Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong released on 4 September 2025 after the longest wait in recent memory, and Team Cherry put it everywhere at once: PC, both Switch generations, both PlayStations, both Xboxes, and day-one Game Pass. For a portable player the buy decision is not whether it runs well on a handheld. It runs beautifully on a handheld. The decision is where your save is allowed to live, because Silksong has no universal cross-save and the platforms split into separate islands.

Game overview

Silksong is the sequel to 2017’s Hollow Knight, and you play as Hornet rather than the original’s silent Knight. The setting is a new kingdom, Pharloom, and the movement is faster and more aggressive than the first game: Hornet runs, leaps, and pins enemies with a needle-and-thread combat rhythm that rewards momentum over caution. It is still a Metroidvania at heart, built on exploration, locked routes that open as you gain tools, and boss fights that gate progress.

Two structural facts matter more for handheld play than for a TV. The world is large, bigger than the original Hollow Knight’s 25-to-40-hour run. And checkpointing is bench-based: you save by resting at a bench, not by pausing anywhere you like. Both shape how the game fits into a commute, covered below.

Where you can play it

Silksong shipped on 4 September 2025 on every platform simultaneously: PC (Steam, GOG, Humble, and the Microsoft Store), original Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S. It was day-one on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. There is no native mobile version; phone play means cloud-streaming the PC build.

On portable hardware the showings are unusually strong. Steam Deck is Verified: the game runs at the Deck’s native 800p, holds close to 60 fps, and gets roughly four to five hours of battery on a Deck OLED at the 60 fps cap. The Switch 2 build is the other standout. Team Cherry shipped a free Switch 2 Upgrade Pack rather than a separately priced edition, so anyone who owns the Switch release installs the enhanced version from the eShop at no cost. Outlet comparisons put the Switch 2 handheld mode at 1080p and 120 fps, with a docked option of up to 2160p at 60 fps or 1080p at 120 fps in a 120Hz mode. The original Switch runs at 720p and 60 fps in both modes. Those Switch 2 numbers are outlet-reported; no dedicated Digital Foundry teardown had landed as of June 2026, so treat the exact figures as reported rather than measured.

PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 both run it. Xbox One and Series X and S both run it, with Game Pass covering console and PC on day one.

Cross-saves and keeping your progress

This is the part to read before you buy, because Silksong is on everything but the save does not follow you across everything.

Steam Cloud keeps your save synced across your own PC devices within Steam, Steam Deck included. Play on a desktop at home and a Deck on the train, and the same corridor carries between them.

Xbox Play Anywhere does the same job across Xbox and Windows: one Microsoft purchase covers the Xbox console build and the Microsoft Store PC build, with cloud save sync between them. Game Pass uses the same mechanism, so a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber moving between an Xbox in the living room, a Windows PC, and a Deck running the Xbox Cloud Gaming app has one save that follows.

What does not exist is any official cross-save between Nintendo, PlayStation, and the PC-and-Xbox side. A Switch save stays on Switch. A PlayStation save stays on PlayStation. A Steam save does not move to Xbox. The only way people shuttle a save between, say, Switch and PC is through unofficial community tools, which are not a Team Cherry feature and carry the usual risks. The practical rule for a multi-device player: buy Silksong where your save needs to live, because moving it later is not a supported option.

Features that matter on the move

• Bench-based checkpointing. You save by resting at a bench, not by pausing anywhere. For a handheld run the question is not “can I pause”, it is “can I reach the next bench before this commute ends”. Plan around the benches.
• Steam Deck Verified at native 800p, close to 60 fps, with around four to five hours of battery on a Deck OLED at the cap. One of the cleanest portable showings on PC hardware.
• Switch 2 handheld targets 1080p and 120 fps through the free upgrade pack, outlet-reported. The original Switch holds 720p and 60 fps. Either way the game is built to run on a small screen.
• Full controller support across every platform, which is table stakes for a precision platformer and confirmed by the Deck Verified rating.
• Better in longer sit-downs than five-minute bursts. Boss fights and exploration stretches want a settled session, but the bench rhythm means a 20-to-30-minute commute is workable if you stop at a bench.
• Suspend-resume is not separately documented for Silksong, but Deck and Switch sleep behave normally in practice. With checkpointing tied to benches, the safe habit is to reach one before you sleep the device.

Recommended setup

Pick by where your save needs to live, then by the handheld you already own.

Steam and Steam Deck household: buy on Steam, lean on Steam Cloud and the Deck Verified rating, done. Game Pass or Xbox household: Play Anywhere ties the Xbox and Windows builds together, and a Deck running Xbox Cloud Gaming streams the same save on the move when the network holds up. Switch 2 household: the free upgrade pack and the 1080p / 120 fps handheld mode are the best portable showing here, with the catch that the save is an island. PlayStation household: PS5 or PS4, accept the isolated save.

For controllers, the 8BitDo Pro 2 covers PC, Steam Deck, and Switch as one multi-device pad. The Switch 2 Pro Controller suits the 120 fps Switch 2 build. Xbox owners already have the right pad.

See our controllers guide for the wider multi-device picks, the cross-saves cornerstone for the full picture on save sync across 2025-26 releases, and the Steam Deck vs Switch 2 cornerstone for the broader handheld decision behind a title like this.

Verdict

Silksong is the rare 2025 release that runs well on every handheld it touches: Steam Deck Verified at close to 60 fps, Switch 2 at a reported 120 fps in handheld. The performance question is settled. The real decision is which save island you commit to, because there is no universal cross-save. Steam Cloud covers your PC and Deck, Xbox Play Anywhere covers Xbox and PC, and the Nintendo and PlayStation builds keep their saves to themselves. Buy it where your save needs to live, and the portable experience takes care of itself.