Hollow Knight: Silksong Is The Final Piece of a Powerful…

2025 has been a very good year for video game releases, including an onslaught of great long-awaited sequels and successors. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds released in February, Death Stranding 2 and Deltarune Chapter 3+4 dropped in June, and Donkey Kong Bananza followed in July. And now in September, Hollow Knight: Silksong is the latest to join that growing list.

After seven years of development, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally out in the world, complete and ready to be played. To many fans, SIlksong's release is a dream come true, especially as the sequel improves upon its predecessor's already excellent formula in some significant ways. Hollow Knight: Silksong is nothing short of a triumph in its own right, but its release also marks the third and final part of a powerful 2025 triumvirate.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Is The Third Piece of a 2025 Action-Platformer Trifecta

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Kicked Off A Summer of Great Action-Platformers

The middle installment in Ninja Gaiden's self-proclaimed "Year of the Ninja," Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was the front-runner of 2025's action-platformer movement. Released right at the end of July, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a 2D side-scroller from the same studio behind the popular Blasphemous duology, and a game that earned an impressive critical reception.

Fighting enemies in Ninja Gaiden Ragebound

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound currently has an 86 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, with 93% of reviewers recommending the game. The game's frenetic but thoughtful combat, its vibrant pixel art style, and tough but fair challenge were all common points of praise for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, which many critics and fans alike agreed was an excellent return to the realm of 2D for the long-running franchise.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Followed a Month Later

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound set an incredibly high bar for both 2D action and ninja-themed titles, but Shinobi: Art of Vengeance didn't back down from the challenge. Released just a month after Ragebound, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is another high-profile action-platformer, and another revitalization of a classic gaming franchise.

Despite launching just a month after the incredibly similar Ragebound, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance managed to carve out a distinct identity for itself by presenting players with a striking hand-drawn art style and by delivering some light Metroidvania elements. Interestingly, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance actually has a slightly higher rating on OpenCritic than Ragebound, with it sitting at an 87 Top Critic Average, with 95% of reviewers recommending it.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Here To Complete The Trifecta

A sequel that fans have waited almost a decade for, Hollow Knight: Silksong was always going to be one of the biggest games of whatever year it launched in, but it's made an even greater impact than some might have expected. Following a feverish two-week wait between release date reveal and launch, fans around the world stormed their chosen digital storefront on September 4 to secure their copy of Hollow Knight: Silksong the second it released.

Hollow Knight Silksong Hornet sitting at a bench — Hornet sitting on a bench in *Hollow Knight: Silksong*.

This caused Steam, the Nintendo eShop, and the Xbox marketplace to all crash for around half an hour or so, which gives a good indication of just how huge Hollow Knight: Silksong's launch truly is. With reviewers not being given early codes and Silksong only launching a few days ago at the time of writing, Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn't currently have any OpenCritic scores. But if online sentiment is anything to go by, both critics and fans are generally very happy with the long-awaited sequel.

Fighting Savage Beastfly in Hollow Knight Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound are also all 'Verified' on Steam Deck and available on Nintendo Switch, making it an excellent year for handheld action-platformers as well.

Overall, it's been an incredibly strong year for action-platformers, and these three headliners exemplify that. It's also rather impressive that all three of these acclaimed 2025 games cost less than $30 each, which means that players can pick up all three for almost the same price as some new AAA titles.

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