The Charles Bukowski quote: “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” seems truer and truer every single day that passes.


The saddest of ironies

I’ve made the habit of trying to get multiple articles out of any one game I’m playing at the moment, as outside of some true rarities, most games take enough time to beat, serve up so many different design elements, or vectors of interest with which to engage with, there is usually a wealth of content to wax philosophical upon, before one inevitably finds themselves on the doorsteps of the final big bad and is a stones throw away from a peace of mind the credits bring. I actually got damn near a dozen articles out of Doom: The Dark Ages, which was a surprise even to me, in spite of my Doom loving machinations that may suggest an obviously intense interest that would likely lead me to mine deeply the depths of quality for values to converse about and the jesting they would prompt, a genuine light hearted romp filled with playful innocence..


Wacky fun

Though the Doom name drop may seem like either a totally random aside or some cheap self-plugging nonsense with which I waste your time with at the moment, I reference the articles with the self-deprecating farcical observation that perhaps, I actually wrote too many articles about Doom; me feeling as if I provided a gross abundance of articles on the matter for anyone following the site. My current desire is to avoid committing to the same excessive indulgences with Silksong, but being as everyone (including myself) has been playing the damn thing all freaking weekend, it’s hard not to prattle on about the title a little while longer. (one last aside: a lot of those Doom articles I mentioned…they are are quite enjoyable taken singularly, but I digress now entirely).

Now, where was I? Ah yes…refocusing back on the wretched and the damned…


(THE TUBULAR BELLS SONG INTENSIFIES)

In my own mind, I’m at a crossroads of keen interest in my own queer musings involving Silksong, and which notions I want to bring to the forefront of endeavor. I’m leaning more towards shooting the shit about the title, as I have a long standing history of providing many an article detailing the metaphysical and headier notions of design involving both the philosophy behind games, and the psychology that goes along with it, as I also moonlight as a psychoanalysis fan of sorts, so my world is usually stuffed to the brim with a ridiculous litany of the thinkiest of thoughts. In a moment of revealingly dry humor, I was reading the dedicated introduction for Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason yesterday, and having the writer point out the endearingly obvious notion that “Philosophers tend to talk about philosophy” tickled me so, in one of those embarrassingly eye rolling ways you kind of have to stop yourself in the moment from doing too long, lest you look absolutely fucking insane by any normal person standing within viewing distance.


What I look like reading the driest philosophy book of all time.

A concept I ever so briefly brushed against in my first article of Silksong was the notion of the game having “a touch of the spoops”, and its intense relevancy to the homely charm that absolutely enchants the masses so whimsically beguiled by the game in all of its darkly fuzzy machinations. These qualities are indicative of why the title, much like its predecessor, has people so taken with it, though just one more element of the entire package I feel as if is quite understated in its bearing on the situation. At least, I don’t feel as if I see or hear enough people talking about the spoopy factor Hollow Knight and Silksong possess, though I don’t spend much time chilling within the echo chambers of online fandom, so perhaps my assessment is inappropriately sideways.


Present and accounted for, regardless

I think a good case of the spoops is an excellent way to have ones Halloween candy and eat it too, as it is evocative of a more ephemeral essence tied to a haunted aesthetic and frightening pretense of a macabre sort, without actually going the extra mile to scare the absolute shit out of individuals, or unnerve them properly, at the very least. This is all well and dandy, as the elements that truly make the otherworldly go bump in the night are usually so off-putting, you lose a much greater crowd of potential fans from being too authentically terrified to even want to engage.


If your nope factor is genuinely too noperrific, people are going to nope right the fuck out of the chance of even possibly nopeing to begin with

Which is a notion I think has some interesting parallels with difficulty, something many are obviously discussing with Silksong’s release, though an inherent and unavoidable quality I would say i casually glossed over in my articles the past few days. I’m kind of a difficulty junkie at heart, feeling most at home in the sweaty, pulsating heat of the arcade, or sweating bullets at three in the morning as I commit to my nteenth no death speedrun on Mega Man, for example, Meatboy and Cuphead being other similar cups of tea I fancy within the realm of the brutal, so games like Silksong are downright gentle in some senses of the word. Not that I haven’t had trouble with the game up to this point, mind you, but usually what vexes most usually enthralls me, so I’m generally in good standing when it comes to being drenched in the sharp downpour of difficulty, and bathing in the virtual light of excruciating oppression…


Forecast for Silksong: bring some shades and an umbrella

Elaborating on my last point a bit further, much like what the spoops are to the spooky, I think a similar sentiment can be said of a standard related to the notion of the challenging vs the excruciating, and exactly where to draw the line in testing the players patience in that regard. I think, as I detailed in my second article, Silksong’s sense of polish and pacing are par excellence, with creative team Team Cherry making short work of reinforcing a boisterous benchmark, which shows in spades when considering how many other game developers even delayed or pushed back their own games launching around the same time as Silksong, out of both respect and excitement to play Hollow Knights followup. In any case, the line drawn between challenging and excruciating in the gaming realm is usually easily distinguished by Quality of Life updates and inclusions, and all of the rationality they bring with them. The difference here being death prompting a learning experience vs a blood pressure issue, and how the player handles the emotional response trigger the failed attempt represents thereafter, the truly zealous and devout finding the salvation they seek either way.


Blind faith rules the day

When a player feels justifiably vanquished as opposed to cheaply disposed of, the developer in question can feel rightly proud of delivering a compelling challenge in design worthy of praise.

Judging by critical reception of Silksong’s launch, I’m guessing that’s what Team Cherry is feeling about now.

~Pashford