Staff Cherry is years into improvement on Hollow Knight: Silksong, a sequel to its acclaimed 2D action-adventure recreation that IGN topped the all-time finest Metroidvania (that isn’t a Metroid or Castlevania recreation).
In anticipation of the sequel to Hollow Knight, we’ve put collectively this breakdown of every part it’s essential to learn about Hollow Knight: Silksong as of February 2024.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong Launch Date
There isn’t a official launch date or window for Hollow Knight: Silksong. A 2024 launch appears most certainly given it was beforehand slated for the first half of 2023, although there’s been no official phrase from developer Staff Cherry.
Final Might, Staff Cherry delayed Silksong past its preliminary First Half 2023 launch window, saying: “We had deliberate to launch in the 1st half of 2023, however improvement continues to be persevering with. We’re excited by how the recreation is shaping up, and it is gotten fairly massive, so we need to take the time to make the recreation nearly as good as we will. Anticipate extra particulars from us as soon as we get nearer to launch.”
As of mid-February 2024, Staff Cherry has not shared additional particulars on the launch date.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Platforms and Value
Hollow Knight: Silksong can be launched on PS5, Xbox Sequence X|S, Nintendo Change, and PC. It’ll be out there day and date on Xbox Sport Go. The official PlayStation account tweeted Silksong is coming to PS4 as properly, although the platform is absent from the recreation’s official web site and press package.
A value has not been introduced for Silksong. The primary Hollow Knight retailed for $15, although there’s no assure the sequel will price the identical.
Should you had been considered one of the 2,158 individuals who backed the unique Hollow Knight on Kickstarter, you will obtain a duplicate of Silksong free of charge, in line with Team Cherry.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Gameplay
Staff Cherry has purposely been quiet about Silksong’s gameplay particulars. “Discovery is a large a part of Hollow Knight so we don’t need to spoil all the new methods and surprises,” it mentioned. Nonetheless, from two trailers and a handful of weblog posts, we’ve discovered a bit about what you may anticipate gameplay-wise.
Hornet, outfitted along with her needle and thread of silk, is described as an “acrobatic” fighter; she strikes rapidly and gracefully, as evidenced by the most up-to-date gameplay trailer from 2022.
The sequel will characteristic tons of latest enemies (165 as of late 2019). These embody “beasts and hunters, assassins and kings, [and] monsters and knights.” Outdoors of fight, Hornet has the potential to craft weapons, traps, and “mechanisms to confound your enemies and discover new heights.”
As detailed by Team Cherry, Hornet makes use of silk to Bind (i.e., heal), much like how the Knight makes use of soul to Focus in Hollow Knight. New for the sequel is the pace during which Hornet can Bind — “it’s lightning-fast” — and her potential to heal in mid-air. At the begin of the recreation, one Bind will restore three masks. Bind consumes all of Hornet’s silk, and if she’s hit mid-heal, “the therapeutic impact can be wasted and the silk can be gone.”
Upon dying, Hornet will depart a cocoon, akin to how the Knight left a Shade. Every cocoon will include a full provide of silk, making a tactical choice for the participant on when to interrupt it open.
As with Hollow Knight’s labyrinthine Hallownest, Silksong’s world, Pharloom, have to be mapped as you progress by means of its twisting format. Staff Cherry says the course of makes use of the “identical instruments and restrictions” as the unique recreation, although this time round, Hornet can be aided by the warrior Shakra, a grasp cartographer who offers charts, compasses, and different instruments for navigation.
Silksong will characteristic Silk Soul Mode, out there after you full the recreation for the first time. Silk Soul Mode, like Metal Soul Mode in Hollow Knight, “spins the recreation into a novel, difficult expertise.” Additional particulars haven’t but been introduced.
We bought our fingers on Silksong again in 2019 and mentioned, “It’s unmistakably Hollow Knight, however with the pace cranked as much as 11 because of the nimble nature of its new protagonist, Hornet.”
Hollow Knight: Silksong Story
Hollow Knight: Silksong encompasses a new protagonist and recreation world. In the sequel, you’ll play as Hornet, who seems as a boss-turned-ally in the unique recreation. Dubbed the princess-protector of Halllownest, Hornet is captured and delivered to the unfamiliar, haunted land of Pharloom. She embarks on a journey to find the fact behind her seize and ascend to the kingdom’s peak. Right here’s the official story synopsis from Staff Cherry:
As Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, journey by means of an entire new kingdom dominated by silk and track. Captured and delivered to this unfamiliar land, Hornet should battle foes and clear up mysteries as she ascends on a lethal pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.
One new space, as detailed by Team Cherry, is Greymoor, wasted caverns that home “many mysteries, a number of new pals, and [a] duel with a deadly, lunging foe.” It’s described as “considered one of the greatest” areas in both Hollow Knight recreation. Different areas embody lakes of fireplace, coral forests, mossy grottoes, gilded cities, and misted moors.
Hornet, in contrast to the Knight, is voiced. “Dialogue and narrative are there for people who search it,” mentioned Staff Cherry. “For people who don’t, you’ll be capable to ignore practically all characters and get on along with your exploring, looking, and powering up.”
Staff Cherry has additionally revealed a few of the new characters Hornet will befriend or face off towards in Silksong. You’ll be able to see them alongside their character descriptions in the gallery above.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Improvement
Hollow Knight: Silksong is being developed by Staff Cherry, the Australian studio that created the unique recreation. The event crew consists of three folks: Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine.
Silksong, introduced in 2019, started improvement as DLC for the unique recreation. “Virtually from the very begin, Hornet’s journey was supposed to happen in a brand new land, however as we dove in, it rapidly grew to become too giant and too distinctive to remain a DLC, as initially deliberate,” Staff Cherry wrote at the time of the announcement. “We do know that makes the wait somewhat longer, however we predict the last, recent world you’ll get to discover is price it.”
Staff Cherry is utilizing Unity to create Silksong, because it did for the unique. Composer Christopher Larkin can be again for the sequel; a two-song pattern of the soundtrack is out there on Larkin’s Bandcamp web page.
The right way to Play Hollow Knight
The unique recreation is out there on PS4, Xbox One, Change, and PC as Hollow Knight: Voidheart Version, which bundles the base recreation with its 4 content material packs: Hidden Desires, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, and Godmaster. It’s out there with Xbox Sport Go and PlayStation Plus Additional. In any other case, it retails for $15.
In his Hollow Knight overview, IGN’s Tom Marks wrote, “With such a excessive density of secrets and techniques to seek out and enjoyable, difficult enemies to face, it’s price spending each second you may in Hollow Knight.”
Jordan covers video games, exhibits, and flicks as a contract author for IGN.