Hollow Knight Silksong is a Metroidvania that’s been eluding the fans of the genre for five years. Here’s what we know about it so far
As the new year approaches, Metroidvania fans are still left with an unanswered question – where is Silksong? This much-awaited sequel to Team Cherry’s critically acclaimed Hollow Knight is yet to get a release date, but that hasn’t stopped all the hype around it.
While we don’t have an exact answer to its release date, we have plenty of info on what to expect from the game.
Let’s review everything we know about Hollow Knight Silksong.
What is Hollow Knight Silksong?
For those out of the loop, Hollow Knight Silksong is the second installment of the Metroidvania game Hollow Knight. You play as Hornet, who was a Boss Character and NPC in the first game.
Initially, the developers planned to use Hornet as a playable character in a Hollow Knight DLC. They set it as a Stretch Goal, which they exceeded with flying colors.
The idea was later scrapped as the scope of the project grew bigger, and they decided to dedicate an entire game to this beloved character.
All Hollow Knight Silksong Announcements
Introducing Hollow Knight: Silksong! Explore a haunted kingdom in the epic sequel to the award winning action-adventure.
Watch the reveal trailer here: https://t.co/lW2L5arD7W
Website: https://t.co/quRBB4C9cO
Details at our blog: https://t.co/hwI1GbZiCs pic.twitter.com/KMppwKeaTB— Team Cherry (@TeamCherryGames) February 14, 2019
We got our first glimpse of Hollow Knight Silksong on February 14th, 2019, in an announcement trailer revealing some of the world, enemies, and gameplay. Team Cherry also released A Developer Diary Video and a Twitter post at the same time.
At Nintendo Treehouse, even at E3 2019, we got a major look at the gameplay of Silksong, complete with a boss battle at the end. They also announced that Hollow Knight Silksong is releasing “soon”.
Later, in March 2020, the developers shared descriptions and images of some characters ( Lace, Shakra, Trobbio, etc.) that will appear in Silksong.
In December of the same year, Team Cherry announced on their official website that they had designed up to 165 enemies for the game and were hard at building it to perfection.
They also revealed that Christopher Larkin, the mastermind behind the soundtrack of the first game, will reappear as the Music Composer for Hollow Knight Silksong.
After a two-year hiatus with no updates, Team Cherry’s co-director William Pellen stated in an interview that the game is still in development as of February 2022.
Sure enough, in June 2022, we got a new trailer for Silksong at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, revealing that the game would be released on Xbox Game Pass Day One for both Xbox Series S/X and PC.
Xbox also implied in a tweet that the game would be released within the following year.
That’s exactly what we said.
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 12, 2022
On September 16th, 2022, Sony announced that Hollow Knight Silksong is set to appear on both PS4 and PS5.
Sharpen your needles – confirming Hollow Knight: Silksong is coming to PS5 and PS4 pic.twitter.com/poIclQDfvr
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 16, 2022
It was looking like a pretty good year for Metroidvania fans, with the release of Silksong looming over the horizon. However, on May 10th, 2023, Team Cherry’s marketing and publishing representative, Matthew Griffin, revealed that the release was delayed.
For now, we can only speculate as to when Silksong will come out.
What We Know About Hollow Knight: Sliksong So Far
While it might seem like Hollow Knight Silksong has been stuck in the development cycle for ages, we have plenty of gameplay footage to speculate how it will run.
Here’s everything we know about the game so far:
1. Premise:
Like the first game, Hollow Knight Silksong is a Metroidvania set in the fictional bug universe. You play as Hornet, who you might remember as the NPC who got in the way of The Knight on several occasions, eventually becoming an ally.
The plot of Silksong sees Hornet kidnapped and taken away to the fictional bug kingdom of Pharloom. Hornet begins at the bottom of this new world and ascends to the top on a quest to find the truth behind her capture.
In addition to the main plot, we also know that there are multiple side quests for Hornet to confront. You will also meet multiple characters across your journey, each with their own unique story to tell.
An in-game journal system will allow you to track your quests, which is a huge improvement over the previous installment of the series.
2. Gameplay:
Hollow Knight Sliksong is a 2D Metroidvania at its core with an ability-gated progression system, backtracking, and multiple quests. From the debut trailer, we get a lot of information about how the game will play.
Hornet is much more agile than The Knight, with the ability to leap over obstacles and enemies with little to no trouble. The platforming in this sequel looks much more acrobatic. Hornet can mantle on ledges and sprint, two abilities that were not given to The Knight. She is also taller than The Knight, which offers some advantages when trying to reach higher surfaces.
As for combat abilities, Hornet uses her signature Needle instead of the Nail that The Knight used previously. She has a much wider attack ark, can throw her weapon and teleport to it, and also has access to different ranged tools like bombs and a spiked ball instead of charms.
The healing mechanic is also different here. Instead of having to hit enemies to refill the soul and later press a button to heal each node, Hornet can instantly refill three health nodes. She can do this while moving, which shows how mobility is critical in this game.
We also get to see a plethora of enemy types and bosses in the game. In the Nintendo Treehouse Event on E3, we also get to see Hornet hash it out with the boss character Lace.
Silksong also introduces two new currencies to the game, Shell Shards and Rosaries. Rosaries are like Geo from the previous game that you use to buy items. Shell Shards, on the other hand, are used to repair the tools in your arsenal. You can earn them by defeating enemies or looting.
3. Release Platforms:
For PC users, Hollow Knight Silksong will be available via Steam. It will also be available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
4. Release Date:
We don’t have an exact release date for Hollow Knight: Sliksong. However, based on the trailers and developer gameplay we’ve seen so far, we can expect the game to come out sometime in early 2024.
5. Soundtrack:
On Dec 13, 2019, Team Cherry, on a Twitter post, announced that Christopher Larkin will be returning as the lead composer for Hollow Knight Silksong. In Larkin’s Bandcamp profile, you’ll be able to listen to two OST samples designed for the game.
New Blog Post! Team Cherry Holiday Sign-Off, including soundtrack preview! https://t.co/FGScJIdEFr pic.twitter.com/4rDKu4GNUK
— Team Cherry (@TeamCherryGames) December 13, 2019
The Bottom Line
Hollow Knight Silksong might be the most anticipated game for Metroidvania fans. Sadly, there’s no concrete update about when the game might come out.
For now, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. If Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight was any indicator, they certainly can deliver when it comes to game quality.