The Agony of the Runback: Why Silksong's Design Might Still Kick Us When We're Down

The anticipation for Hollow Knight: Silksong is palpable, a collective hum of excitement for one of the most awaited sequels in recent memory. Yet, beneath that surface-level glee, a shadow of dread looms large for many veteran players. It's not the difficulty of Hornet's journey that causes apprehension; rather, it’s the specter of a design choice we thought had been largely relegated to gaming's more masochistic corners: the dreaded boss runback.

For the uninitiated, a "boss runback" refers to the often-lengthy, sometimes hazardous, and almost always tedious journey a player must undertake to return to a boss arena after being defeated.

It’s the gaming equivalent of being told you have to run a mile before you can re-enter a boxing match you just lost. The challenge of the boss itself is one thing – a welcome test of skill, reflexes, and pattern recognition. But forcing players to trudge through several screens of previously cleared (or easily bypassed) enemies, navigate minor platforming sections, and watch a loading screen or two, all before being granted another shot at the true challenge, feels less like difficulty and more like deliberate punishment for failure.

Hollow Knight, while a masterpiece in almost every conceivable way, was certainly not immune to this design philosophy.

Remember those agonizing treks to some of its toughest encounters? The Path of Pain was aptly named, but even regular boss attempts often involved a disheartening amount of legwork just to get back into the fray. This isn't about making the game easier; it's about respecting the player's time and mental fortitude.

Dying repeatedly to a boss is part of the learning process, a dance of trial and error. But each subsequent death becomes infinitely more frustrating when it's compounded by a mandatory, unskippable obstacle course that offers no new challenge, only delay.

The argument often made in defense of runbacks is that they heighten the stakes, making each boss attempt feel more meaningful.

If death means not just a restart of the fight but also a significant time penalty, players will, theoretically, try harder. While there’s a sliver of truth to this, the practical reality for many is that it transforms an exhilarating challenge into a test of patience, ultimately eroding the desire to continue.

The emotional curve of a boss fight should be one of rising tension, dramatic failure, and immediate, renewed determination. Lengthy runbacks snap that curve, replacing determination with exasperation.

Modern game design, particularly in the notoriously challenging "Souls-like" and Metroidvania genres, has shown us that there are better ways.

Many titles now offer more generous checkpointing, shortcuts that open directly to boss rooms, or even quick-retry options. These innovations allow players to focus on what matters: mastering the fight. They maintain the difficulty of the combat without layering on gratuitous busywork.

So, as the hype for Silksong builds, a part of us braces for impact.

Will Team Cherry, known for their meticulous craftsmanship and unwavering vision, have evolved past this particular design choice? Or will Hornet’s grand adventure remind us, once again, what it feels like to be repeatedly kicked while we’re down, forced to endure the grueling pilgrimage back to glory, one frustrating step at a time? Only time will tell, but here's hoping our runback woes are a thing of the past.