"Silksong is a game that is designed explicitly as a game to be played after Hollow Knight, and I found that from the experience of someone who had previously played Hollow Knight, it was an amazing experience and just about everything I was hoping for out of another game from Team Cherry, surprisingly living up to the hype. The game is genuinely massive, with almost double the number of zones that base Hollow Knight has, and it explores and expands upon the foundations that Hollow Knight sets in exciting ways that I found myself marveling at. The game also is genuinely gorgeous - the world of Pharloom is far more vibrant and colorful than that of Hollownest and I found myself constantly awestruck at the sheer beauty of the world around me when I wasn't fighting enemies.

Silksong is a markedly difficult game; it's a considerable step up in difficulty from Hollow Knight, often having to put some thought even into the most basic of enemies in order to not take damage while defeating them. The game's bosses are fairly varied in difficulty, but on average I also find them to be more difficult than those of Hollow Knight. For these reasons and more, while I think it's possible to play Silksong before Hollow Knight and even potentially find enjoyment out of doing so, I wouldn't personally recommend playing Silksong before playing Hollow Knight - both games are phenomenal and I think that for many reasons, Silksong is more enjoyable after having already played Hollow Knight.

Overall, Silksong is a game I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who has some degree of interest in the Metroidvania genre, and while I think your experience would be improved if you played Hollow Knight first, I think Silksong has enough enjoyment as a standalone game that you could still have fun with it if you prepare yourself for a difficult time."