tech
January 12, 2026
Four months and 40 hours later: my epic battle with 2025’s most difficult video game
When Hollow Knight: Silksong came out last summer I was in so much pain that I didn’t know if I’d be able to play it. Could a video game teach me anything new about suffering?
TL;DR
- The author experienced excruciating pain from brachial neuritis, a condition causing inflammation of nerves, which significantly impacted their ability to perform daily activities, including playing video games.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong, a highly anticipated and difficult game, was released while the author was suffering from chronic pain.
- The author decided to play Silksong, hoping it might help them reframe their understanding of suffering and disability.
- The game's world, Pharloom, is depicted as a beautiful but nightmarish kingdom filled with hardship, corruption, and dangerous creatures, mirroring a pilgrimage from hell to heaven.
- The author found that playing Silksong slowly, in short bursts due to pain, transformed the game into a mental parallel dimension.
- The experience of playing Silksong, alongside learning about modern pain science, taught the author that acknowledging pain and modifying life around it is a form of overcoming it, allowing them to continue living and playing.
- Unlike in video games where tenacity leads to victory, pain cannot be overcome with sheer determination; instead, it requires accepting limitations and learning to live with them.
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