Even before its official full release, Hollow Knight: Silksong is already revealing its intriguing depths, thanks to a dedicated community of players exploring its playable builds. A significant discovery has emerged, showcasing a glitch that can effectively trivialize what’s intended to be one of the game’s toughest late-game boss encounters. As reported by YouTuber Kilroy Was Here, and initially found by a member of the Silksong speedrunning Discord, this exploit allows players to defeat a formidable opponent with surprising ease. It requires precise movement and a willingness to embrace a truly bizarre — and incredibly effective — game mechanic oversight.
Spoilers below for a boss encountered near the end of the game’s second act in current playable builds.
Unlocking the ‘Upslash AI Break’ in Silksong
Dubbed the “upslash AI break” by Kilroy, this remarkable trick involves little more than repeatedly striking upward with Hornet’s needle. Astonishingly, during her second encounter towards the end of Act 2, the boss character, Lace, will simply endure these attacks without retaliation. This effectively freezes her in place, allowing players to inflict continuous damage until her health bar depletes. What makes this discovery particularly compelling, as TechTalesLeo from Digital Tech Explorer observes, is its simplicity; no special crests, tools, or complex setups are required. The main challenge lies in perfectly positioning Hornet just close enough to Lace to avoid taking damage while initiating the relentless upslash.
Once Lace is locked into this passive state, she won’t attempt to move. Players can maintain this assault, quickly re-aligning as she gets knocked backward near the platform’s edge. This sequence can even lead to her falling off the platform for a significant chunk of damage, leaving her with minimal health upon reappearing. As Kilroy succinctly puts it, “All you really need to do to not take damage at that point is just, I guess, lock in.” It’s a testament to the community’s knack for uncovering game-breaking strategies.
Impact on Speedrunning and Game Mechanics
Typically, the Lace fight is characterized by her erratic movements and aggressive dashes, reminiscent of a mirror match against a more furious Hornet. She hits hard, dealing two points of damage per strike, making the conventional fight a true test of skill. The exact mechanics behind why an upward attack renders her AI unresponsive remain a mystery, even to seasoned tech explorers. Kilroy attempted to replicate this “AI break” on a similar boss in Act 3 but found no success, suggesting this particular exploit might be uniquely tied to this specific Lace encounter.
From a speedrunning perspective, this glitch holds immense value. Kilroy demonstrated taking down Lace in approximately 35 seconds using this method, a time that, at the video’s release, surpassed the existing speedrun world record for this particular segment. If this “upslash AI break” is deemed permissible within the rules of speedrunning categories, it could fundamentally alter competitive strategies for Hollow Knight: Silksong. Until Team Cherry potentially deploys a patch to address this, poor Lace might be destined for repeated humiliation at the hands of clever players, eager to exploit every advantage. Here at Digital Tech Explorer, we love seeing how the tech and gaming communities push the boundaries, whether through innovative code or unexpected gameplay discoveries.