Hollow Knight: Silksong speedruns have already begun and the game isn't even out yet, as world record holder for the limited Gamescom demo modestly calls his sub-3-minute run "pretty OK"

I still can't quite believe it, but Hollow Knight: Silksong is really, officially releasing next week on September 4, but after such a massive wait, one fan hasn't been able to hold on until that fateful day to start speedrunning it.

Last week, Silksong fans were given the chance to try out the highly anticipated Metroidvania sequel for themselves at Gamescom 2025. Our very own Josh West got his hands on the demo, and noted that "there's an attention to detail in its visual and audio design that's scintillating to experience," and that "it's clear that Team Cherry is pushing for subtle revisions that will have big impacts" when it comes to gameplay.

It's this very same demo, which offered two areas for players to try out, that player BlueSR has already got the world record speedrun for. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, the speedrunner initially explains that he was able to play the demo twice, and on his second run, decided to complete the Deep Docks area as fast as possible, despite being "a bit inhibited" due to being "forced to play on controller" for the preview.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Demo Speedrun in 2:26 [World Record + my thoughts] - YouTube

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BlueSR didn't stop there, though. A few days later, now on his sixth playthrough of the demo, he returned with yet another speedrun – this time, a 100% run of both of the possible demo areas instead of just one. Going for every collectible (aside from one he admits he missed by mistake, which he added on six extra seconds to make up for), the speedrunner cleared the whole thing in 10 minutes and 36 seconds.

Silksong Demo 100% Speedrun in 10:36 [World Record + More thoughts and details!] - YouTube

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Obviously, this is a slightly weird category when it comes to actual competition, since unless you also went into the limited in-person demo with the thought to speedrun it, then there's no longer a way to have a go yourself. Then again, I'm sure it won't take long for full game speedruns to surface next week – the Silksong hopefuls have been preparing for this moment for a very long time, after all.

Silksong devs tempt fate, tease "ambitious" DLC plans to add content to the long-awaited Metroidvania: "Hopefully we can achieve some of it."

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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