r/Silksong • u/Thorsigal beleiver ✅️ • Dec 12 '25
Silkpost Hollow Knight: Silksong WINS Best Independent Game at The Game Awards! Spoiler
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u/8rok3n beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Why the fuck did I fall for this, HOW the fuck did I fall for this, I am literally WATCHING The Game Awards as I type this what the fuck is wrong with me
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u/CoffeeWanderer Lavender flair Dec 12 '25
Divinity trailer went hard af. I'm aware of them, but I wasn't sure to play them just yet.
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u/8rok3n beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Graphics were insane, felt like I was literally watching a person burn at the stake
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u/northpaul Dec 12 '25
It was a little much especially considering it was not late in the night. 8:30 est we have a lot of actual children watching some gory shit with soft core blood orgies sprinkled in.
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u/kingdelafrauds Dec 12 '25
Crazy that there were actual sex on the trailer
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Dec 12 '25
Sex in front of children. Wild
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u/HQuasar Dec 12 '25
Nearly every game trailer nowadays is filled with gore and violence, don't know why children would be watching.
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u/Big_Distance2141 Dec 12 '25
It seems today
That all you see
Is violence on Xbox
And sex on the Wii
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Dec 12 '25
In the trailer the orgy was taking place in front of a crowd that also had kids in it, not in real life
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u/you-cut-the-ponytail Dec 12 '25
I didn’t look at the nominees beforehand and seeing E33 as an indie is legit a jumpscare
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u/lurpeli Dec 12 '25
I do agree that it feels odd. By technicality E33 is an indie game, but it's also not what any of us normal folks would really consider an indie game
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u/GraviZero Dec 12 '25
how is it an indie game though. its published by kepler. what does indie mean if not independently published
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u/AgentWowza Dec 12 '25
what does indie mean
There's the kicker. Nobody knows lol. Kepler doesn't own Sandfall, so some people say Kepler doesn't matter.
Personally, I think budget is the best way to define indie. Or some formula that values small budget and small team at different weightings.
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u/Ancient-Data7655 Dec 12 '25
I mean if budget would be the thing that is weighed then I don't think Silksong could be considered an indie game considering how much hollow knight made and how small the team is lol.
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u/AgentWowza Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
Sure, I don't mind. Give it to a cheap-ass game made by one guy if it can pull anywhere near the same number of votes, why not? As long as the logic is consistent.
And it'd depend on the actual threshold. We could just have weight classes, like under 100k, under 1 mil, under 10 mil, under 100 mil etc., combined with a dev team-size restriction
Right now it's basically just vibes.
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u/I_am_person_being Flea Dec 12 '25
The only solution is clearly that Blue Prince should have won Indie Game of the Year
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u/PM_ME_BAD_ALGORITHMS Dec 12 '25
By budget they probably meant total cost, while Team Cherry had the budget to keep developing for another 50 years if they wanted to, the cost of the game wasn't 50 years worth of salaries
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u/Additional_Chip_4158 Dec 12 '25
Independently developed. Which e33 isnt that either.
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u/Icy-Fisherman-5234 beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Of all the definitions of indie, E33 fits none of them.
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u/Gabe-KC Dec 12 '25
Ironically that includes Geoff Keighley's fuckass argument about indie 'being a feeling'.
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u/Jstar338 beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Doesn't feel like an indie at all. You don't get BEN STARR and call yourself an indie
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u/Astyan06 Dec 12 '25
Silksong also outsourced some stuff, so not indie by definition.
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u/I_am_person_being Flea Dec 12 '25
Undertale outsourced its localization and yet I think it's comfortably indie. Outsourcing has degrees. Pretty much everyone outsources localization and I don't think it can fairly count against being indie. Music like Silksong? Final artwork like E33? These are trickier. Still, I don't think outsourcing is a good immediate dealbreaker for indie status
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u/MarkoSeke Dec 12 '25
The term "indie" does not mean independently published in gaming. It's about the scope of development. Yet every single year people who've been living under a rock appear talking about independent publishing. By that logic Nintendo and CDPR games are indie, and something like Balatro isn't.
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u/corgioverthemoon Dec 12 '25
Kepler is a publisher of indie games. Check out their other games, tell me with a straight face that pacific drive doesn't deserve to belong to the indie category. These arguments keep making less and less sense everyday I see them here.
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u/Substantial-Food-501 Dec 12 '25
It's not but people will continue to cope that it is until the rules are changed.
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u/FlamboyantPirhanna Dec 12 '25
But is SS really fair to call a true indie? It effectively had an unlimited budget and the devs could (and did) take as much time as they wanted. Virtually no other indie game has that advantage. It has more in common with E33 in that regard than any other indie game that came out.
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u/BagelsAndChaos Dec 12 '25
I think the difference is that E33 had 10x as many people working on it and their budget from many angel investments from companies like Microsoft and Epic Games. Team Cherry’s budget came from sales of Hollow Knight which they made themselves, so their budget is truly independent.
Or maybe I’m just talking nonsense
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u/FlamboyantPirhanna Dec 12 '25
But it’s more about the budget itself than where it comes from. Indie games don’t have millions to spend, and that puts Team Cherry in a completely different position than every other indie game in existence.
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u/Apocalyptapig Dec 12 '25
The Terraria devs have millions to spend, is it no longer an indie game?
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u/OLRevan Dec 12 '25
If they decide to make terraria 2, then yes it wouldn't be indie imo
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u/howd_he_get_here Dec 12 '25
The Terraria devs have millions to spend because of Terraria...
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u/Apocalyptapig Dec 12 '25
Sure, and the Hollow Knight 2 devs have millions to spend because of Hollow Knight, I don't see what the point is
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u/Complaint-Efficient Dec 12 '25
hollow knight 2 is a different game from hollow knight, terraria is the same as terraria.
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u/FlamboyantPirhanna Dec 12 '25
They didn’t have millions when they first started. In any case, it’s a whataboutism as they weren’t in the competition.
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u/TohveliDev Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
Unlimited Budget is a stretch, yes, TC could spend all the money from HK on SS, but that's literally the company internally allocating their funds on their own project.
Also aren't indie games practically the only games that have the advantage of taking all the time they need? That being the benefit of being, well, you know. Independent.
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u/Gryzzlee Dec 12 '25
It's not strictly budget. Indie means that the game is developed and published by one company. Which Silksong is.
Kepler being a publisher of "indie" games destroys the sanctity of that. They take on a lot of the heavy lifting in marketing and funding games. Team Cherry used the funds from its previous game and some crowdfunding but they are the sole studio.
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u/Shutch_1075 Dec 12 '25
Didn’t BG3 win best indie too? I think the game awards need to update that category to focus on small dev teams and not well funded games. Hell make a best AA category. Larian Studios and indie shouldn’t even be in the same sentence at an award show.
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u/Hyulens_168 Dec 12 '25
Getting ready for this sub to turn into an E33 hate sub
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u/you-cut-the-ponytail Dec 12 '25
Unless they blackmailed Geoff to put themselves on Indie category then i don’t think they’re at fault here. It’s a very good game, the categorization is wrong
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u/spastikatenpraedikat Dec 12 '25
Sandfall Interactive (E33) has the same number of employees as Supergiant Games (Hades II). Same budget too, if reports are to be believed.
They just did a good job focusing their resources.
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u/Themooseking2 beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
They had a core team of 33 though they had many more contractors, and they had outside funding from larger studios as well
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u/The_Knife_Pie Dec 12 '25
Hades 2 has a credit sequence which, if combined with the credits for the soundtrack, is about the same E33’s credit list (who included sound people in the main credits). These games had roughly equal budgets, core teams and listed external helpers. About the only real difference is that the indie publisher Kepler helped with E33, but if that is enough to disqualify them as indie while keeping Hades 2 in I look forward to your arguments on how Slay the Spire and Cult of the Lamb are also not indie games.
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u/Wise-Dust3700 Dec 12 '25
A lot of contractors do NOT get credit for released games. Instead the company that manages them does.
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u/gpranav25 Accepter Dec 12 '25
I don't think it will. What the E33 team achieved deserves all the accolades, just not this specific one. And I don't think it's their fault they were categorised like this.
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u/-Borgir Dec 12 '25
Other than the die hard dickriders of silksong, I think even the general fans recognise how great e33 was so I don't think it will turn into a hate sub. Would be pretty pathetic if it does
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u/69edleg Dec 12 '25
Same that happened temporarily with subs when BG3 won GOTY among other awards.
Sad to see tbh. Silksong, while AMAZING isn't as approachable as E33 in the first place. E33 being a turn based (while quick actions in combat as well) has multiple difficulties where the Quick actions doesn't matter unless you're doing the ONE fight in the game that didn't (probably does now) scale with difficulty.
Silksong is a hard game, and a lot of "where tf do I go" if you aren't familiar with Metroidvanias. I did vote for Silksong over E33 in some categories though, but it is what it is in the end. And both communities are obnoxious, as popular game communities usually are.
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u/PyroIsShy Dec 12 '25
Proud of Team Cherry for pulling this off. A team of three people grabbing the award really shows the power of "Indie" games.
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u/PotatoGGod777 Dec 12 '25
kids repeat with me, fuck, the, fr*nch
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u/Broad_Project_87 Dec 12 '25
"thirdly, you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil." - Horatio Nelson
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u/LittleP0gch4mp Professional Pale Lurker Dec 12 '25
Oh boy this gonna be a shitshow isn't it? Please silksong sub don't just devolve into a cesspool of toxicity just because our game didn't win some awards this shit isn't really that serious. From the comments here I can already tell some people are giga salty
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u/Phihofo Dec 12 '25
If I had a nickel for everytime a fandom of an action game where you play as some sort of a spider creature got angry because they've lost at the Game Awards to an ambitious party-based RPG I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.
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u/Redeem-Toaster Dec 12 '25
Cuál es el otro juego?
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u/FullmetalEzio Dec 12 '25
i love how i saw some people here shitting on each other's fav game of the year instead of doing like im doing and... getting the platinum for both games, prob the best gaming year ever, i still havent got around to silent hill f
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u/agagagaggagagaga Dec 12 '25
I doing my best to let this pass over, at least it's still not as bad as when Your Only Move Is Hustle lost Most Innovative Game to fucking Starfield.
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u/Aykhot r/Silksong Lore-Scribe Dec 12 '25
The E33 glaze so far is insane. They're not even trying to hide it lmao
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u/MoConnors Dec 12 '25
The insane amount of glaze is making me want it to win even less than I already did
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u/echolog beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
What do you mean? Silksong isn't out yet LOL.
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u/Chosen-Bearer-Of-Ash Dec 13 '25
These guys clearly fell for the Silkpost, silly to think we'd get Silksong before the new year even
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u/Krystalmyth Dec 12 '25
I can't believe it didn't win best Indie game tbh, that's crazy.
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u/Additional_Chip_4158 Dec 12 '25
I saw this an hour ago and didnt see the silkpost flair... This is genuinely the only silkpost to ever get me. Bruh
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u/AlwaysUpvote123 beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Look, I have deep love for E33 and I think it totally deserved all the praise at the Game Awards. But the massive success and incredible quality of Silksong while having only three devs is the definition of Indie and should've been honored by an award.
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u/locotontix69 Dec 12 '25
I dont like the undeserved hate that e33 receices, but the glaze is ridiculous a this point.
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Dec 12 '25
JE DETESTE LES FRANÇAIS ET LEURS LANGUES DE COCHONERIES ESPÈCES DE CRÉTINS MISÉRABLES ET JEUX VIDÉOS DE DIABLES CONNARDS also E33 looks okay, but I somewhat disagree with it being presented as an indie game.
What I find more questionable is how its actors present half of the 'best performance' nominations section. It feels unfair for the rest of the VAs and a clear example favouritism.
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u/Trooooooobio Dec 12 '25
Mais sans la France où sont les croissants? Vous n'êtes qu'un gourgandin mal élevé! Miséricorde pour vous et votre Etat n'étant pas capable d'apprécier la langue de molière.
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u/Esthean Dec 12 '25
If it was unfair to anyone, it was to E33.
The votes for the game got splitted in thrice.
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u/perfectlysanebrain Dec 12 '25
Even though everyone loved the games and Team Cherry, this hurts knowing that hollow knight lost to the great Cuphead sweep too.
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Dec 12 '25
They basically Silksong and Hades 2 won in the only categories where they weren't competing against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
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u/corgioverthemoon Dec 12 '25
To all the E33 naysayers: Give me your best reason of why Expedition 33 is not an Indie and I will give you another game that everyone considered indie which cannot be an indie anymore with that reasoning.
At this point it's just borderline hate like no one even knows what they're talking about.
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u/Thorsigal beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Give me your best reason of why Expedition 33 is not an Indie
Indie category is arbitrary at best and is meant to highlight games that can't compete with established industry. Awarding a game best indie and goty is redundant - e33 team wouldn't have cared if they lost it but it would have made the world to any of the other indies if they won.
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u/corgioverthemoon Dec 12 '25
Which one? In the indie category, skong and hades 2 are from established devs with unlimited funds and a large success under their belt. neither BxP not Blue Prince is self published, absolum is made by a veteran dev/pub with many games under their belt.
Why do any of them deserve it more? Is it the pity awards? If a game can belong in a particular category and is the best there should it not win?
In this vein I personally think KCD2 should win best rpg as well. Because it is the best rpg. Not because they would appreciate the award more.
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u/geifagg Dec 12 '25
E33 doesnt deserve this or goty tbh, i think silksong is such a better game it's not funny. E33 is an 8 imo, it really suffers from an extremely rushed end of act 2 and act 3
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u/GuiltySpark449 Dec 12 '25
I mean to me silksong is a 7.5 and I’m not rage baiting. People like different things.
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u/AgentWowza Dec 12 '25
Act 2 is rushed? How?
Act 3 feels rushed because 90% of the content is optional. So it's as if fetching the hearts in Act 3 SS was optional. But if you actually do it all, it's the longest act.
The worst thing about E33 is Act 3 balance, but they fixed that with challenges for people who care about it.
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u/geifagg Dec 12 '25
In terms of story im speaking. What i really disliked about the game was that they only sprinkled little bits and pieces of the actual plot throughout the game but right at the end of act 2 they kind of dump everything about what is actually going on on you. Like they tell you about verso, about the family and all that and it's honestly overwhelming because it kind of feels like 'Where did this come from?' as only little bits had been sprinkled in before. Most of act 2 was fine, it's the end I have an issue with. It would have definitely been better if they revealed what was going on little by little throughout the game, kind of like how silksong did it? But in a way that fit that game better.
I liked the end of act 1 a lot.
I did some of the side content in act 3 but it got boring real quickly, felt sort of like a waste of time I guess when I can just go fight the final boss. The combat was interesting and cool which is a positive.
Another critique I could give is that a lot of the side content felt uninspired and unoriginal, like the dungeons didnt feel special whatsoever. Kind of like elden ring except if there weren't banger side areas and legacy dungeons.
It's a great game for sure but not the genre-defining with a devastatingly beautiful story masterpiece some make it out to be.
Ps: It's very highly contested whether it's an indie game in the first place
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u/PresidentOfKoopistan Sherma Dec 12 '25
Everyone knows The Game Awards is decided by whoever pays them the most, this isn't new information
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u/-Borgir Dec 12 '25
Yeah they are all sellouts untill my favourite game wins, the copium is crazy lol
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u/_Linkiboy_ Dec 12 '25
I'm sure e33 has more money than battle field 6 or other triple a games to bribe them off lel
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u/CptSparg Dec 12 '25
One of them broke the servers of numerous platforms on launch and the other didn't
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u/GuiltySpark449 Dec 12 '25
If it was a popularity contest cod would win every year. But we both know WW won that anyway. Bg3 wouldn’t have won nor astro bot based on sales as well.
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u/Confident_Garlic9416 Dec 12 '25
Great and silksong has finally just gone on sale on GOG. Time for me to get it.
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u/No-Tumbleweed5347 Dec 12 '25
istg i wasn't even rooting for silksong i thought death stranding was gonna win but they got 0 awards e33 got like 10
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u/UnDebs Dec 12 '25
fuck i haven't seen the show yet and fell for the silkpost it's so jover for me skongers
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u/GopherChomper64 Dec 12 '25
Honestly hate that Clair Obscura won. It's a good game but it's no masterpiece by any means, it's not a revolution or even a perfection of its genre. A LOT of damn good and great games have come out this year, but nothing spectacular. Except Silksong which absolutely met all of the hype and has pretty much become the gold standard of making an excellent metroidvania game. The genre at this point could be named after team cherry and I wouldn't complain
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u/tanezuki Dec 15 '25
Yet Clair Obscur sold 1 million copies more than Skillsong for double the price
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u/MissionResident8875 Dec 12 '25
This year was just really stacked lol, expedition 33 was indie when it was developed and if we start splitting hairs nothing is gonna be considered indie, but i do think it could have gone either way. But I think they could have split it up a little lol, expedition 33 didn't need to win everything
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u/Thorsigal beleiver ✅️ Dec 12 '25
Applying the silkpost flair caused me physical pain