Hollow Knight Silksong's runbacks are proving divisive, but I've got a fix

There's that inevitable moment in every videogame where a boss kicks the shit out of you. Perhaps it's right at the end when you take on the biggest bad yet or, if it's a soulslike, it's literally every time you take on a new boss - at some point, you're going to get put in your place; that's part of the fun. Hollow Knight Silksong, much like its predecessor, doesn't pull its punches, and you're absolutely going to find yourself sitting on one of those wrought iron benches at least once. Problem is, they're too far away from the bosses themselves, meaning you have to rerun the gauntlet that got you there in the first place, potentially losing valuable life in the process.

It's something that's split Hollow Knight Silksong's playerbase straight down the middle. On one hand, the game is hard: in many ways it's basically a hybrid of traditional Metroidvania and soulslike elements. But, having to runback every single Hollow Knight Silksong boss is pretty punishing, especially in the early stages. Some are arguing 'that's the point, it's meant to be hard,' while others simply want more respawn points ahead of bigger, game-altering foes to save them the runback.

"Personally, I hate boss runbacks," writes u/dacontag on a post on Reddit. "I think games like Lies of P had it right where most of the bosses have respawns either right outside the boss room or they have a very easy runback. "Boss runbacks are what kill most soulslikes for me. Just annoying filler time," echoes u/SolidSky.

"The runbacks are not as bad as people are making them out to be," counters u/ZerbaZoo, with u/Gimmethebat1 writing "Yeah, they are objectively better than the first Hollow Knight." I did say it was divisive, didn't I?

But thankfully, players are already on the case. A new Hollow Knight Silksong mod entitled Stakes of Marika - Rebirth Anywhere, created by 'kassent' and inspired by Elden Ring, allows you to respawn just ahead of major boss fights. It also allows you to select specific map points, too, if you're looking to pick up more Hollow Knight Mask Shards ahead of your next fight, or if you want to upgrade your Needle.

You can download kassent's mod here. Once installed, you'll immediately reappear at the scene's entrance, or you can use F8 on the keyboard to create a unique respawn location where you're standing. If you run into any issues, using F10 allows you to instantly die and return to the closest, official bench.

If you're still trying to get your bearings in Pharloom, check out our full rundown of the Hollow Knight Silksong map. Alternatively if you, like me, keep getting your ass handed to you by the darkness' creepy, crawly denizens, here's how to save in Hollow Knight Silksong.

How do you feel about Silksong's runbacks? Let us know on Discord - don't worry, we're probably stuck on the same boss as you.