A bounce is a small thing. You hit something below you, and you go up. In Silksong it decides whether you cross a tight room or bleed health in it. One Steam Deck thread describes a stubborn version of the problem: the strike keeps going sideways.
A slight nudge of the analog stick away from straight down is described as almost guaranteed to produce a sideways strike.
What the thread actually says
A player posted on September 8, 2025, asking for help with consistent pogo bounces on a gamepad or Steam Deck. Pogo means striking down on an enemy or object so you bounce back up. Good players chain several hits on a single target. The poster calls it crucial for progress. They also say it keeps failing the same way: the strike goes sideways instead of down.
That is a narrow complaint, and a useful one. The thread is one discussion, not a lab test. Treat it as a single player's report, not a manual.
Why the stick sends you sideways
An analog stick has no notch at straight down. It has a spring and a circle. Push a hair off center and the game can read a sideways lean, so the strike goes sideways. The poster says the window for pressing down and hitting is very short. The sources give no frame count, so I won't invent one.
There is a design reason the margin matters. Hornet's pogo is a diagonal downward attack at roughly 45 degrees, not the straight-down strike of the original Knight. It follows the direction she is facing. So the angle depends on facing as well as on your thumb. One player also says the pogo windows feel smaller and less consistent than in the first game.
The D-pad, and a drill to go with it
The poster found the D-pad more consistent, since it sends a clean down input. It is not a cure. Another player found the D-pad uncomfortable and went back to the thumbstick, accepting less precision for comfort. Comfort is a fair trade if you play for hours.
Binding helps too. One guide suggests putting Jump and Dash on the shoulder buttons so the thumb is free for attack. That guide also offers a drill it calls the Pogo Ladder: descend, pogo, make a small drift, pogo again. Aim for five centered bounces in a row, and tap the direction rather than holding it. A second drill, the Clean Chain, loops jump, dash, aerial slash, land, short hop, dash, aerial slash in a safe corridor. Treat both as advice. The guide gives no independent evidence they work.
For practice targets, another guide suggests weak enemies in open areas, such as Pilgrims or small ants. Line up the diagonals there before you try a cramped shaft.
Spacing in tight rooms
Tight rooms punish drift. After a bounce, small horizontal shifts in the air let skilled players line up the next hit, and some repeat the pogo on one enemy until it dies. Too much shift and you overshoot. Too little and you land beside the target. One player reports a hit rate of about 75 percent on a pogo into Desolate Dive, while still feeling the timing is slightly off. That is a single anecdote, but it shows how rough the margin can feel even for someone who is landing it.
The Wanderer Crest option
Players report that the Wanderer Crest restores a straight-down pogo like the original game. Several sources say so, and some readers say it makes the game easier for people used to Hollow Knight. One guide says you get it at Bone Bottom's Chapel of the Wanderer, reached through the Wormways entrance west of Mosshome. It says a Simple Key from Pebb, 500 Rosaries, unlocks that entrance.
That route comes from one guide. Several sources are dated, so check crest availability against the current version of the game. The choice is plain: learn the diagonal, or take the classic strike.
What we don't know
- No source gives exact frame windows or timing values for the pogo input.
- Button mapping for Switch and Steam Deck is only confirmed in a few examples.
- The drills have no independent evidence of effectiveness.
- The Wanderer route rests on one guide, and the Simple Key path is not confirmed for every version.
So the verdict is modest. Try the D-pad if the stick keeps sending you sideways. Move Jump and Dash to the shoulders. If the diagonal still fights you, the Wanderer Crest is the documented way back to a straight-down strike.
Sources
- Pogo tutorial for playing on a gamepad / steam deck :: Hollow Knight: Silksong General Discussions
- Until I Learn How To Pogo I Won't Start Hollow Knight: Silksong
- How to Unlock Downward Pogo in Hollow Knight Silksong
- What is Pogo in Hollow Knight Silksong and How to Do it
- Hollow Knight Silksong Down Attack Guide (Pogo)
- Silksong Movement Guide: Dash, Wall Jump and Pogo
- Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Hollow Knight: Silksong | FinalBoss.io
- The pogo in this game sucks! :: Hollow Knight: Silksong General Discussions
Marguerite Osei is a house writer for GamesUnlimited covering classic arcade cabinets, pinball, and the hardware that keeps them running. She spent two decades repairing machines in family arcades before she started writing about them. Her reviews weigh how a game plays against how well it holds up to a thousand quarters.
