The Things We Know About Silksong Are Looking Incredible

Hollow Knight: Silksong is an upcoming sequel to the critically acclaimed Metroidvania title Hollow Knight. Developed by Team Cherry, Silksong was initially planned to be a DLC-sized expansion for the original Hollow Knight, allowing the players to play as another protagonist. However, over the years, the idea of Hollow Knight’s expansion turned into a different game.

Featuring Hornet as the main protagonist, players find the figure quickly turning into one of the most interesting characters in the game as she is introduced relatively early into Hollow Knight and later becomes a productive ally throughout the story.

But will the upcoming title be just as good as its predecessor, with Hornet as the main protagonist? Will Studio Cherry be able to replicate the masterpiece that was the original Hollow Knight? We’ll be discussing what remains the same in Hollow Knight: Silksong and what the changes are that the sequel will likely bring from what we’ve seen so far, but you can check out the video below to get an overview.

Hollow Knight started as a Kickstarter campaign and became one of the most popular indie games out there. The amazing visuals, soundtrack, hand-drawn 2D art, lore, excellent movement, and combat are everything that makes Hollow Knight a masterpiece.

However, Studio Cherry did fail to keep one of the promises it aimed to fulfill with the campaign. The promise of introducing another protagonist in the form of an expansion pack. That was because the three talented individuals at Team Cherry could not keep up with its development and had to scrap the idea. But, the work they’ve done for the expansion pack prior to canceling it didn’t go to waste.

Fortunately, the idea later brought life to a new sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong. Silksong aims to be the masterpiece its predecessor was, with the same team, same composer, same art direction, and the same love for the genre the prequel offered. But will Team Cherry be able to deliver another masterpiece? From what we’ve seen about the game, it looks pretty promising to do precisely that.

Note that the content below contains spoilers for Hollow Knight. If you haven’t played the game yet and intend to live up to the whole experience the masterpiece of a game offers, read at your own risk.

Hornet’s Nest

Hornet becomes a dependable ally after being introduced as one of the first major enemies in Hollow Knight. However, it was quite apparent from the start that she wasn’t really out to kill us. All she wanted was to warn us about the dangers of descending into the underground city. Hornet also plays a major role in one of the game’s endings.

As the princess and protector of Hornet’s Nest, she offers a lot of depth as a protagonist compared to the Knight. At the start of Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet gets kidnapped and taken to the Kingdom of Pharloom. The kingdom is currently haunted by “Silk and Song.” There’s little known about this infection except that it differs slightly from the one in Hallownest.

Haunted By The Silk And Song

At the start of Silksong, Hornet begins her journey from the depths of Pharloom and makes her way up toward the Citadel. The journey answers most of Hornet’s questions, including why she was kidnapped in the first place and what is this “Silk and Song” that infects the entire kingdom.

The Citadel at the top of Pharloom is described as a Shining Palace, while the abyss at the bottom in the prequel is described as dark and ominous, where the Knight ultimately meets his fate. At the end of Hollow Knight, the Knight becomes the new “Vessel” for the ultimate radiance, which is not exactly the same thing as dying, but pretty close.

This stark contrast in the narrative tells us a lot about how Hornet’s journey will go and her end will be significantly less tragic than that of the Knight. Another thing is the color scheme of Silksong. The prequel was mostly blue hue, emitting an eerie vibe that went well with the original’s narrative. However, the few areas we’ve seen from Silksong appear to follow a more colorful palette, emitting a “lively” aura.

It is a common practice in different types of media to let the audience know what they will experience in the story with the environment. So, all of the hints point towards Hornet having a more uplifting journey and ending than the Knight. But we still don’t know what the Citadel at the top of Pharloom signifies for Hornet, and we’ll have to wait for the game to find out.

The few areas we’ve seen in Hollow Knight: Silksong feature beautiful mines and green forest-like regions. We’ve also seen some industrial areas with lots of machinery and mechanical enemies that are reminiscent of the title’s “Song” part, as lots of enemies and the environment depict some musical instrument. As for the “Silk” part, it appears to be an alternative to the “Soul” from the prequel.

Furthermore, fast travel is still in the game. But this time, the Bell Beast has replaced the Last Stag. But we’ll have to find it and beat it into submission first before we can use it for fast travel, so it might not be as nice as the Last Stag was in the predecessor.’

Another interesting detail in Silksong is Hornet not being a mute protagonist like the Knight from the original. While she may not speak in human language, she does make herself clear using the bug language, making her opinions very clear. While being mute somewhat fits the Knight from the original, Hornet being voiced in the prequel does add an interesting aspect to the game’s story.

Silky Gameplay

We’ve already talked about the world of Silksong, so now let’s discuss Hornet and how she’ll fare in the depths of Pharloom.

In our memorable battle against Hornet in the original, she moves very differently from the Knight in Silksong. Not only is she much more acrobatic, but she can also jump much higher than the Knight. Hornet is fairly larger than the Knight in size, and her movements are also more refined. She can now climb ledges like Samus from Metroid and moves through areas much quicker due to agility being the core of her movement.

We already know that Silk is the new Soul, so now we have silk spindles instead of soul totems. Silk will be the main resource that the player can use to heal Hornet. The charge time is much shorter than the first Hollow Knight, and Hornet can now also heal mid-air. Hornet can also grapple around the environment. In short, her mobility and quick healing tone down the game’s difficulty.

Hornet can use a parry dash, which depletes Silk meter, but gives the player another approach to battles. The battles would be just as intense as they were in the first Hollow Knight, but this time, you’d have Hornet’s mobility on your side. In Silksong, you’ll get craftable tools instead of charms. These tools can also be bought from the new smith, the “Forge Daughter.”

Buying these tools will require you to spend “Rosaries.” However, a select few of these tools can only be acquired by spending another new currency, the “Sell Shards.” Among the two currencies, only the Rosaries will be lost on death. Sell Shards will pass over, regardless of how many times Hornet has died in the game.

Additionally, We’ll now be able to keep track of all of the quests with a journal. The journal is a unique and bold addition to Hollow Knight: Silksong, but it makes it easier to track all the things you’ve yet to do in an unfamiliar world. Such additions also make Silksong an easy game to get into for the newer audience, compared to the prequel.

Hornet also has a rival named “Lace.” Hornet will come face to face early off in the game, and she will become a recurring enemy throughout the story, a little like how Hornet was to the Knight in the prequel. And, who knows, maybe one day we’ll see her as the new protagonist in the next sequel.

Takeaway

Hollow Knight: Silksong takes all the good from its predecessor and adds its own magic on top of it. This new magic does help to keep the series fresh and interesting, but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to live up to the bar its prequel has set up for it.

That's exactly what we said.

— Xbox (@Xbox) June 12, 2022

About the game’s release date, the game will likely be coming out before June this year despite the game being in development for years. Studio Cherry is expected to release the game for multiple platforms around the same time, so you won’t have to worry about being late to the party.

In the end, Hollow Knight was a masterpiece that combined some of the most exciting genres into one while delivering a smooth, engaging, and memorable experience for the player. Its sequel aims to follow right into those steps while keeping things fresh for new and old audiences alike.