Hollow Knight: Silksong finally arrived after a six-year wait that felt less like development and more like a very patient knight staring at a locked gate. Team Cherry spent that time crafting a worthy successor to Hollow Knight, and the result was every bit as beautiful, tense, and occasionally infuriating as fans expected. The first patch, 1.0.28470, has now landed on PC through the Steam public beta branch, with other platforms expected to follow soon. And while it does tidy up a respectable pile of bugs — the software kind, not the spear-and-sword kind — the headline is that Silksong has been made a little kinder. Not soft. Just kinder.

For players who charged into Hornet's journey expecting a victory lap after the original Hollow Knight, the early game had a way of folding its arms and saying, “Oh, you thought you were ready?” The complaints were loud, and they were understandable. Silksong's different control scheme and sharper combat rhythm take time to click, and some fans were jumping in without finishing the first game. Team Cherry, to its credit, has responded not with a lecture but with a patch. Think of it as a firm but friendly hand on the shoulder — and a slight reduction in the number of sand-based headaches.

The Mercy Update, In Plain English

The patch notes read like a list of small mercies, and each one matters. Moorwing and Sister Splinter have been made easier, which should reduce the number of controllers sent to an early grave. Sandcarvers now deal less damage, a change that will be celebrated by anyone who has ever muttered something unprintable at a desert. Bellway and Bell Bench prices have been reduced, while Rosary rewards from relics and psalm cylinders have been increased. Courier deliveries also pay more Rosaries. In other words, the game has loosened its grip on both Hornet's health bar and the player's wallet.

This is not a dramatic overhaul. Nobody is turning Hornet into a tank or handing out free wins at the door. The patch simply sands down a few of the roughest edges in the opening hours, where players are still learning her moves and the game is still deciding whether to be a mentor or a menace. Let's be real: a little mercy goes a long way when a Bellway ticket costs more than your entire Rosary collection.

Why This Patch Matters More Than It Looks

Silksong's difficulty conversation has always been tangled up with its history. The six-year wait built impossible expectations, and the hype encouraged some players to skip the original Hollow Knight entirely. That was never going to be a smooth transition. Hornet is not the Knight; she moves differently, strikes differently, and expects the player to keep up. The early game became a filter, and filters are great for coffee and less great for fun.

The patch does not erase that challenge. It adjusts the temperature. Moorwing and Sister Splinter remain fights, not formalities. Sandcarvers still hurt; they just hurt less. The economy changes are arguably the quiet heroes of the update, because Silksong's Rosary system can feel like a second job when prices are high and rewards are thin. By boosting relic and psalm cylinder payouts and courier delivery rewards, Team Cherry has made the world feel more generous without turning it into a vending machine.

Modders, naturally, had already beaten Team Cherry to the punch with unofficial updates that made the game easier. That tells you something. There was a genuine hunger for a gentler on-ramp, especially in the early game, and the official patch now meets that hunger with something more stable than a fan-made patch and a prayer. It also shows that Team Cherry is listening. The studio did not just fix bugs and vanish into the workshop; it responded to the way people were actually playing.

The 2026 View

By 2026, this patch is less of a breaking-news bombshell and more of a well-worn comfort blanket. Players still argue about whether Silksong should be brutal, fair, or both, but the first patch remains the moment the conversation shifted from “git gud” to “maybe let the player breathe.” For anyone returning to the game or finally starting it, the update is a clear signal: Hornet's journey is still demanding, still gorgeous, and still full of things that want to stab her. It is just a little less interested in making the player pay for every step.

And honestly? That is a patch worth celebrating. Not because difficulty is bad, but because a game this good deserves to be seen past its first few hours. Team Cherry has not lowered the ceiling. It has simply moved the ladder a few inches closer. …

So go on, grab a cheaper Bell Bench, count your slightly healthier Rosary pile, and give Moorwing another try. The desert is still rude. The bugs are still plentiful. But this time, the patch has your back.

If all this talk of stretched Rosary budgets has you thinking about your actual wallet, it’s worth applying the same bargain-hunting mindset to the games themselves. Whether you’re buying Silksong for the first time or eyeing the original Hollow Knight after finishing this one, DealNest is a handy stop for keeping the real-world cost in check—you can compare prices here before committing, and put the savings toward something more useful, like a spare controller or an emergency stash of snacks for the next boss wall.