The journey to The Slab in Hollow Knight Silksong presents a myriad of challenges and demands strategic thinking, as players must navigate through traps and locked doors to successfully escape. Starting at the Deep Docks, players must take the top-right path toward Far Fields and acquire the Cling Grip skill to proceed.
Enticingly perilous, The Slab can only be reached when players allow a large fly with a cage to capture them, transporting them to the notorious prison. Once there, breaking out of the cage is only the beginning. Hornet must first reclaim her confiscated belongings before contemplating an escape.
Keys to Escape
Three keys—Indolent, Heretic, and Apostate—guard the exits of The Slab, each unlocking doors in the sprawling labyrinth. On the initial visit, players can find the Indolent and Heretic keys, while the Apostate Key surfaces later in Bilewater. To reach these keys, descending to the bottom and navigating through the left door offers a path forward. Clambering up the wall and breaking through the ceiling grants further passage.
Vigilance is necessary to evade floor traps and navigate spiky obstacles. Upon reaching the outer wall, players must adeptly dodge enemies while sliding down to deeper sections. Here, Grindle offers advice before disappearing, prompting a hurried dash past traps to strike a glowing chain, obtaining the Key of Indolent.
This key unlocks the entrance to a trap-filled chamber where rotating shuriken and enemies ensue. Skillful manipulation of traps to vanquish foes is crucial as players ascend The Slab using Cling Grip, expertly avoiding pressure pads that unleash vertical shurikens.
Enduring the Elements
In the frozen sections, players rely on warming beacons to stave off the cold, sprinting past triggers and maneuvering through middle or top routes flanked by fires and guards. Reaching the resting bench below a fourth fire signals progress.
A thrilling sequence then unfolds in which players must recover Hornet’s gear. Successfully assaulting through enemy waves of Guardfly, Wardenfly, and Scabfly rewards adventurers with the Key of Heretic, unlocking subsequent areas. A trapped-off section awaits with more paths and traps, urging players to remain observant and nimble.
Eschewing the Apostate door, for now, players might pause at a bench near a vital Bellway sign. Their final steps involve dispensing 50 Rosaries for a Beetleway ride, wherein the Bell Beast ferries them to safety.
The Slab, in its amalgam of strategic platforming and key-based progression, epitomizes a rigorous test of skill, rewarding the persistent with incentives hidden within its icy, trap-laden corridors.
