Here is my ranking and tier list of all Hollow Knight Silksong locations which have a map room in them.
It should go without saying, but spoilers for the entire game follow.
Criteria considered for tier ranking
- All areas that have a map, including their sub areas (ie. Moss Grotto includes Bone Bottom)
- How much fun I had playing through the location
- Enemies
- Unique or fun level design concepts
- Theming and storytelling
- Music
- I do factor any changes that occur later in the game, if they affect the location positively.
I do not consider bosses within each location.
Silksong locations with no ranking
Grand Gate and Weavenest Atla are two locations which technically have maps but which are both very small and serve very little purpose as locations on the map.
Grand Gate could easily be part of Choral Chambers and Weavenest Atla could be part of Moss Grotto.
D-Tier Silksong locations
27. Wisp Thicket
26. Wormways
25. Putrified Ducts
24. The Cradle
23. Memorium
C-Tier Silksong locations
22. The Abyss
21. Whiteward
20. Sinner’s Road
19. The Slab
18. Far Fields
B-Tier Silksong locations
These are areas that are special but that have some flaws.
17. Bellhart
16. Shellwood
15. Verdania
14. Mount Fay
13. High Halls
12. The Marrow
11. Underworks
A-Tier Silksong locations
10. Whispering Vaults
Whispering Vaults is the theater square of the Citadel, and that alone almost makes it worthy of a good spot.
Thankfully, the area is also fun to explore and the enemies are fun to fight. The knocking of the blocks mechanic works, and the secret areas around Songclave and Underworks fill it out.
9. Bilewater
If Bilewater was fun to play, it would be number one with a bullet.
But Bilewater is not fun.
The mechanics are cool on paper but horrible in practice (ie. muck maggots), and the enemies could not be more annoying.
All that being said, the obnoxious difficulty is part of the theme and the story here. This area was poisoned by the detritus of the Citadel and the people here struggle to get by. Infrastructure is downtrodden-when you sit on a bench to save and heal, of course it crumbles under your weight. It is a struggle to get through here, where others have easier paths.
Finally, the visuals and music are top notch. The theme might be the best song in the game.
Bilewater is also home to the Exhaust Organ and the Mist, which are interesting departures from other levels.
8. Choral Chambers
The music in many areas that make up this location are all bangers.
The enemies are fun to fight as well.
Similar to Greymoor, this map is huge and connects much of the Act 2 areas. Despite this, I found the actual aesthetic design to be boring and lacking.
7. Greymoor
Greymoor is in the middle of everything, and has vibes more similar to the original game than many of the areas to come.
Greymoor leads to many different areas in the game due to its immense size, but has many takes on vertical platform despite being a very long location, horizontally.
6. Cogwork Core
Challenging platforming design backed by arguably the best song in the game.
I love the way the platforming drops down and then wraps back up and equally adore how the enemies are built in service to the platforming.
5. Deep Docks
Deep Docks is an area that is made exceptional by the return trips and impact on the late game.
The enemies are varied and generally fun to fight, and I just love the heavy lava theming.
S-Tier Silksong locations
Any location in this category is good at pretty much everything, in my opinion.
4. Sands of Karak
The sections with the seeds that grow timed platforming challenges is really fun. Every part of this location is a fun platforming challenge. The look, feel, and music is great.
What really elevates this place into the S-Tier is the Coral Tower, with a setting and combat gauntlet that are exciting.
3. Moss Grotto
Moss Grotto is a location that remains relevant and unique throughout the playthrough of Silksong.
From the opening moments getting a sense of the game, to building up Bone Bottom, to navigating a village of corrupted silk villagers. The map is extremely vertical, but rewards good memories and return trips pretty consistently. It feels like Moss Grotto grows with you.
2. Hunter’s March
There is something to this area that sticks with me, and it is not just the immaculate music and visual design.
The early run to the combat gauntlet where Shakra joins is a fun challenge.
The enemies (the Skarr) are amongst the most fun to fight in the entire game and are really fun when mixed and mashed. And while Karmelita and the Skarr’s story technically originate from Far Fields, they are currently housed in this area. I like the numerous traps strewn about.
The biggest downside is that it is small/short, but I would say being short isn’t necessarily a bad thing when you are sugary sweet.
1. Blasted Steps
From the music to the atmosphere to the level design, I really enjoyed my time in Blasted Steps. More than any area in Silksong, I felt closest to the sense of hopelessness that I felt in Hollow Knight’s claustrophobic, horizontal environments.
Tonally, there is something awesome about this place that used to be lush, now barren. A once holy walk that doesn’t want you.
Full Silksong Location Tier List
Here is an image of the full tier list written above.
Very cool tier list! I have no idea how I’d rank the locations myself but I feel like it’d be pretty different. Aesthetic and vibes matter the most to me. I tend to gravitate towards more visually inviting locales so I’d probably champion places like Shellwood or Mount Fay but I like your reasoning for calling out places like Blasted Steps or Sands of Karak which I found rather smothering to exist in.
You’ve definitely encouraged me to want to check out the soundtrack in my own time. While I always listened to the game when playing it not a lot of the tracks stood out to me in the moment. I think listening to them clearly will help me get a much better sense for their melodies. I did this with Verdanias track and it was like I’d never heard it before!
I also find it humorous to see Wisp Thicket in last but you won’t find me defending the place. It has a really cool theming to it, like a fiery woodland area, but it’s so small there’s not much to it and the only thing I even remember doing there is fighting the boss.
I’m glad to see this post! And that I’m so personally acquainted with the game myself that I can fully appreciate your thoughts and ranking.
Cheers bud, I hope to see more!