Hollow Knight: Silksong First Patch Released with Early Tweaks

Team Cherry has released the first patch for Hollow Knight: Silksong, bringing a wave of bug fixes, balance adjustments, and changes aimed at making the opening hours more approachable. While Silksong has built its reputation as a challenging experience from start to finish, the developers decided to smooth out some difficulty spikes early on to give players a more manageable start.

The update, currently available for Steam and GOG players through the public-beta branch and arriving on all platforms mid next week, introduces small but meaningful changes. Most notably, a couple of early bosses — Moorwing and Sister Splinter — received slight difficulty reductions. Enemies like Sandcarvers will now deal less damage, while players can expect a slight boost in rosary rewards from relics, psalm cylinders, and courier deliveries. These adjustments provide additional breathing room without altering the punishing nature of the game.

The updates have not affected the Abilities in the game. You can still find each Silksong Ability in its place on the map. By collecting eight club power-ups, you can unlock the potential of attack and movement in the game.

Alongside balance tweaks, the patch addresses a range of gameplay issues. Fixes include problems where Hornet could get stuck or lose abilities during certain sequences, issues with quests like Infestation Operation and Beast in the Bells failing to complete under specific conditions, and glitches affecting specific encounters and crafting mechanics. Several quality-of-life adjustments were also made, including small pricing reductions for mid-game Bellway and Bell Bench items.

Here are the official Hollow Knitting: Silksong patch notes from Steam:

• Fixed situation where players could remain cloakless after Slab escape sequence.
• Fixed wish Infestation Operation often not being completable during the late game.
• Fixed wish Beast in the Bells not being completable when Bell Beast is summoned at the Bilewater Bellway during the late game.
• Fixed getting stuck floating after down-bouncing on certain projectiles.
• Fixed courier deliveries sometimes being inaccessible in Act 3.
• Fixed craft bind behaving incorrectly when in memories.
• Fixed Lace tool deflect soft-lock at start of battle in Deep Docks.
• Fixed Silk Snippers in Chapel of the Reaper sometimes getting stuck out of bounds.
• Fixed Claw Mirrors leaving Hornet inverted if taking damage during a specific moment while binding.
• Fixed Snitch Pick not giving rosaries and shell shards as intended.
• Removed float override input (down + jump, after player has Faydown Cloak).
• Slight difficulty reduction in early game bosses Moorwing and Sister Splinter.
• Reduction in damage from Sandcarvers.
• Slight increase in pea pod collider scale.
• Slight reduction in mid-game Bellway and Bell Bench prices.
• Slight increase in rosary rewards from relics and psalm cylinders.
• Increase in rosary rewards for courier deliveries.
• Various additional fixes and tweaks.

This patch is a clear response to community feedback. Silksong has been noted for its punishing mechanics, and even though players enjoy the challenge, the adjustments give newcomers a chance to ease into the mechanics before the difficulty curve rises again. Among the huge online community on Steam, there are many players unfamiliar with the genre and the original Hollow Knight. The fact that Team Cherry rolled out a public beta branch highlights its effort to involve the player base in ongoing testing and refinement.

While this patch focuses heavily on fixes, the community has been discussing another standout design decision: benches. Benches have always been safe havens in the Hollow Knight universe, giving players the chance to rest, heal, and set their respawn points. But Silksong adds a twist. Players recently discovered a trick bench hidden in Hunter’s March that works less like a safe zone and more like a trap.

Silksong’s bench in Hunter’s March looks like any other checkpoint. After enduring a long section filled with hazards, players naturally feel relieved when they reach it. However, sitting down triggers a spike trap that immediately takes a large chunk of health. The surprise caught many players off guard, with some reporting it as one of the most frustrating moments of their runs.

"I was like 'finally, a bench', sat down at two masks and let go of my keyboard.. Died." — Reddit user

The trap bench is not just a cruel trick. It can actually be deactivated. If players move to the left side of the bench before sitting down, they will find a lever that, once struck with Hornet’s needle, disables the spikes and turns the bench into a normal checkpoint. This design reflects Team Cherry’s approach to Silksong: challenging, sometimes deceptive, but always offering a way to overcome obstacles with careful observation.

Together, the first patch and the ongoing discoveries in Silksong showcase how the game continues to evolve in response to community feedback and player exploration. Team Cherry is making early game improvements without compromising the difficulty that defines the series, while also slipping in new mechanics that keep players on edge. The combination of fixes, tweaks, and surprises ensures that Silksong remains a tough but rewarding experience, one that balances community expectations with the studio’s vision for a demanding platformer.