Games Inbox: What’s the worst game on PS5?

The Wednesday letters page offers predictions for the 2025 Game of the Year awards, as readers try to help with beginner’s tips for Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Platinum’s fall
Interesting list of the worst games ever, which from my knowledge at least seems pretty accurate. Although I agree that probably most people voting have never played the games they’re complaining about. I mean who, in this day and age, is still feeling salty about E.T. on the Atari VCS?

It made me wonder what the worst game I’ve ever played is but I’m really not sure. Like you said, most people tend not to play a lot of bad games if they can help it. Back in the day it was probably Rise Of The Robots that was the worse thing I’ve ever bought.

In the modern era though I’d say it was Babylon’s Fall. An absolutely terrible wannabe live service game that I only bought because it was by PlatinumGames, who I usually love. (Also, it was cheap.) I really don’t know how it turned out so bad but that seemed to be the point at which their fortunes changed and anyone that was any good started to leave.

I only have a PlayStation 5 at the moment, so I’m sure there’s worst elsewhere but probably not in terms of anything with a budget or a big name attached to it.
Blanko

Would you like to know more?
Personally, I’d rather Arrowhead did make a different game next, instead of Helldivers 3. It can be similar in terms of gameplay and everything, but I didn’t like the whole Starship Troopers rip off angle from the start and it’s starting to feel more and more out of touch every time you turn on the news.

Never mind most people not realising that it’s ripping off Starship Troopers, in my experience most players don’t seem to understand the whole Super Earth and ‘managed democracy’ stuff is meant to be satire. I’m not sure I blame them, given everything that’s going on in the world, but I really wish Arrowhead would knock it off, because they’re not funny and they’re not doing anything to help.
Sagacat

Cult favourite
As someone who has no intention of playing Silksong – I hate hard games and Metroidvanias! – I have to say that changing the difficult with your first patch does not fill me with confidence about how useful your two years of polishing was. Are we to believe that nobody noticed the game was stupidly hard in all that time?

Looking in from the outside, there seems to be an almost like cult like frenzy for the game. Nothing I’ve seen or read really explains why it’s so good. It’s just a good example of a genre that’s probably already got too many examples as it. Don’t let me spoil anyone’s fun but the whole thing seems quite strange to me.
Narwell

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Indie awards
I know I’m a bit early with this, but it’s beginning to look like the fight for game of the year in 2025 is going to be between two indie games: Hollow Knight: Silksong and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I think that’s pretty cool and much more encouraging than seeing some bloated triple-A game win. Publishers need to learn to start decreasing budgets and I do feel this sort of thing can help with that.

My prediction would be that Expedition 33 will win. I haven’t played Silksong but Expedition 33 is new IP, it’s original, and it’s kind of a feel good story for how it became so big. You could say some of the same things for Silksong but it’s a sequel that isn’t very different from the last one.

I’m fine with either winning though. Indie gaming is the future, especially when it’s this good.
Tacle

Time flies
The original Dead Island was 14 years ago?! That one hit me like a brick; would never have guessed it was that old. I liked Dead Island 2 though, so would be happy to have another one. Especially if they lean into it being silly and over-the-top violent, and with co-op.

I don’t know if I’d go as far as setting it on the Moon but at this point, I really don’t see the point in taking zombies seriously, especially when you’ve got The Last Of Us as the opposite if you want something like that. Still, 14 years is a long time, even if the franchise has only actually been good for two of them.
Zoltar

Beginner’s guide
A few suggestions for Intellibon and anyone else struggling with Silksong, especially those who haven’t played Hollow Knight. First of all, the game does have a map, although you’ll need to unlock it for each region. In most cases this means buying it from Shakra the cartographer, if you see copper rings sticking out of scenery then she’s somewhere nearby.

Also, before heading into a boss fight, take a look around the area. There is almost always either a rest point (look for signposts with a bench on them), or some way to open a shortcut so the next trip is much quicker and easier. If you’re backtracking more than about two minutes to redo a boss fight you’ve probably missed something.

It’s certainly a tough game, but it’s generally fair and rewards paying attention. I hope this can help anyone who is having trouble getting started.
TGN Professor

Spend to save
RE Silksong, is it really that difficult? At the start it was confusing, where am I on the map? Why is everything a chore, such as having to buy the ability to have merchants, benches, fast travel marked on the map? However, some tips from me.

First I’d exchange 80 rosary beads for a string of 60, you lose 20 sure, but the strings cannot be lost upon defeat. I once found myself carrying near on 900 beads, I didn’t lose them, I spent the lot. However, I have lost 350 to 400 a few times, so exchange 80 for 60 whenever you can, saves losing the lot when you get swarmed and overwhelmed before you can collect your silks (you bust the strings open when you want to use them).

Secondly, no one seems to tell you but the memory lockets you can collect are used to unlock more gear slots, so more passive abilities, more throwables…

And lastly, in Deep Docks, just through the fast travel exit, there’s a large room with a couple of easy enemies that drop beads, three or four enemies. Check the different areas and through the lower right exit there’s another area below a switch that opens a trapdoor, head left and there’s around six more enemies that drop beads. There’s a bench to rest and reset the area, so you can just rinse and repeat for rosaries…

just don’t forget to bank ‘em.
big boy bent

Good job
22 hours in and I’m loving Hollow Knight: Silksong but feel I’ve barely scratched the surface, going by the low completion percentage for some trophies.

So far, I’ve found the difficulty tough but fair. The two bosses the patch will nerf, Sister Splinter and Moorwing, I found challenging but nowhere near as hard as early bosses in Nine Sols, which is easily the hardest Metroidvania I’ve played. It does have a story mode though if it’s needed.

I was talking with a work college about Silksong before news of the patch. He’s a Hollow Knight nut.

He made the comment that so far Silksong’s difficulty ceiling isn’t harder than Hollow Knight, but it does throw you into the deep end straight away, unlike Hollow Knight that ramped up the difficulty a little more gradually. So the early game tweaking in the patch is maybe sensible.

The exploration is very rewarding. I got to the boss before the Citadel and could tell it’ll be a hard one. So, I decided to go explore the areas I’d already opened up now I had new abilities.

Thats was at hour 19 and three hours later I’m still doing that, I keep finding new stuff.

It’s a great game so far and it pains me to see all the negative articles surrounding it. It’s a game that’s made with love and skill while also self-published by a tiny team that’s produced a game that really is only second to the next GTA or mythical Half-Life 3 for impact.

In a climate of consolidation that’s reducing the amount unique players on the board and talented teams like Hi-Fi Rush’s not surviving that process we should all be getting behind Team Cherry and saying good job, very well done.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
GameCentral, let’s be honest here: isn’t the difficulty of Silksong also affecting your delayed review of the game?
Henry

GC: Of course it did. Why have you said that like it’s some shameful conspiracy?

Just played the Star Wars Outlaws demo on Switch 2 and it’s… pretty good? Do you see, Ubisoft? Isn’t marketing great when you remember to do it.
Venger

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