Silksong arrived with a reputation for challenging encounters. Still, one of the people who both tested the game and lent a voice to a character says the experience was even harsher earlier in development. Matt Trobbiani, the voice behind the boss Trobbio, says the version he played was tougher and that many of the changes made after his testing were nerfs to bosses, not buffs.
Trobbiani discussed his role on Dan Allen Gaming, and his position is unusual – he was part of QA while also recording lines for a character. He explains that after his play sessions, several adjustments landed, and he frames those as reductions in boss difficulty. In his words, “it was almost entirely nerfs to bosses that I got put in,” and “it was much harder when I did it.” The Trobbio fight itself, he adds, was essentially the same by the time other testers saw it.
Balancing a game like Silksong is delicate because the difficulty curve is central to players’ experience of the sequel. Team Cherry has been issuing fixes and tuning encounters since launch; community feedback has driven several updates, and the team has introduced both mechanical adjustments and bug fixes in response. For more on how the developer has been shaping the game post-release, see our coverage of Team Cherry provides an update for Hollow Knight: Silksong and our piece on how the game offers alternate routes to handle tough encounters, Team Cherry: Silksong provides alternate routes to handle tough encounters.
The interview clip in which Trobbiani appears is available online, and it includes the remarks about testing and the voice role. The video below is the source of his comments and provides the broader conversation about his dual role as tester and voice actor.
Players who felt some fights were punishing at launch might find it interesting that a tester remembers a stricter version. It is a small glimpse into the usual tug-of-war between studio intent and player reception that plays out after release, where tweaks often aim to keep challenge without pushing players away.
