The Game Awards were this past week.  For the last few years I have enjoyed watching, in part for the discussion it creates but mostly because it’s a reliable source of seeing the Muppets each year.  I caught most of the show this year while enjoying my weekly game night with some friends and so watched as Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 took home nine awards, setting a record for the show.  I’ve not yet had the time to play Clair Obscure.  I’ve heard good things and am looking forward to getting it sooner vice later, and so I don’t really have anything to add to the discussion about the game.

However, it did make me think about one of the other nominations for the show’s Game of the Year, Hollow Knight: Silksong.  I have played Silksong and while I had some early frustrations with the design of the game, by the end I greatly enjoyed its tight game play, the solemnity of its story, and especially the depth of its world building.  Silksong is definitely one of those games that when you hit a certain level of proficiency with its combat, and when things are jiving, has the wonderful flow that gives the player that sense of really being as elegant and powerful as Hornet is portrayed to be.  This is elevated by the beautiful animations of the game, I don’t think I ever tired of the way Hornet would tumble through the air after attack or as she sprinted and launched through the air.  The way the story drops into Pharloom, a long cursed kingdom that has fallen from whatever greatness it may have once had and is on the verge of becoming as desolate at the kingdom of Hollownest in the first game, hits me right in my most enjoyed method of telling a story and exploring a world.  There’s the story but also the lore to uncover and doing this while having Hornet be enough of blank slate to be able to project motivations and emotions onto her created an experience that really drew me in.

Which brings me to my general shock of how little attention Silksong has gotten.  Sure, it was such a largely anticipated game that when it released it literally broke the online game marketplaces, but beyond a general consensus that it is a great and wonderfully crafted game, and a bit of a side discourse about difficulty, the attention of those invested in video games seemed to have largely moved on.  That was unexpected to me and I’ve spent some time thinking of why the lack of discourse may have occurred.

What I settled on is that it’s because the game largely met expectations, even as exceptionally high as they were.  Hollow Knight, the first game in the series, is itself a phenomenal game.  So, the big discourse after the years of silence and waiting for Silksong was would the sequel live up to the original and to the hype.  When Silksong came out and it was clear it had matched, and in even some ways exceeded, Hollow Knight that seemed to be it.  The big question was answered and the discourse moved on.

It was almost like because there was so little friction when discussing the game everyone went on to find something that would prove more…engaging…I guess that’s the right word.  Essentially, Silksong did what everyone felt it was suppose to do and so people didn’t feel the need to talk about it.

On one hand, that’s lack of discussion is a shame.  I’ve heard some people say that there’s nothing interesting to say about Silksong but just from a story and world building standpoint that’s so far from the truth.  Both Hollow Knight and Silksong’s settings deal with the mistakes of the past, and I think there’s a very interesting look to be had on both those past are conveyed but also how Pharloom’s dying state contrasts with Hollownest’s dead state.  Similarly, Hornet as a more developed character than the Vessel from the first game creates implications for the storytelling that could’ve weighed down the narrative but instead weave (pun intended for those in the know) together beautifully with it.

On the other hand, it’s such a strange observation on how our discourses play out that something can be almost neglected for its success.  On reflection, I’ve probably spent more words complaining about something than I spend praising something good.  Looking back, I can think of games that failed to do what Silksong did, games where expectations were not met.  Starfield was such a game for me to the point where I had to take a break to let my expectations re-calibrate so that I could enjoy it.  Starfield has probably had more said about it, and is still referenced an example for what it did wrong.  Meanwhile, Silksong seems almost doomed to be neglected because it met expectations.

It’s a sobering thought for me, a reminder of how easy it is to focus on negative things and get sucked into the confrontation.  Certainly some friction in discourse is good, but I think going forward it’s a reminder for me to spend a little more time enjoying and praising those things that are exceptional.  After all, many failures come along but exceptional things are pretty rare.

Looking to my stories.  I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing Quartes and Keto in some festive and fun moments.  I had set out to write last week’s story about them enjoying the peace of a snowfall.  Instead, I landed on a battle between the pair and a village’s youth.  It was a lot of fun to write and I think “screams of delighted fear,” might be one of my better turns of phrase.  I’m sure one day we’ll get to see Fey and Bard enjoy a quiet snowfall, but I’m glad we got to have this more exciting moment.  I’ve got some ideas for this week’s post but am not sure yet which one I’m gonna go with.  We’ll certainly both figure out on Saturday and then we’ll be heading out of the holiday season.  With that comes a new year and I think I’m gonna take us on some new adventures.  I’ve been wanting to dive a bit more into encounters with Fey creatures and so I have an idea for some “Monster of the week” type stories.  We’re also coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the site, so I will need to start thinking about what I want to do about that.

For now though, go forth and do good things,

Sean

P.S. – POSHANKA!