Hollow Knight: Silksong has emerged as one of the most impressive and refined gaming experiences of the past decade, evoking emotions that very few video games have accomplished throughout my gaming journey.
Even the most meticulously crafted titles can exhibit shortcomings, particularly in a sequel like Team Cherry’s that boasts an expansive array of bosses and complex mechanics.
This exceptional Metroidvania delivers a consistently high-quality gameplay experience, particularly regarding its primary adversaries. However, after completing the game, I can assert that not every encounter provides engaging combat.
In fact, several bosses are marred by frustrating mechanics or uninspired designs, prompting me to compile a list of the ten most disappointing boss fights in Hollow Knight: Silksong, ranked in order of detriment to the overall gameplay experience.
10. Crust King Khan
An Encounter That’s Exceptional Yet Too Easy
| Location(s) | Sands of Karak |
| Drop(s) | Encrusted Heart |
The difficulty curve in Silksong is often inconsistent, making bosses like Crust King Khann disappointingly easy compared to their expectations.
While I prefer not to evaluate a boss’s merit based solely on my struggle to defeat it, Khann’s fight lacks mechanical depth, missing the opportunity to fully exploit its intriguing design involving coral stalactite summoning.
Despite the impressive concept, the encounter fails to present sufficient challenge, making it less memorable than the preceding waves of minions. It feels as if the idea for difficult ambushes got transformed into a less intense battle without adequate adjustments to Khann’s difficulty.
While not inherently bad, the encounter is certainly disappointing, and I hold out hope for a more formidable version in future updates due to its compelling premise.
9. Palestag
A Lackluster Encounter in a Vibrant Area
| Location(s) | Verdania |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
If you’ve played the original Hollow Knight, you might recall the simplistic battles against Dream Warriors—foes characterized by basic attacks that gradually increase in speed, rather than complexity.
Palestag follows this formula but lacks engagement, reducing the encounter to a monotonous chase across the arena while avoiding horizontal projectiles.
This minor boss feels completely out of place in Verdania, a region brimming with agile foes that require skillful navigation. Although it’s hidden behind a simple key, Palestag does not live up to its potential as an additional and optional boss.
8. Disgraced Chef Lugoli
A Frustrating Fight
| Location(s) | Sinner’s Road |
| Drop(s) | Pickled Muckmaggot |
Having encountered Disgraced Chef Lugoli later than intended, I found her to be as exasperating as the challenging area she inhabits.
While thematic consistency with her surroundings is commendable, it doesn’t enhance the encounter, which consists mainly of simple mechanics enhanced by the game’s least-favored element—maggots.
Besides her body slams reminiscent of the iconic Dark Souls’ Smough, her ability to summon spheres of poisoned water becomes an irritating challenge when it significantly impedes healing in a supposedly straightforward fight.
The encounter serves merely as a prelude to obtaining the Pale Oil necessary for upgrades, making it a relatively inconsequential experience that I would prefer to skip in future playthroughs.
7. Broodmother
An Underwhelming Encounter
| Location(s) | The Slab |
| Drop(s) | Broodmother’s Eye |
While many bosses on this list represent trivial encounters, facing the Broodmother leaves little room for excitement.
The patterns are predictable, with sluggish projectiles and minion spawn mechanics leading to a lack of complexity that diminishes the title’s depth.
Although the setting contributes to the experience, the fight concludes so swiftly that it quickly fades from memory once you’ve claimed your reward, making poor use of the muck mechanic unique to these flies.
6. Gurr the Outcast
An Extremely Basic Encounter
| Location(s) | Far Fields |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
Many late-game bosses carry the weight of earlier encounters, but few reach the levels of simplicity exhibited by Gurr the Outcast.
The buildup to this fight suggests a greater complexity that it ultimately fails to deliver, offering only basic moves that lack creativity for one of the game’s most visually striking ant characters.
While Karmelita provides a more memorable challenge, Gurr falls short of portraying the noble warrior image established earlier in the series.
5. Lost Garmond
A Disappointing Climax
| Location(s) | Blasted Steps |
| Drop(s) | Hero’s Memento |
After numerous encounters with Garmond and Zaza, I anticipated a poignant conclusion; however, the result felt mechanically lacking.
Although it’s unfair to expect too much from Lost Garmond, comparisons to Shakra’s engaging fight make the experience even more disappointing.
Despite his significance, Garmond has been reduced to merely another void vessel, rehashing previous attacks similar to low-tier foes.
While he may possess a broader moveset than others on this list, Lost Garmond disappoints due to unmet expectations and overwhelming frustration created by his damage output.
4. Groal the Great
A Designed Nightmare
| Location(s) | Bilewater |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
Team Cherry’s inclination towards creating challenging environments reaches a new low with Groal the Great, epitomizing frustration.
This encounter encapsulates everything unpleasant about a battle, including relentless waves of minions, bewildering traps, and massive hitboxes—all wrapped within a painfully drawn-out sequence.
As a Metroidvania, the return-run aspect adds to the difficulty. However, I opted to bypass it to portray Groal as the ultimate antagonist on this list.
While its frustrating design is clearly intentional, I can’t deny the experience is memorable, albeit intensely frustrating.
3. Voltwyrm
An Encounter That Stands Out for All the Wrong Reasons
| Location(s) | Sands of Karak |
| Drop(s) | Former Filament |
Although Hollow Knight: Silksong typically provides engaging encounters, encountering Voltvyrm was an unexpected disappointment.
This boss presents a lackluster challenge, relying on slow-moving electric attacks that feel more suited for tutorial stages than for adventurers seeking true challenge.
Rather than exciting, Voltvyrm feels like a punishment for players eager for a challenging encounter—rendering the fight utterly forgettable.
2. Plasmified Zango
The Ultimate Damage Sponge
| Location(s) | Wormways |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
Having developed a disdain for bosses rooted in only high damage tolerance—like Plasmified Zango—I find it baffling the developers would create such a tiresome encounter.
With only a single, easily avoidable attack, even fully powered, the time required to defeat this inflated NPC feels like an exercise in futility.
The sole noteworthy element is exploring Wormways filled with lifeblood, yet the combat experience is utterly dreadful. I would gladly convince myself Zango does not exist, wishing to maintain Silksong’s impressive boss quality.
1. Savage Beastfly
A Fight That Creates Only Agony
| Location(s) | Hunter’s March, Far Fields |
| Drop(s) | Beast Crest |
Despite the existence of formidable bosses like Phantom, First Sinner, and Trobbio, I must begrudgingly acknowledge that Savage Beastfly left a far from positive impact on my experience.
With its enormous hitbox confined within a small arena, summons of irritating minions, and a simplistic strategy that prioritizes brute force over skill, this encounter embodies pure frustration.
To exacerbate matters, players face a second encounter in a chaotic arena featuring collapsing platforms, lava, and minions inflicting significant damage, leading the fight towards an unprecedented level of misery.
While I can endure challenging encounters, attempting to overcome Savage Beastfly proves an exercise in despair, prompting me to ponder the lengthy development cycle of the game.
It may not be as simplistic as Zango or Voltvyrm, nor as monotonous as Lost Garmond, but it stands as the complete antithesis of enjoyable gameplay in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Thus, it deserves the title of the worst boss experience in the game.
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