Silksong Translation Issues Spark โNegative Steam Reviews From Chinese Players
Hong Kong โข -โ Highly anticipated โMetroidvania game Silksong is facing a wave of negative reviewsโ on Steam from chinese players, stemming from โconcerns over the quality โขof its translation. While the โgame currently โholdsโข a “positive” overall user rating across allโฃ languages, filtering reviews to show onyl those written in Simplified Chinese reveals a “negative” assessment.
The controversyโข centers on a translation styleโฃ perceived as an inconsistent blend of โคarchaic and modern Chinese, with โsome players comparing the language to that found โคin Wuxia โคnovels -โข a genre of Chinese fiction focused on โmartial โarts and โฃancient settings – ratherโข than reflecting the โgame’s intended tone. This discrepancy has lead to criticism that the translation feelsโ out of place and detracts from the โคgaming experience.โ The original Hollow Knight โ received “very positive” reviews from Simplifiedโข Chinese-speaking โขplayers, benefiting from a translation team โof six, while Silksong‘sโฃ Chinese localization was โhandledโข by a smallerโค team ofโฃ just two.”The translation looks like it is indeed taken from a Wuchia novel, rather of conveying the game style and actualโ tone,” commented Tiger Tang, a translator who previously worked onโฃ the Chinese version โขof the gameโค Omori, on the X platform. Matthew Griffin, marketing and publishingโ lead for Silksong, acknowledged the issues and stated the team is working to improve the translation โขin the comingโค weeks. The situation highlights how localized quality โcontrol canโ impact a global โproduct’s reception, โคnotably for a high-profile title like Silksong withinโ the popular โขMetroidvania genre.
