Hollow Knight: Silksong arrived in 2025 with the kind of critical applause that makes other indie games nervously straighten their moss cloaks. Praise rained down. Bug fans wept into their needle-shaped pillows. And then a not-insignificant number of players hit the early game like a moth hitting a lantern — repeatedly, painfully, and with increasingly creative swearing. Team Cherry, apparently listening from a very comfortable bench, responded with patch 1.0.28470: a collection of bug fixes and early-game balance tweaks designed to make Silksong slightly less likely to fling newcomers into the nearest thorn bush.

The patch was announced on Steam as a mostly bug-fixing affair with a few balance adjustments sprinkled into the early game, and Team Cherry aimed to roll it out roughly a week after the note. In the grand timeline of 2026, that first patch is ancient history, but its philosophy still matters: Silksong does not have to be a wall made of needles. Sometimes it can be a wall made of slightly softer needles. Progress.

The Patch Notes Are Basically a Group Hug

The headline nerfs target two early bosses that have collectively caused enough controller-squeezing to register on seismic equipment. Moorwing, the flying boss that looks like a giant moth with a grudge, becomes easier to take down. Sister Splinter, the plant boss with a vine-based personal vendetta, also gets softened. If either of those fights has felt like banging one's head against a brick wall — or like Silksong might not be the game for them — the update offers a polite invitation to come back next week and try again with slightly fewer bruises.

Sandcarvers also receive a damage reduction. These charming little ambush artists hide in the sand waiting to ruin a perfectly good afternoon, and after the patch they will deal less damage. That is the full list of enemy nerfs in the first big update, but it is not the full list of changes. Team Cherry clearly decided that if players are struggling to ascend to The Citadel, maybe the economy could stop charging museum-gift-shop prices for basic travel.

A Table for the Financially and Emotionally Bruised

These tweaks walk a careful line. They make the game a little easier to handle without annoying the players who enjoy Silksong's challenge, since those folks have presumably already made it past Moorwing and Sister Splinter and are now busy flexing somewhere in the late game. For everyone else, the message is clear: Team Cherry heard the crying, and it responded with a slightly smaller tax bill and a few less painful boss patterns. 🦋🌱

Someone Made an Easier Mod Before the Patch Even Landed

Silksong proved difficult enough that, just two days after release, someone had already created a mod that makes the game easier by reducing the damage some enemies inflict. That is impressively fast. Most players were still learning which button makes Hornet dash; someone else was already building a safety net. The modding community does not sleep, apparently. It just opens a code editor and whispers, 'What if the sandcarvers were nice?'

For the Hollow Knight fans who would prefer Silksong remain as challenging as possible, there is Steel Soul, a perma-death mode. The delightful twist is that players do not need to complete the game first to unlock it. The door to self-inflicted suffering is open from the start. No prerequisites. No training montage. Just a one-life run and the quiet confidence of someone who has never met Moorwing. 💀

So the first patch was not a dramatic overhaul. It was a small collection of adjustments: two bosses made less ferocious, one enemy type made less rude, and an economy made slightly less stingy. It was Team Cherry leaning over the shoulder of a frustrated player and saying, 'Here, try again, but with fewer financial regrets.' In 2026, Silksong is still a demanding game, but the early days of 2025 proved that even a beloved indie sequel can learn to hand out a few training wheels — and then politely remind everyone that Steel Soul exists for the brave and the reckless. 🛎️💰

For players who are just as careful with real-world spending as they are with rosary in Silksong, timing a purchase can matter as much as timing a dodge. Whether you are waiting for a discount on the base game, looking for a deal on another challenging indie title, or simply comparing prices before committing, it helps to have a place that gathers those offers in one spot. Sites like DealNest make that part of the hunt a little less tedious, so you can spend less time tab-hopping and more time deciding which boss deserves your attention next.

If you are planning your next purchase around sales rather than full price, it is worth taking a moment to check game prices before you add anything to your cart. A little patience outside the game can pair nicely with all that patience the game asks for inside it.