crest changes how Hornet fights. Find the one that fits you.
Come back laterA path you can't reach needs a later ability. Mark it and move on.
Don't force a bossStuck? Explore elsewhere, collect mask shards and return stronger.

Keep going

Browse the bosses, the areas of Pharloom and the trailers, or read our guide to beating the Last Judge.

Our Hollow Knight: Silksong articles on this

Reference page written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games change with every patch – the patch this page was last checked for is shown at the top.