Silksong Broke Me — Dying Light: The Beast Was a Surprisingly Calming Escape
A writer compared Dying Light: The Beast and Hollow Knight: Silksong and reported that, after many hours in Silksong, the first-person zombie action of Dying Light felt unexpectedly more relaxing. Below are the concrete differences and observations the writer noted about visuals, difficulty, exploration, and movement in both games.
Visuals and gore
The writer notes that Dying Light: The Beast presents a darker, more gory aesthetic and uses a first-person perspective, while Hollow Knight: Silksong is a side-scrolling Metroidvania with stylized insect characters. In Dying Light, zombies are described as explicitly violent and personal threats because of the first-person view. By contrast, the writer described many Silksong enemies as surprisingly cute, citing examples such as Lost Fleas and the Bell Beast.
Difficulty and deaths
The writer reported that deaths in Dying Light are often avoidable with caution. Conversely, the writer described Silksong deaths as more compulsory, where a single mistake can force a restart of a boss fight. For example, the writer said dying during the Last Judge’s death animation required restarting the encounter. Thus, the writer framed Silksong’s challenge as stricter and more anxiety-inducing during boss encounters.
Exploration and unexpected threats
According to the writer, Silksong can present sudden threats when entering new areas: spawning bosses, foggy mazes, or being moved to unknown dungeons. In Dying Light, exploration includes gloomy buildings and sewers, but the writer felt the types of threats there were more predictable. Therefore, unpredictability in Silksong’s areas contributed to higher stress for this player.
Parkour and heights
The writer compared movement systems and found Dying Light’s rooftop parkour to feel more forgiving. Zombies in Dying Light were described as slow and often unable to climb, which made evasion easier during rooftop sequences. In contrast, Silksong’s platforming and pogo mechanics were cited as a major source of difficulty, with small mistakes causing deaths. Additionally, the writer highlighted fall damage in Dying Light as a separate concern: first-person balance and heights can be unsettling, whereas Hornet in Silksong does not suffer comparable fall penalties.
Summary
In short, the writer reported these concrete contrasts: Dying Light: The Beast is first-person, gore-focused, and offers parkour that some players may find therapeutic due to predictable enemy behavior. Meanwhile, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a side-scroller with tight platforming, stricter boss encounters, and more frequent sudden hazards. The writer concluded that after many hours in Silksong, Dying Light felt like a low-stress change of pace.
