The Hollow Knight: Silksong Sea of Sorrow DLC is almost upon us… apparently. So you may have quite a few things left to finish in the original Silksong. Honestly, any reason to return to the wonderful world of Pharloom is good for me!
The thing is, Silksong has quite a few offboarding points, and it isn’t always clear when you’re finished with the game. Perhaps you faced off against Grandmother Silk and decided, yep, that was enough. Or perhaps you got to Lost Lace and gave up? Some pushed it further, and some, well, they got to the Savage Beastfly and called it a day.
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This is the perfect time to get back into Silksong, and really master the game before this DLC completely crushes us! Let’s get into it!
Watch out for some spoilers about hidden endings and other Silksong secrets ahead!
10
Beat All Acts
Champion of Pharloom
This is almost certainly the most basic, and probably the one most people did before giving up on Silksong. Silksong has 3 Acts, culminating in the Final fight against Lost Lace, which will likely test even the most battle-hardened Metroidvania fans.
But of course, even before that, you’ll face the three memory bosses, which will likely weed out even more players! While these are difficult, the achievement you feel after getting through them is incredible and will surely prepare you for anything the DLC has to offer.
If the DLCs for the original Hollow Knight are any indication, it’s about to get a whole lot more difficult.
9
Achieve the Secret Ending
The Cursed Child
This one is going to be pretty tough if you don’t have a guide to follow, and it might even seem a bit ridiculous, but it’s worth doing.
The Secret Ending revolves around Hornet finding a little bud deep in Bilewater and having Greyroot implant it in her. This massively weakens her and leaves you unsure how to proceed, almost like the first time you get cursed in the original Dark Souls.
However, if you keep playing in this cursed state and defeat Grandmother Silk, you’ll unlock a whole new ending! You can then have the parasite removed later and continue as normal. If you were in need of an additional challenge, this will provide just that.
8
Assist Mr Mushroom
A Mycelium Mystery
If you completed the Mr Mushroom quest in the previous Hollow Knight, you’ll know where I’m going with this one!
You can start Mr Mushroom’s quest in a little upper-nook at the far edge of the Pale Lake. Once you’ve read the poem, you’ll have to head all across the map, searching for Mr Mushroom and playing your Needolin to encounter him.
After clearing his conversations and climbing to the top of the tricky platforming section of the Cradle, you’ll find Mr Mushroom one last time, and he will blast off into the sky, unlocking a cutscene when you clear the game once more.
Remember to grab the Surface Memento after speaking with Mr Mushroom, otherwise you’ll need to complete the climb all over again.
7
Find Every Hidden Area
Secrets Hidden In the Dark
Even if you’ve completed basically everything Silksong has to offer, you still might not have seen everything on the map.
For example, if you collect the three boss hearts and progress toward Lost Lace, you might not have discovered Lost Verdania. You can unlock this by completing the Green Prince questline, which starts in Sinner’s Road and lets you skip one of the main Heart bosses by using the Conjoined Heart instead.
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Or perhaps you haven’t yet discovered the Wisp Thicket, accessed by using Silk Soar in the Western Tower in Greymoor. The Pharloom map is dotted with hidden spots, and while not all of them have bosses or important items to collect, you may find something special and fascinating about the lore of this magical kingdom!
6
Stockpile Currency
Rich Beyond the Dreams of Avarice
You might have finished most of the game, but you might not be ready to give it up completely, right? A good way to prepare for Sea of Sorrows is to collect as much money as you can, whether it’s Shell Shards or Rosaries.
Who knows what upgrades will be on offer, and honestly, the last thing you want when the DLC hits is have to leave and farm enemies for Rosaries! That’s not exactly the most exhilarating way to spend your time.
If you want to boost your passive income, grab the Crawbell after defeating the Crawfather at Craw Lake in Act 3. This gives you free Roseries every time you return to check on your house in Bellhart.
5
Find Every Character Upgrade
The Best Version of You!
A large part of Silksong is upgrading Hornet to become the most powerful bug in all of Pharloom. You can do this in a few ways, but here I’ll split it into innate power and external power.
I classify Innate power as collectables like Mask Shards, Spool Fragments and Silk Hearts: Stuff that boosts your health and silk capacity, etc. With so many enemies in Silksong dealing a ridiculous amount of damage, it makes the most sense to go into the DLC as prepared as you can.
Max out your health and silk, collect those Memory Lockets, and make sure you have every Crest on standby. You never know what powers you’ll need to defeat the horrors in the Sea of Sorrow.
Locked and Loaded
Continuing from the previous point, we now have external power sources, including the Needle and Tools.
For the Needle, you’ll need to upgrade it four times to reach the maximum power threshold; the last of which can only be done in Act 3 by completing the Flea Festival. The power boost from all the upgrades is extremely noticeable, so getting this done ASAP is crucial.
However, if you prefer a different playstyle, tools can massively boost your progression, with some tools being ridiculously broken in the right hands. Varying your tool usage and experimenting with different crests can unlock unique playstyles and even grant huge bonuses against certain bosses, so having them all at your disposal is vital.
3
Complete the Hunter’s Journal
Gotta Squash ‘Em All!
This is one of the most time-consuming challenges because of the sheer number of creatures that reside in Pharloom’s twisted world. However, defeating them all will give you the necessary skills you need to take on any future challenges.
Hunting down every creature will give you a huge amount of resources, but it will also take you across the entire world, into every nook and cranny, teaching you the unique details of every area and how to avoid every attack that comes your way.
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2
Surpass Seth
Carnival Games Are My Jam!
I didn’t come across this until the very end of my Silksong journey; however, once you know the backstory, it becomes a sweet story about a real Hollow Knight Fan. But right now, we’re talking about the in-game quest.
After defeating Seth, the boss encountered before the Nyleth fight, he will set off on a quest across Pharloom. You need to encounter him in a certain number of locations before he heads off to the Flea Festival.
Here, Seth will set a new record in every minigame, and of course, if you want to prove yourself, you’ll have to beat his high scores! So if you hated getting that Pale Oil earlier… well, take a deep breath and prepare to grind. Only after you beat Seth’s scores will you receive the Guardian’s Memento, physical proof of your sheer movement excellence.
1
Attempt Steel Soul Mode Or a Speedrun
Ascend and Become Godlike
Finally, we have the challenge that very few will even dare to attempt, and even fewer will complete.
Once you’ve completed all of the above challenges, you might want to take the ultimate test. Silksong has multiple achievements for both of these challenges: Steel Soul Mode and a Speedrun, and after completing both myself, I have to admit they’re not for the faint of heart.
For example, completing the entire game in Steel Soul mode forces you to improve so much that bosses you may have struggled with for hours in the past become an absolute cakewalk. It’s not just about knowing the encounters; it’s about understanding the game’s inner workings and mastering its movement.
You could say the same about speedrunning. Completing the game in under five hours requires you to play without mistakes and without upgrades, massively scaling the difficulty all while the time ticks down in the background.
Here you learn to make the most of what you have and play under pressure, knowing that making mistakes will waste your time or force you to start from scratch. It might sound like masochism, but honestly, these were some of my proudest gaming achievements. And now, if you complete both, I know nothing in Sea of Sorrow will stand in your way!
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Gotta Go Fast!
Released
September 4, 2025
ESRB
Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
Developer(s)
Team Cherry
Publisher(s)
Team Cherry