The Citadel - Level Analysis

I'm working on an original level inspired by Hollow Knight: Silksong's Citadel. I wanted to conduct an analysis about its levels to get a better understanding before the blockout!

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At the heart of the kingdom of Pharloom lay the most coveted destination for the thousands of pilgrims coming from every walk of life: The Citadel. Every bug, devout or not, understands the importance of the magnanimous cavern densely packed with decadent, intricately constructed buildings of gold-embellished metal and stone. However, the city holds a harrowing secret at its core – an imprisoned god who has slowly begun to take back control of the kingdom through Her divine silk threads. The vast majority of the Citadel’s inhabitants have become Haunted, taken over by these threads and losing themselves in the process. What was once a blooming kingdom is now a death trap for pilgrims and anybody that can produce silk, including Hornet, a skilled warrior from another land.

Introduction

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a 2D, metroidvania, action-platformer. Seven distinct levels make up its colossal Citadel, spanning nearly half of the game’s map. I chose this area to analyze as it reinforces the strongest design principles of the games core mechanics. Silksong's relentless, fast-paced combat and precise movement are at their absolute pinnacle, aligning with the grandness of the location itself. Because the area is so large, I can pull out the best parts of several of its levels and merge them into one experience. Hence, I’ve selected to create an original level set within the Citadel rather than a specific area depicted in the game. Lastly, I felt that the dichotomy between the game's two dimensions and the nuances of 3D level design would prove a fresh and engaging challenge.

Mechanics

As with many others in the genre, Silksong strips the player of their abilities at the beginning of the game and expects them to build their way back up, acquiring upgrades throughout their adventure. Many locations and secret rooms are teased before the player has the proper tools unlocked, encouraging them to remember to come back later. The major core mechanics stem from this method of progression accompanied by platforming and combat. By the time they find their way to the Citadel (the objective the player is given at the very beginning of the game) they have a plethora of movement abilities, tools and combat options with room for many more. Yet, the levels within are designed in a way that there’s always something they have to come back for– whether it's a collectible, upgrade, or secret room.

So, backtracking is core to Silksong, and with backtracking comes traversal. Hornet is equipped with all of your traditional platformer abilities somewhat early on: a dash, sprint, and mantle. Later in the game she gets access to a glide, double jump, grapple hook, and the ability to fly up to any ceiling from the ground. These abilities come together harmoniously to create an incredibly precise and rich movement system. Many levels within these areas are entirely predicated on your mastery of said traversal and put combat to the side to create intense platforming challenges. As you unlock movement, the world around you evolves to accommodate for your strengths. Areas become less linear, gaps become nigh uncrossable, obstacles are packed more densely, and checkpoints are less common, making miscalculations result in harsher punishments.

Level Objectives

The Citadel and its constituent parts.

The primary objective within The Citadel is to ascend to the Cradle through several sub-areas and ultimately confront the source of Pharloom’s corruption. This is reinforced through “ritualized” actions, such as activating holy mechanisms and Bellshrine structures, which symbolically and mechanically open new paths. On the way, the player’s secondary objectives are exploration, resource acquisition, and narrative discovery. As with previous areas, there are tons of optional side paths, hidden chambers, and environmental details that reward curiosity without halting forward momentum.

Collectibles and side content are highlighted in the completed map, typically accessed through hidden walls.

In the Choral Chambers, these objectives shape the player experience by encouraging deliberate exploration within a space that still feels directional. The player is constantly aware of upward progress while being tempted laterally by optional routes, creating a balance between focus and freedom.

Level Breakdown

The Citadel can be divided into several major sections based on game play and each have some kind of narrative and thematic shift:

• The Blasted Steps: An exterior rocky ascent establishing the Citadel’s scale and establishing verticality. This area acclimates players to climbing under pressure and foreshadows the ritual ascent coming ahead.

• Choral Chambers: A central interior zone defined by towering halls, resonant soundscapes, and almost nonsensically layered ornate buildings. The area functions as both a traversal test and a thematic centerpiece, emphasizing sound, ritual, and grandeur, especially compared to the more natural environments the player is used to.

• Memorium and High Halls: Much quieter, contemplative spaces that reduce combat intensity and focus a lot on environmental storytelling. These areas contextualize the Citadel’s former purpose and hint that it has a much more sinister side.

• Cogwork Core: A mechanical descent beneath the Citadel that contrasts sharply with the sanctity of the upper halls. Traversal becomes much more hazardous and industrial, with uncomfortable hallways filled with debris and cogwheels from the millions of devices that populate the kingdom.

• Underworks: The Citadel’s most harrowing side where little the least amount of holiness lies. Thousands of bugs pay penance for sinning by working ancient machinery in intensely harsh conditions, minds deteriorated by the Mother’s threads.

Each part of the Citadel serves a clear purpose within the overall flow. They alternate in intensity and reinforce the narrative arc of ascent while displaying the game’s themes in full authenticity. All of these areas also have parts to revisit in later acts of the game, making each return feel fresh and challenging.

Gameplay Spaces

Combat spaces typically combine platforming elements with highly mobile enemies.

Combat within the Choral Chambers is designed around vertical engagement. Enemies are often positioned on staggered platforms or along walls, encouraging players to fight while moving rather than holding static ground. The vertical spacing allows for evasive maneuvers using air dashes and wall jumps, while open sightlines maintain readability. This design supports flow by minimizing interruptions between traversal and combat, allowing encounters to feel like extensions of movement challenges (a recurring motif across many areas of the game, but at its highest intensity here).

Rather than traditional puzzles, the Choral Chambers rely on traversal challenges that function as spatial problems. Player guidance is achieved through architectural affordances: vertical shafts naturally draw the eye upward, and grappleable/climbable surfaces are visually distinct. The level hides a lot of these things out of line of sight, making the solutions to spatial puzzles more obscure.

Finally, narrative spaces within most of the Citadel are often quieter alcoves or overlooks that provide relief from constant motion. These zones use environmental storytelling such as remnants of religious structures or rich soundscapes communicate the Citadel’s former role as a place of worship.

Artistic and Functional Design

Despite the game’s 2D nature, plenty of depth is conveyed through soft lighting and detailed backgrounds.

The Citadel’s artistic design reinforces its gameplay goals. Lighting within the Choral Chambers emphasizes height and depth, with shafts of light cutting through dust and architecture to draw attention upward. The sound design is particularly striking, with reverberating choral tones and mechanical echoes establishing mood but also functioning as navigational cues. Compositionally, repeated arches and vertical columns frame movement paths and reinforce the theme of ascension.

Conclusion

Despite making up a solid 40% of the game’s map, the Citadel still stands out as a completely unique and cohesive area of Silksong. It reinforces the game’s emphasis on mastery, pilgrimage, and transformation. It supports gameplay mechanics by providing spaces that reward agility and spatial awareness, and it applies level design principles such as breadcrumbing and flow with consistency. The biggest potential weaknesses lie in the risk of player disorientation due to its sheer size. That said, its mostly mitigated by strong visual cues and the nonlinear nature of the game.

Overall, The Citadel contributes meaningfully to the game’s identity. It’s level design supports mechanics, conveys narrative, and maintains player engagement in a cohesive experience. It makes it a great reference point for my original level based in the area.