On September 4, 2025, Team Cherry’s long-anticipated sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, finally released to overwhelming demand—so much so that digital storefronts like Steam, the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store faltered under the pressure. Steam alone saw over 100,000 concurrent players within just 45 minutes to an hour of launch, breaking records for indie titles.
Embraced globally by fans and critics, the game earned praise for its challenging combat, artistic design, and affordable price point—just around $20 USD. Its consumer-friendly approach, including DRM-free availability and free access for original Hollow Knight backers, garnered admiration—even from the piracy community. People were saying things like:
“This is a time where if we can afford to support them, we should.”
Review Bombing in China: The Translation Controversy
Despite near-universal positive reception, Silksong faced a significant backlash from Chinese players on Steam—triggered not by gameplay, but by the Simplified Chinese translation.
- The overall rating in Simplified Chinese dropped to “Mixed” (around ~50–51%), even while English and other languages rated it overwhelmingly positive.
- Localization specialists decried the tone as overly archaic and florid—”like a high-school drama club’s Elizabethan improv night.” The once-tailored, evocative prose turned into plodding, pseudo-literary mishmash.
- Complaints began early—during the Gamescom demo—and surged upon launch. A player warned: “Si no hay cambios en la versión oficial, me temo que existe un riesgo de malas reseñas.” (“If there are no changes in the official version, I’m afraid there’s a risk of bad reviews.”)
In response, Matthew Griffin of Team Cherry issued a prompt apology and vowed to improve the translation over the coming weeks. Valve’s updated review system—segmenting by language—helped prevent this localized backlash from impacting the global score.
Voices from the Community
One Steam review bluntly stated:
“The utterly idiotic localization has even affected the game’s world-building… forcing me to guess at character relationships and main plot points.”
And on NeoGAF, a user noted:
“It’s the Chinese review bombing the game… English language reviews are at 96%.”
Piracy vs. Support: A Surprising Shift
Interestingly, a wave of goodwill surfaced across piracy forums—despite Silksong being leaked on pirate sites, many users chose to purchase it.
Reasons cited:
- The game’s low price and DRM-free model
- Team Cherry’s transparent, pro-consumer practices
- Respect for the indie developers’ efforts
From r/Piracy: Many voiced, “If we can afford to support them, we should,” showing a rare alignment of pirate-community ethics with developer goodwill.
Why This Matters—and What Comes Next
1. Localization Can Make or Break Perception
This incident highlights the critical importance of high-quality localization. Even a beloved game can face backlash if translated poorly—especially in large markets like China.
2. Transparent, Fair Pricing Builds Respect
Team Cherry’s decisions—affordable pricing, DRM-free release, honoring early backers—built goodwill even among those who might have pirated. It’s a powerful example of how consumer-friendly choices can translate into tangible support.
3. Global Apologies Matter
Team Cherry’s fast response to the translation backlash—acknowledging the issue and promising fixes—is a strong move in managing developer–community trust.
Final Thought
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a standout case: a triumph of indie game design and community trust, shadowed briefly by localization missteps in one region. It’s also a testament to how fair pricing and respect for fans can sway even piracy-minded players toward official support.
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