- 10 months ago
Prepare your controllers and steady your nerves... Join us as we count down the most brutally difficult boss fights across "Hollow Knight" and "Silksong"! From the relentless assault of Watcher Knights to the godly might of Absolute Radiance, these battles will test even the most skilled players. Which of these fearsome foes broke your spirit?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the hardest boss fights in
00:10Hollow Knight and its sequel, Silksong.
00:19Number 20. Watcher Knights, Hollow Knight.
00:23Dealing with just one giant sword-wielding bug can be a tall order, so when multiple ones start
00:33rising up, you know you're in for a bad time. If you want to take down one of the dreamers sealing
00:38the black egg, then you're going to have to take on the might of all six guard bugs. While you have
00:44the option to crush one of the husks before the battle to give yourself an edge, having to deal
00:48with the Watcher Knight's constant rolling charges can be a pain, especially when you have to clash
00:54with multiple ones at once.
01:00Number 19. Hornet, Hollow Knight.
01:11Hollow Knight's second most iconic character, we clash with the heroine of Silksong two times across
01:18the original game. The first is manageable, the second, not so much. But on the Kingdom's Edge,
01:23Hornet is just as speedy as before, able to cover great distances while her nail can do major damage
01:30up close, as well as be used as a returning projectile. Worst of all are the spiked balls
01:35she tosses out. Not only do they hurt, but also cut off parts of the arena, severely limiting your space
01:41and your ability to dodge whatever fresh assault Hornet will be sending your way.
01:50Number 18. White Defender, Hollow Knight.
02:00Dream bosses make for some of the toughest encounters in Hollow Knight, souped up versions of previous
02:05enemies, only now with a whole new bunch of tricks. And the White Defender is no exception.
02:10What was originally a joke boss that tossed out balls of dung is now a gleaming beacon of duty
02:16and strength, who also throws dung. Only now it's twice as much, twice as fast, along with him
02:22bouncing around the arena and summoning spikes in rapid succession. You truly get to see what the
02:27Defender was like in his heyday in this battle, and it's a doozy.
02:36Number 17. Nylith, Hollow Knight, Silksong.
02:40There are a few bosses in Silksong whose greatest threat is their arena, and Nylith, found in the
02:51Grand Gate during Act 3, is one of them. There are a lot of thorn-covered vines to watch out for,
02:57made even more of a nuisance when Nylith destroys your single platform. Then, you're forced to cling
03:02to one of the walls while Nylith keeps up her attacks, lest you fall into the deadly pit below.
03:07She has a variety of projectiles that cover the area, and emits this powerful AoE blast that's
03:13awful to get caught by. Mostly, it's this constant jumping up the walls you have to do,
03:19while dodging and trying to fit in your own attacks, that can be pretty stressful.
03:23Number 16. Failed Champion, Hollow Knight.
03:40Among the original trio of dream bosses you could encounter in the base game, this hulking mass of
03:46steel was by far the worst. As the false knight, he sat comfortably in the tutorial bracket, but as the
03:53failed champion, be prepared to get your shell smashed, because this warrior is relentless.
03:59The speed of its swings are quicker, the shockwaves it unleashes are much larger, and every attack
04:04shaves off far more health. Also, able to rain down burning projectiles from above, finding your moment
04:10to let loose a counter-attack against this behemoth is minimal at best.
04:21Number 15. Grey Prince Zote, Hollow Knight.
04:30Rounding out the last of dream bosses, we have...
04:32this guy. For the longest time, Zote was the jokiest of all joke characters, an old and useless warrior
04:40who often needed saving. Until now, that is. Through the overzealous imagination of a fangirl,
04:45we get to see Zote at his true potential. Sure, he's just as hokey, but also swole and can lay on some
04:52serious damage. His crazy sword swings make dodging a pain, made all the worse by how he can spawn
04:58miniature versions of himself, some even acting as explosives. The humiliation at losing to an
05:04imaginary version of Zote, of all people, made him one of Hollow Knight's most infamous obstacles.
05:17Number 14. Brothers Oro and Mato, Hollow Knight.
05:22The Godmaster DLC gave us an avalanche of boss fights to indulge in. Some old, some new, and some
05:31that we thought were chill NPCs, but were now eager to throw hands. Or in this case, nails. Originally
05:38nothing more than mentors who taught the knight additional sword techniques, these two brothers
05:43team up to deliver their final lesson. Taking on Oro was one thing, but when his sibling leaps
05:48into the fray, it becomes twice the ordeal. While their techniques may be similar, between
05:53the two of them, they're able to fill the entire screen with enough slashes to turn the
05:58knight into gruel.
06:03Number 13. Grand Mother Silk. Hollow Knight Silk Song.
06:08The fight against Grand Mother Silk is reminiscent of the Radiance in the original. She flings giant
06:18needles you have to dodge, brings boulders crashing down, and produces screen-covering slices that you
06:24must quickly react to. Those having fought the Radiance won't find this too bad. However, what
06:29makes her a problem, and what earns her a spot, is if you fight her trying to get the twisted child
06:35ending and achievement. You first have to complete a side quest for Grey Root and Shellwood so that
06:40he curses you. You then have to beat Grand Mother Silk while cursed, meaning you can't heal or access
06:46your crests, and your silk is greatly reduced so that you can't use most skills. And it is much,
06:54much harder than normal.
07:01Number 12. Last Judge.
07:05Hollow Knight Silksong.
07:12But at the end of Act 1, the Last Judge will surely test whether you're worthy or not of getting past
07:18the blasted steps. She's fought in multiple phases, crescendoing into an absolute nightmare of attacks.
07:24She may not be that fast herself, but her flail certainly is. And it's when she sets her weapon on
07:30fire during the second phase, giving her attacks more range and damage, that you'll really be in
07:35trouble. If you can buy a Flame Charm beforehand to reduce her damage, we highly recommend it. If you
07:41don't, you'll be sorely wishing you had. Upon death, she also detonates and takes you with her if
07:47you're standing too close, forcing you to fight her all over again, which is just mean.
07:59Number 11. Widow. Hollow Knight Silksong.
08:02Seeing as how Sister Splinter was nerfed in a patch, your first big difficulty spike in Silksong
08:13will come with Widow. Her speed is a lot to contend with early on in the game, as she dashes
08:19across the arena, dive bombs you, and brings bells crashing down from above. She also has quick recovery
08:25time after getting stunned, giving you less time to build up damage on her. She's even faster during
08:31her second phase, and her attacks come in greater numbers. Since these can come from different
08:35directions at intense speeds, it can cause a lot of us to panic jump around, trying to dodge,
08:41only to leap right into the path of an oncoming attack.
08:44Number 10. Great Nail Sage Sly. Hollow Knight.
09:01Wait, the tiny merchant is a boss? That's right, and as it happens, he's the OG when it comes to
09:07delivering pain. Despite his diminutive stature, Sly has no problem wielding and utilizing a giant
09:14blade, able to lash out as well as launch it at frightening speeds. No matter how quickly you
09:20dash away, you can be sure Sly will be right on your heels, ready to turn himself into a helicopter
09:25of doom with his Cyclone Slash ability. And that's just the warm-up. After getting his second wind,
09:31Sly will start darting all over the place, unleashing frenzied swings along the way. Getting a read on this
09:38little guy, especially when he can stop himself mid-combo to throw you off your game,
09:42is a truly demanding task.
09:51Number 9. Tormented Trobio. Hollow Knight Silksong.
10:02Regular Trobio is a bit tough, but he obviously pales in comparison to the Tormented one. Fought in
10:08Silksong's Act 3, it can be a challenge to get used to a pattern, since several of his attacks can be done
10:14on ground or in mid-air. His agility and maneuverability also makes it harder to land your
10:19own attacks. If he isn't floating out of reach, then he's underneath the floorboards about to burst
10:24out with another attack. The biggest problem with Tormented Trobio, naturally, are the new features not
10:30present in his first fight. His firework projectiles now cover a larger area, and his tornadoes are
10:36followed by their own fireworks, making most of the arena completely unsafe.
10:50Number 8. Savage Beastfly. Hollow Knight Silksong.
10:54There are two savage Beastfly fights in Silksong, and the second one, fought in far fields, is by far
11:06the tougher of the two. Since it's a flying boss, you'll usually need to jump up to it to deal damage,
11:12but it can make you regret being aggressive. That dash attack is already hard enough to dodge without
11:18you being directly in its path. The boss's slam attack is also annoying, since it will destroy portions
11:24of the platform you're standing on, below which sits a pool of lava. It also starts summoning
11:29minions after taking enough damage, adding fuel to the frustrating fire. It isn't necessarily a
11:35complicated pattern, but it's still one of the more troublesome fights in Act 1.
11:47Number 7. First Sinner. Hollow Knight Silksong.
11:51An optional fight accessible in Act 2 of Silksong, First Sinner is one mean, lean,
12:03hornet-killing machine. Her speed is even greater than Widow's, and her needle projectiles are even
12:08more problematic than Grandmother Silks. As if her quick movement didn't already make it hard to deal
12:14damage, she also teleports and can heal herself to prolong the fight. Phase 2 gives her a new attack,
12:21issuing explosive orbs that cover about half the screen, while making her movement and attacks
12:26even faster. She at least doesn't feel cheap, but she is extremely deadly. When you first encounter
12:32her, she has the ability to deplete most of your health before you even know what hit you.
12:37Number 6. Grohl the Great. Hollow Knight Silksong.
12:54If there were an award for the most irritating boss fight in Silksong, Grohl the Great would have
13:00it in the bag. You first have to fight six waves of enemies, some of the most annoying in the game,
13:06before he shows his face. He's got some really terrible qualities too. He can fly, he's huge and
13:12can deal damage just by bumping into you, he's got giant projectiles, and eventually summons more of
13:18those annoying enemies to overwhelm you. Worse, his arena features tiny platforms above a pool of
13:23poisonous water. While it doesn't hurt you, it does drain your silk, which you need in order to heal
13:29from the onslaught of attacks. If you die, which you will frequently, you'll find Grohl also has the
13:35worst runback in the game, forcing you to re-traverse the worst section of vile water just for another
13:42chance.
13:43Number 5. Pure Vessel. Hollow Knight.
13:57As far as final bosses go, the titular Hollow Knight put up quite the fight. But, as any lore hound knows,
14:04it was also suffering under the Radiance's infection, and nowhere near its peak. Enter the Pure Vessel.
14:10An imagining of what the original knight would have been like, had it not been corrupted.
14:15Spoilers, it's a beast. The amount of techniques the Pure Vessel has under its cloak is uncanny.
14:21Teleportation, tendrils, explosions, projectiles, pillars, lunges, all at phenomenal speed. It's a
14:27battle to determine who is the main character in this story. And, unfortunately, the original has the
14:33height advantage.
14:34Number 4. Nightmare King Grimm. Hollow Knight.
14:47As the oh-so-theatrical leader of the Grimm troupe, this nocturnal firecracker already made for a
14:53tricky opponent. But that has nothing on his ascended form, which for the longest time served as the true
15:00peak of Hollow Knight's difficulty curve. Between the burning bats, turning his cloak into a series
15:05of blades, or unleashing his own personal brand of bullet hell, nowhere is safe when Grimm is on the
15:11rampage, only allowing for the smallest windows where you can land a hit. He's the DLC nemesis we
15:17love to hate, if nothing else for the fact that he won't stop aura-farming.
15:27Number 3. Scar Singer Carmelita. Hollow Knight Silksong.
15:37Act 3's fight against Scar Singer Carmelita is beautifully designed. But, it can be hard to appreciate that in the
15:44moment, when she's ripping straight through you. You have to defeat a group of minions before her,
15:49which is a little tedious, but can also weaken you for the actual fight. When she arrives on the
15:54battlefield, she instantly proves how dangerous of a warrior she is. She has the ability to parry your
16:00direct attacks, has a leap that produces spikes in front of her, and likes to throw her knives around,
16:06which can be tricky to dodge. She just gets faster and more aggressive as the fight goes on.
16:11Number 2. Lost Lace. Hollow Knight Silksong.
16:32The true final boss of Silksong keeping you from reaching the true ending, Lost Lace is naturally
16:38a nasty piece of work. While she isn't cheap the way that Grohl is, she's the hardest the game has
16:44to offer. Across three phases, she has a huge variety of attacks. Dashes, teleports, projectiles,
16:51tendrils, explosive blade bursts, waves of pure void damage, and some good old-fashioned sword slices.
16:59All of it comes fast, and all of it deals heavy damage. The only way to learn her patterns and get
17:04through it is with extreme patience and a lot of trial and error, accepting that you're going to
17:09die a lot. It's an incredible fight, and a damn hard one at that.
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17:39As the true boss of the base game, the Radiance was a godly being that put us through no end of
17:55misery with its incredibly high health pool, variety of projectiles, and insistence on continually reducing
18:02any kind of footholding. We didn't think it could get any worse. At least, until we reached the end of
18:08the pantheon of Hallownest, where its upgraded version was waiting for us.
18:12Ignoring the fact that it serves as the conclusion to a boss rush with over 40 previous encounters,
18:17Absolute Radiance is a wall that few are able to overcome. While the attack patterns might seem
18:22identical, they come in at a much faster rate. Not to mention, it will also continuously unleash an
18:28endless series of orbs during its final phase, while basically giving you nothing to stand on.
18:34It is madness.
18:38Have you conquered all of the bosses in Hollow Knight and Silksong? Which took you the most
18:44attempts to defeat? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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