The most popular Silksong mods tone down Team Cherry's cruelty, and this Elden Ring-inspired solution to ridiculous boss runbacks makes a very fair point

Hollow Knight: Silksong is startlingly difficult, and its sheer aggressiveness has sparked broad discussion about how it compares to the first game and how player-hostile it can feel. Almost all of the top player-made mods for Silksong reduce the difficulty in some way, and I'm particularly struck by one creator's solution to its notorious boss runbacks.

Nexus Mods rankings show that 12 (arguably 14) of the current top 15 most popular Silksong mods rein in the difficulty, either by adding in new features, giving the player more resources, or outright circumventing some systems. This can range from total invincibility to reduced incoming damage, and I'd put modder Kassent's "Stakes of Marika - Rebirth Anywhere" mod somewhere in the middle power-wise.

This "quality-of-life" mod cuts down on Silksong's notorious runbacks – the often protracted sections between the closest respawn point and the challenge you're trying to beat – with a solution inspired by Elden Ring.

To account for Elden Ring's larger world, developer FromSoftware was kind enough to put down sub-checkpoints called Stakes of Marika. You could respawn at these after death, much closer than the nearest Site of Grace checkpoint would allow, but you couldn't actually rest at them to level up, refill supplies, or change your loadout. They were explicitly there to speed up the 'bang head on wall' sections where you just want to beat this particular thing.

Kassent's Rebirth Anywhere mod works very similarly: "When you die in a scene, you will respawn at the scene entrance instead of at a bench miles away, making it convenient for quick repeated challenges. Additionally, you can customize respawn points in scenes - after death, you will respawn at the respawn point you set."

This works for more than just boss runbacks since you can essentially keep a checkpoint in your pocket and put it anywhere, but creating closer boss checkpoints feels like the most pertinent application. I imagine most people expect to replay a level until they can master and clear it. It's being forced to run a pre-boss gauntlet over and over when all you really want to focus on is the boss itself that seems to have rubbed some people the wrong way.

I'm about 22 hours into Silksong, and with most of the map cleared – at least, I think – I've hit my fair share of lengthy boss runbacks. One involved replaying a sadistic platforming section filled with dangerous enemies, and I'd argue this is among the most annoying things Team Cherry has ever produced. I'm not saying this checkpoint mod is needed or anything; I'm just saying that I appreciate it when hard games like Lies of P, which got a tough DLC this year, make boss runbacks very short.

Kassent's mod is the 10th most popular Hollow Knight: Silksong mod on Nexus Mods by downloads. Ironically, some people reckon it makes the game too easy by obviating non-boss runbacks, which are also a core part of the experience.

Our own Andy writes: Hollow Knight Silksong has beat my ass for 11 hours, but it's not too hard – we just have a problem with instant gratification.