Hollow Knight Silksong (2026): Sea of Sorrow DLC, Act 3 Walkthrough, and Why It Was Worth the Wait
Last updated: May 23, 2026. Team Cherry's eleven-year wait is over. Hollow Knight: Silksong released in 2025, and as of late May 2026 it has shipped through Patch 5, had its difficulty famously balanced, and just had its first free DLC (Sea of Sorrow) officially announced. This is the consolidated state of the game: review verdict, Act 3 walkthrough, the DLC roadmap, and whether to start now or wait for Sea of Sorrow.
The Short Verdict
Silksong is brutal, brilliant, and a worthy follow-up to one of the most beloved metroidvanias ever made. Reviews land in the 9-10 range almost universally, with the most common critical note being the Act 3 difficulty curve. Patch 5 (March 2026) addressed the worst of that complaint by reducing some Act 3 boss tuning. The game now sits as a near-consensus modern classic.
If you loved Hollow Knight, Silksong is essential. If you bounced off Hollow Knight for difficulty reasons, Silksong is harder, not easier. There is no compromise here; this is Team Cherry doubling down on what made the first game divisive and triumphant.
Hornet, Pharloom, and the New World
Silksong stars Hornet, the supporting character from Hollow Knight, now the protagonist. The story takes her to Pharloom, a new kingdom suspended above and below a vast salt-stricken sea, a setting that lays the ground for the upcoming Sea of Sorrow DLC.
The mechanics are an evolution, not a copy:
- Movement: faster, more acrobatic than the Knight. Hornet's silk-thread mechanics enable swinging traversal, hooks, and air-dashes that change the moment-to-moment feel.
- Combat: needle-based, with crests (loadouts) replacing the charm system from Hollow Knight. Crests fundamentally restructure how builds work; each one is a tactical commitment, not just a stat boost.
- Tools: consumable and reusable tools replace pure-spell magic. The economy is different; tool management is an active concern.
- Story: more directly told than Hollow Knight, with named NPCs delivering more dialogue and clearer through-lines.
The Three Acts
Silksong's progression is structured around three Acts, each gating new regions, traversal abilities, and bosses behind a story milestone.
Act 1: Pharloom's Edge
The first 6-10 hours. Introduces the major movement systems, the first crests, and around five main-path bosses. Difficulty curve is steep for new players but reasonable for Hollow Knight veterans. Act 1 ends with a story milestone that opens Act 2 once a key item is recovered.
Act 2: The Citadel Ascent
The middle stretch, 10-15 hours. Introduces the vertical map structure, the Citadel locations, and roughly half of the game's bosses. Act 2 is widely considered the game's peak: the moment-to-moment exploration and combat hit a balance that the harder Act 3 deliberately disrupts.
Act 3: The Final Ascent
The endgame, 10-20+ hours depending on completionism. Multi-phase bosses, harder platforming, and the game's most narratively-loaded moments. Act 3 is also where some Hollow Knight tie-ins appear, rewarding players who completed the first game.
How to Get to Act 3
"Hollow Knight Silksong how to get to act 3" is one of the most-searched walkthrough queries in 2026. The unlock path:
- Complete the Act 2 main questline. The major story beats lead to a sealed Citadel chamber.
- Defeat the Act 2 final boss (no spoilers; the encounter is clearly signposted).
- The sealed chamber opens after the boss is defeated.
- An automatic transition sequence takes Hornet into Act 3.
If you've defeated the Act 2 boss but haven't transitioned, double-check that you've talked to the relevant NPCs in the Citadel hub area. A common stuck-point is missing a brief but mandatory dialogue.
Why Act 3 Was Controversial (and How Patch 5 Fixed It)
At launch, Act 3 had a difficulty spike that even Hollow Knight veterans struggled with. The complaint was not "this is hard"; it was "this stopped being fun." Several bosses had attack patterns that required near-frame-perfect execution, and the platforming sequences felt designed for speedrunners rather than completionists.
Team Cherry responded across multiple patches:
- Patch 2 (late 2025): minor boss tuning and platforming hitbox adjustments.
- Patch 3 (early 2026): additional checkpoint placements in the longest gauntlet sequences.
- Patch 5 (March 2026): the "last significant update before DLC launch" per the patch notes. Targeted Act 3 boss balance and several long-criticized platforming sections.
The post-Patch-5 consensus: Act 3 is still the hardest stretch of the game, but it now feels difficult-but-fair rather than punishing. PC Gamer's reviewer, who had publicly struggled with launch-state Act 3, returned to call the post-patch version "mean in the best way."
Act 3 Walkthrough Skeleton (No Spoilers for Bosses)
For players currently working through Act 3:
- Save tools: Act 3 is the wrong time to be parsimonious. Use the tools you've been hoarding.
- Crests matter: swap crests per-fight. The default crest is not optimal for every boss.
- The platforming gauntlets: map the route in your head before attempting. Several sequences are easier with a planned rhythm than with raw reaction.
- Boss patterns: Silksong rewards pattern recognition. Die a few times to learn; don't grind until you're tilted.
- Multiple endings: Silksong has multiple endings tied to side-content completion. If you want all endings, complete the side-objective unlock sequence before triggering the final boss.
All Bosses and All Endings
Silksong has approximately 40 named bosses across the three Acts (the exact count varies by what's classified as a "boss" vs a "mini-boss" or "elite enemy"). The major bosses unlock crests, tools, or movement abilities. Optional bosses (roughly 1/3 of the total) gate the additional endings.
Three endings are confirmed:
- Standard Ending: reached by completing the main path and defeating the final boss.
- True Ending: requires defeating all optional bosses and completing the side-quest chain.
- Hidden Ending: requires specific NPC quest sequences plus the True Ending requirements.
The community has documented all three; spoiler-free completion guides are available on the official Hollow Knight Wiki.
The Sea of Sorrow DLC (Confirmed for 2026)
The biggest news of December 2025 was the announcement of Sea of Sorrow, Silksong's first free DLC. Released as an animated teaser on December 15, 2025, the DLC is scheduled for 2026 with no specific date confirmed.
What Team Cherry has confirmed:
- Title: Hollow Knight: Silksong - Sea of Sorrow.
- Setting: Hornet's voyage across and beneath Pharloom's salt-stricken seas. The submerged biomes hinted at in the base game become explorable.
- Content scope: new areas, new bosses, new tools.
- Price: free for all owners of the base game across every platform.
- Platforms: the DLC will release simultaneously on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (and presumably Switch 2).
What Team Cherry has not confirmed:
- A specific 2026 release date.
- Whether the DLC requires base-game completion or is accessible from a mid-game point.
- The size of the content drop (Hollow Knight had Hidden Dreams, Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, Godmaster, all of which were free; Sea of Sorrow could match any of those scopes).
The Switch 2 Edition of Hollow Knight
Alongside the DLC announcement, Team Cherry confirmed a Switch 2 Edition of the original Hollow Knight. The refresh includes higher frame rates, improved resolution, and graphical enhancements informed by the Silksong tech. No release date confirmed; expected alongside or near the Sea of Sorrow DLC.
For new Switch 2 owners who haven't played Hollow Knight, this is the cleanest way in: enhanced original, then Silksong, then Sea of Sorrow. Three of the best metroidvanias of the decade in sequence.
Play Now or Wait for Sea of Sorrow?
The honest answer:
- Play now if you've been waiting for Silksong since 2018 (which is most of the audience). The game is in its best post-patch state, and Sea of Sorrow will work as a fresh content drop on top of a completed base game.
- Play now if you're a Hollow Knight veteran. The narrative ties to the original are meaningful and best experienced fresh, not after DLC reframes them.
- Wait for Sea of Sorrow if you're new to metroidvanias and want a single comprehensive experience without the gap. Pick up the original Hollow Knight in the meantime; it's the perfect on-ramp.
- Wait for Sea of Sorrow if you bounced off Hollow Knight on difficulty. Silksong is not the rehabilitative play; come back when you've made peace with the genre.
The Multi-Platform State
Silksong is currently available on:
- Steam (PC, Mac, Linux)
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
- Nintendo Switch (with a Switch 2 enhancement expected)
- Game Pass (day-one, still available)
Patch 5 is currently PC-only as of this writing; the console rollout is following. Mobile remains rumored but not confirmed.
For Hollow Knight Veterans
If you finished Hollow Knight (including Godmaster), Silksong is the obvious next step. Bring expectations of:
- A harder game overall.
- A faster, more aggressive protagonist.
- More direct narrative; less ambient mystery.
- Multiple narrative tie-ins to the original kingdom of Hallownest.
The Hollow Knight subreddit and the Hollow Knight Wiki are the canonical spoiler-safe community spaces.
For Complete Newcomers
If you've never played Hollow Knight or any metroidvania:
- Start with Hollow Knight, not Silksong. It's gentler, narratively-grounded, and the perfect on-ramp.
- Once you've completed Hollow Knight (or at least made meaningful progress), transition to Silksong.
- Sea of Sorrow will be waiting when you're ready.
You'll have spent maybe 50-80 hours total across both base games. That's two of the best metroidvanias ever made plus a free DLC for the price of two indie titles.
Tracking This Page
This article will be updated as Sea of Sorrow's release date is announced and as the Switch 2 Edition rollout firms up. The next major beats: a Sea of Sorrow date announcement (likely at Summer Game Fest 2026 in June, or in a dedicated Team Cherry direct), and the console rollout of Patch 5.