Among the many discussions ignited by the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the internet debate hall dedicated to contact damage – taking damage from merely touching enemies and bosses even when not hit by actual attacks – was especially raucous. Some people hate it, especially when that contact damage can deal two damage in Silksong, while others respect the spacing and pacing it imposes. The developer of Soulgrave, an upcoming action roguelike with stylish art and a bit of Dead Cells kick, takes a hard stance: no contact damage allowed.
"Share this to scare Team Cherry," teases a post from solo Soulgrave creator Bromanguy, who confirms "You take damage only if you get hit by an attack / fail a mechanic."
"Silksong is great, and so is Team Cherry and I am just joking," the dev quickly adds in a reply. "Contact damage is clearly a different and valid approach, but I think it's worth having a discussion about it anyway."
There's some interesting debate going on in the replies, unsurprisingly cut with a bit of trolling (some of it from Bromanguy himself). "I've had a few frustrations myself, but still loved it," the dev says of Silksong. "It’s clearly built around contact damage, though I feel it could’ve been a bit less punishing."
This loosely echoes my thoughts on the abundance of two-damage attacks in Silksong, which, combined with rampant contact damage, is one of the reasons I ended up liking it less than the original Hollow Knight.
"There are ways to keep spacing meaningful without immediately punishing players for small mistakes," Bromanguy argues in another reply. "Gentle pushbacks, smart enemy positioning, pairing enemies that control space differently, or only punishing you if you force contact. I know Silksong was designed around it though."
A glance at Soulgrave's Steam page makes this design debate even more interesting. This is an action roguelike with very meticulous bosses, it seems – so much so that Bromanguy says they're "built like MMO raid encounters, each with layered mechanics and multiple phases."
It's easy to see how that kind of design ethos could clash with contact damage. Silksong boss fights are frenetic duels, whereas Soulgrave is seemingly pursuing a more structured path that emphasizes enemy "telegraphed" attacks and encourages players to find gaps to get in close and deal damage (with the main character's scythe, among other things in "wild builds" apparently), just as you would in MMO fights.
The challenge is learning to avoid the attack patterns, I gather, so a pixel out of place probably won't punish you in the execution. It's a curious cocktail of danger and intent, and I think both approaches to contact damage can work. One thing's for sure: Soulgrave is going on my wishlist.
