Didn’t personally watch the interview in question (or forgot by now) so I don’t know what they meant, but it definitely feels like lore wise Silksong can stand as an independent game with what I’ve discovered so far.

Regarding difficulty, Hollow Knight isn’t the only game that could have prepared you for Silksong I think.
I think what it helps a lot with is familiarity and mindset. The overall game loop is very similar.

That said, I think it’s wise to give HK a try before buying Silksong. It’s a cheaper game, worth playing through if you’re into these kinds of experiences and if you don’t enjoy it, chances are Silksong will not be much fun for you either.

Still enjoying the experience quite a bit. I’m guessing I probably have a couple more days in act 1.
Dying a lot, back tracking a lot. Flying enemies a menace as always.

The one thing that has frustrated me is the movement. While it is generally fun and engaging and I’m glad they added so many different possibilities, it does at times feel less responsive than HK.
I wish there was a way to turn off the dash-strike, as I’ve never wanted to use it, but it keeps throwing off my upwards attacks. This has been especially annoying in the “Soul Master” fight.
Also, when I’m running a lot in a fight and change direction often, it sometimes starts to feel like Hornet is skating on ice.

I’m not a huge fan of new areas being guarded by arena fights, but that’s probably because I suck at them.

People complain about rosary beads being too scarce and I agree (especially paid bench + beast station combos in areas with next to no enemies dropping beads), but they are so pretty! I love the sounds, too.

The quest system is convenient, though it does feel less immersive than the one Hollow Knight had. I’m loving the NPCs though, they feel like an upgrade.

Overall, Silksong is promising to be a worthy successor and I’m looking forward to the rest of my time playing it.

Yup.
Hollow Knight basically got me into gaming. I struggled plenty and had to redo sections an unreasonable number of times.
Silksong is faithfully recreating that experience, but with even more stunning visuals (I absolutely have to replay on PC), immersive sound and engaging movement. I also started getting lost almost immediately and had to invest in that most OP of all charms.

For what it’s worth, it sounded like they’re excited to keep adding content and really had to force themselves to stop development just so we could get a release so I think odds are pretty good that we’ll get DLC again.
Aaaand they go longer have an obligation to backers to add hornet, so who knows how much they’ll be able to add, or what other games they decide to work on after.
The future’s looking bright.

You can’t just say “perchance”