Silksong : How to Get to The Slab

How to Get to The Slab in Silksong

By Daniel Hidalgo | 2025-09-10 09:19:41
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a masterpiece of exploration, filled with interconnected regions, each boasting unique environmental hazards and secrets. While the critical path is engaging, the game truly shines in its optional, hidden challenges. One of the most thrilling and punishing of these is The Slab, a prison complex that tests your skill and resolve by stripping away your power. This guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough on how to get there, survive its trials, and reclaim your strength.

How to Trigger the Kidnapping Event and Reach The Slab


Reaching The Slab isn't a matter of simple navigation; it's an event you must trigger. To start this dangerous detour, you must first possess the Wall Jump ability, acquired in the early-game area of Shellwood.
Once you have this mobility upgrade, journey to the Deep Docks. Navigate to the upper-right quadrant of this zone, where you will encounter a community of red ants. A challenging wall-climbing section is nearby. Scale this wall and proceed to the right. Here, you will find a unique enemy guarding a large cage.
The key is to engage this jailer. After landing a few hits, the enemy will counterattack by leaping into the air and slamming its cage down, capturing Hornet. The screen will fade to black. You will awaken, disoriented and powerless, in the grim confines of The Slab. All your core abilities—your Nail, your Silk, and your protective cloak—have been confiscated.

The Great Escape: Surviving and Retrieving Your Gear


Your primary objectives are clear: escape your cell, navigate the deadly prison, and recover your stolen belongings.
  • The Initial Breakout: Start by mashing buttons to break free from your initial cage. Your immediate path leads downward and to the left.
  • The First Obstacle: You will quickly encounter a door sealed by the Indolent Key. Instead of turning back, look upward. A breakable ceiling hides a secret passage into the ventilation shafts, which will become your primary route through the complex.
  • Navigating the Interior: Exercise extreme caution. The Slab is riddled with deadly traps. Pressure plates on the floor will trigger instant death from below. Proceed slowly and watch your step.
  • A Glimpse of Hope: As you climb, you will spot a group of enemies taunting you, holding Hornet's iconic cloak and needle. This confirms you're on the right track, but you cannot reclaim them yet.
  • Braving the Cold: The path eventually leads outside into a blizzard, introducing a new survival mechanic: Freeze. Your health will gradually deplete if you stay in the cold for too long. You must move quickly between heat sources, typically torches or braziers, to stay alive.

    • Locating the Indolent Key and the Local Map

    Progress hinges on finding the Indolent Key.


    • Descend through a large hole to find a character named Grindle on the right, separated from you by a locked gate.
    • Head left to a chamber where the Indolent Key dangles from a chain. Bewarned: grabbing it triggers an ambush. Your goal is not to fight but to flee. Seize the key and immediately retreat to the right, back towardGrindle's gate.
    • Unlock the door to meet Grindle and discover a Bench in the adjacent room—acrucial safe haven. Before moving on, investigate the right wall in this room to find a hidden crevice leading to the area map, a vital tool for navigation.

    Reclaiming Your Power and the Key of Heretic


    With the Indolent Key in hand, backtrack to the main sealed door you passedearlier. The room beyond hosts a difficult combat encounter. Withoutyour full power, you must use the environment to your advantage. Lureenemies over the floor traps to defeat them efficiently.


    After the battle, a demanding platforming section awaits. Using only jump and dash, ascend the shaft until you break back outside into the freezingcold. Use fire pits strategically to manage your body heat as you workyour way to the left.


    You will eventually descend into a cavern where your captors are gatheredbelow, gloating over your gear. A prompt will appear for a silenttakedown, allowing Hornet to swiftly reclaim her stolen belongings andabilities.


    A fierce battle follows. Now armed with your Nail and Silk, you must defeat the remaining guards. Victorious, you will earn the Key of Heretic, your ticket to the deepest parts of The Slab.

    Exiting the Depths and Finding the Bellway Station


    Use the Key of Heretic to unlock a new path downward. You will find a lever that operates a mechanical gate. Continue descending until you seesignage for the Bellway Station. Break through a series of false walls on your right to find a Benchand, finally, the Bellway Station itself. This allows you to fast-travel out of The Slab and back to the familiar territories of Pharloom.

    What to Do After Escaping The Slab


    Your journey in The Slab opens up new possibilities:


    • For Advanced Explorers: If you have the Clawline ability, head left from the Bellway Station to enter the frigid peaks of Mount Fay. This late-game area is brutallychallenging due to the persistent freeze mechanic, but conquering itssummit rewards you with a powerful and game-changing new ability.
    • For Progression: If you are still in the early game, take the Bellway back to Shellwood. Your new strength allows you to access the top-left section of the map, leading to the Blasted Steps and a formidable boss fight that gatesyour progression into the next act of the story.


    The Slab is a quintessential Silksong experience—a brutal, optional, andimmensely rewarding challenge that perfectly blends environmentalstorytelling, tough platforming, and strategic combat.

    Tags: Silksong
    Platform(s): Microsoft Windows PC, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4 PS4, PlayStation 5 PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
    Genre(s): Metroidvania
    Developer(s): Team Cherry
    Publisher(s): Team Cherry
    Engine: Unity
    Release date: 4 September 2025
    Mode: Single-player
    Age rating (PEGI): 7+
    Video preview▶


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