There really should be a right to adequate human support that’s not hidden behind multiple barriers. As you said, it can be a timesaver for the simple stuff, but there’s nothing worse than the dread when you know that your case is going to need some explanation and an actual human that is able to do more than just following a flowchart.
Well, in the case of Silksong specifically, an early announcement was all but inevitable, as it was originally a stretch goal that got turned into its own game. Even with their apparent preference towards minimal communication, they had to explain what’s happening if they didn’t want to appear like fraudsters.
Generally, I wouldn’t even be opposed to early announcements, as long as the devs were transparent about the status of the project and made it clear in which capacity the game is currently being worked on.