Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide | Which Path to Choose—Sinner's Road or Blasted Steps?

Here's a guide discussing which path you should take in playing the game between Sinner's Road and Blasted Steps.

Game Guide by Mash Rahman on Sep 23, 2025

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Act One gives you a genuine fork in the road: you can storm the wind-whipped Blasted Steps and confront the Last Judge, or you can thread the hazardous Sinner's Road, push through the foggy Mist, and fight the hidden Phantom boss.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide, Which Path to Choose,Sinner's Road, or Blasted Steps?

Both routes eventually push you out into the Citadel, but they offer different encounters, rewards, and traversal challenges that are independent of each other—so the most complete playthrough is to sample both before moving on.

In this guide, we will discuss which route you should take, as it is the better option, and whether it is possible to use both.

So Where Do We Start?

To reach the Blasted Steps, you have to begin from the bench and Bellway fast-travel point at the top left in the area Shellwood Forest and head left into the ghastly chasm of grey.

This area is affected by strong winds that slowly push Hornet backwards, creating an interesting challenge for platforming in this location.

There are also sneaky, dangerous sandworms that pop out of the ground and punish players for staying on the ground a little too long. Making the player stay on their toes.

The area features only a few vertical platforming sections, with limited benches and a few optional fights and NPCs tucked away in the sides of small alcoves throughout the grounds.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide, Which Path to Choose,Sinner's Road, or Blasted Steps?

The Blasted Steps reward the player's exploration with upgrades and map pieces. This includes an upgrade that allows you to charge your needle attack and other useful pickups, such as the dice, which help increase critical hit probabilities.

The real test is the runback to the boss arena, which, due to the wind mechanics, to me personally seems like one of the longer and harder ones.

The endpoint of this route is the Last Judge: a tough, skill-based boss fight that primarily advances the story by opening the path to the Citadel rather than giving a big, unique item to the player.

The alternate path begins at the top of Greymoor, where you have to climb up a platform towards the top using the balloons and take the top-right exit to enter Sinner's Road.

This swampy, twisted area is filled with roach-type enemies and leech-infested pools that sap your silk and drain your health, and contains sections of platforming that require utmost precision and punish sloppy movement.

Along the way, you will find traps to disable, an NPC to set free using a Simple Key, side quests that unlock new tools, fleas for the flea caravan to hunt down, and even a Simple Key dropped by a Roachkeeper mini-boss in a tall tower—small rewards that make the exploration through this area worthwhile.

Make it through these sections, and you will eventually reach the edge of the Mist.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide, Which Path to Choose,Sinner's Road, or Blasted Steps?

The Mist is the area where Silksong borrows from classic "Lost Woods" type design: fog throughout each section, looping paths created by the platforms, and invisible failures that return you to the start if you stray too far.

The trick to escaping is to use cues in the environment, which are the ghostly moths that indicate the correct route.

Stand beside these fluttering bugs and play the Needolin; doing so causes the moths to reveal the exit and float toward it, guiding Hornet through the maze. The sequence leads to the Exhaust Organ, a small area with a bench and fast-travel points.

Here, you will face the boss Phantom, a fast, dash-heavy boss whose attacks favor mobility and punish misreads heavily. Upon defeating the Phantom, you get an extremely powerful silk skill known as the Cross Stitch.

The fight also opens tunnels and shortcuts that massively reduce backtracking, making it easier to return to the Blasted Steps if you want to tackle the Last Judge afterward.

Which path should you do first? Practically speaking, many players find it to be most effective to clear the Blasted Steps up to the Last Judge arena to collect maps, benches, and upgrades. Then double back to fully explore Sinner's Road and solve the Mist puzzle.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide, Which Path to Choose,Sinner's Road, or Blasted Steps?

Doing the Phantom boss fight second often gives you extra mobility tools and shortcuts that make the return runs through the Blasted Steps less tedious; once you've beaten Phantom, you can wrap back and add the Last Judge to your hunter's journal if you hadn't already.

Either order works, as the community reports even confirm you can defeat Phantom and then go back to fight the Last Judge to log both bosses—so choose based on your comfort with platforming and boss fights.

A few practical tips will save you from headaches: Prioritize mobility upgrades such as the double jump, dash, and cling grip; rest at benches before big fights to heal up and replenish all the tools; and save the silk and tool charges for the Phantom and Last Judge fights.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide, Which Path to Choose,Sinner's Road, or Blasted Steps?

When navigating the Mist, take things slowly; if a path returns you to the start, backtrack and look for the nearest moth cluster; playing the Needolin at each cluster is the reliable way to make progress.

Also, keep an eye out for the Simple Keys and side NPCs in Sinner's Road—those small finds often unlock extra rooms, useful merchants, or crafting materials that pay off later.

To Sum Up Everything

Act One in Silksong is designed to reward exploration and careful traversal. The Blasted Steps test your platforming under adverse conditions and lead directly to the Last Judge and the Citadel, preparing you for the later challenges.

Sinner's Road funnels you through swampy threats into the Mist puzzle and the Phantom, whose defeat gives you a new crest and useful shortcuts.

For the best experience, clear the Blasted Steps as far as you can, then thread Sinner's Road and beat Phantom, and finally return to finish the Last Judge—this sequence nets the most items and skills and allows you to experience the most amount of the story before you enter Act Two.

Also, check our Hollow Knight: Silksong Review and other guides below: