Time and time again, industries which once seemed too big to fall (e.g. music and film) come crashing down at the hands of opportunistic mega-corporations. These mega-corps outcompete small-yet-passionate studios via throwing money from deep pockets at soulless products which cater to market trends, aiming not to create art nor to revolutionize nor evolve the industry, but to keep their investors happy. They gloat about growing profit margins while disregarding the long-term implications of consumer fatigue, priced-out consumers, industry stagnation, and so on.

Charging onto the scene with an unprecedented >500k concurrent users on Steam alone, with a launch so massive it caused all digital storefront servers to crash (Steam, eShop, PS Store, Xbox Store), a game developed by 3 people has managed to embarrass the likes of Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, and whatever other industry giant you can think of. The reason for this success is no mystery either: Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong reiterates an important industry lesson taught by Astro Bot almost exactly one year prior (which coincidentally released the same weekend as Silksong), that less is more.

Games such as Silksong, Astro Bot, and Expedition 33 serve as powerful demonstrations for what direction the industry should instead be heading in. Not in the direction of $80 games played on $1,000 handhelds with a $200 annual subscription service; but in the direction of a 2D Metroidvania selling at $20, a delightful little platformer produced by a team of 60, and a industry-shaking JRPG selling at $40.

What do you mean by "Less is more", you're talking about content in a game?

“Less is more” referring to, for instance, graphics (e.g. Mario Wonder is a 2D platformer running on NS1, yet I’d still take that over almost any offerings of the present generation, because it is fun regardless of how “graphically inferior” it might be compared to something like GoW:R), content (e.g. no need for an open world; linear is fine. No need to pack >100hr worth of side content into the game; 20hr is more than enough.), budget (a game that costs $10mil to produce has the potential to outclass a game which cost $300mil; lower budget means less time needed to polish and less risk in failing to “break even”), cost (e.g. $20/$40/$60 per game keep the industry growing; not $80 nor an $1,000 Xbox ROG-Ally), etc.

If you say so. IDGAF about it and waiting for Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion in the mail. People get too hung up on declaring everything a game of the generation or a defining moment. It's a bit silly and hyperbolic. The stories of what changed an industry or not are not told on launch day, but years later. Just play your game and chill out.

Smaller games and Indie games excite me way more than most AAA games these days.

my definition of a “generation defining moment” in this context is “a moment which defines a generation.” This generation can be defines by massive budgets which cause develop to refuse pumping out experimental games, opting for safer, tried-and-true releases. I’m not saying that Silksong is a masterpiece nor that what it offers is anything generation defining; rather, the explosive success of a smaller title demonstrates the fatigue amongst consumers with these short-sighted industry trends, i.e. highlighting that people truly are upset with how the recent generation has been. Not to say there hasn’t been an incredible library of games releasing, though it could be so much better (and more affordable).

Its just a sequal to a already great game.

Claire obscure 33 however...

Sorry but 33 is rly mediocre game. The only memorable thing about the game is graphic and somewhat OKish combat. Story is average, at best, and characters are dull and boring, and only good character died in Act 1.

Silksong is fun game and so far strongest candidate for GOTY.

Would game sell as much is it did with price higher then 20, for sure not, but for that price you get a lot of fun and not a single game released this year can come close to it.

Also to OP, game didnt send any message to anything. Its the price and over hype before release (for some strange reason they hyped the game like crazy). If it was 50e, not even going to say 60 or more, game would sell around Dustborn numbers.

The fact that we talk about games like Silksong and Expedition 33 as strongest candidates for GOTY just how how bad this year is so far.

To play devil's advocate, first one cost $15, so this $20 price tag is 20% increase in price.

EDIT - As Rol pointed out, it's 33% increase, not 20% that my half-dead/half-asleep from overworking brain calculated...

I don't view it as Indie vs high end graphics, but size of the game. Companies need to cut the fluff. I really liked Rebirth but Queen's Blood being mandated is stupid. Way too many side quests. The whole Cait Sith section was silly. I am picking on Rebirth, but most AAA have the same issue. Streamlined and focused is a better experience than a giant game with a bunch of worthless nonsense. FF16 had a side quest where a blacksmith figures out a knive needs to be sharp... I mean really? WTF? Games need to be smaller and more focused.

Edit

In short I am really tired of companies making every game 40-80 hours.  Just stop.  Some games make sense at 80 hours, like BotW.  But Rebirth should have been 30 hours, FF16 should have been 15 hours.  I honestly avoid many games because they are too damn long.