Hollow Knight Silksong's first speedrunner sets two currently unbeatable records

In just over a week, I'll bid farewell to my friends, family, and my collection of rocks as I embark on my Hollow Knight Silksong journey. There's an arduous quest ahead of me, and I'm expecting more than my fair share of crashouts. What will be a Herculean task for a mere mortal like me, though, is just a warm up for the speedrunning Adonises who continue to make a mockery of gaming's hardest challenges. In fact, before I've even been able to touch down in Pharloom, a runner's already set not just one, but two world records.

Last week, players attending Germany's Gamescom expo got their hands on the holy grail; a 15-minute hands-on with Hollow Knight Silksong. I'm green with envy that Jamie got to get his mitts on Hornet's acrobatic adventure, which left him buzzing in his Hollow Knight Silksong preview. As he notes, Silksong "doesn't seem like a massive departure from the original," but "freshens up the formula." To be honest, that's all it needs to achieve to take its place among the pantheon of best indie games out there. The Silkreaper's already pushing games back, despite the lack of review access, so I'm confident it won't be long before it pops up on our list.

While Jamie managed to tip over into the second level on offer before his session ended and he was swatted away, speedrunner 'BlueSR' got two bites of the honeycomb; just enough time to set not only a standard any% record, but the fastest recorded time for a full, 100% clear of the demo slice.

Recorded on a phone camera like it's 2006, BlueSR's impressive runs showcase the sophistication not only of Hornet's expanded capabilities, including her trademark Silk Spear and diagonal dives, but also the augmented movesets of Pharloom's denizens. Silksong's skill floor looks to be fundamentally higher than its predecessor, but BlueSr makes it look easy.

The full, 100% run you can watch above took a clean 10 minutes and 36 seconds to clear. The short-and-sweet, no nonsense any%'er, which you can watch here, was conquered with needle-like precision in just 2 minutes and 26 seconds. Zoomin'. BlueSR's so early to the punch, in fact, that Speedrun.com doesn't even have a Silksong category yet.

Ahead of the Hollow Knight Silksong release date, make sure your rig's prepared for the admittedly humble Hollow Knight Silksong system requirements.

It's not long now, Silksong nation. Make sure you get in on the buzz by dashing into our community Discord server - we can suffer together.