Hollow Knight: Silksong - What We Know So Far

Fans have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the forthcoming sequel to Hollow Knight. The indie soulslike metroidvania title was one of the best games of 2017, selling 2.8 million copies in its first two years. Developer and publisher Team Cherry first announced its sequel in February 2019, but the company has been mostly quiet on the details ever since. However, recent indicators suggest that Hollow Knight fanatics might not have to wait much longer.

Silksong will be swapping out the first game's protagonist, the Knight, and swapping in Hornet, a secondary antagonist from Hollow Knight who's half human, half-insect. Picking up where the events of Hollow Knight left off, Silksong begins when Hornet is imprisoned in the depths of the haunted kingdom of Pharloom. To escape, she must climb up to the kingdom's Citadel, passing numerous exotic locales along the way. 

Here's everything we know about Hollow Knight: Silksong so far.

Team Cherry hasn't announced an official release date. In a June 2019 blog post, the company said the game would only release "when it's ready" and "when it matches the quality and scale of the original Hollow Knight." Afterwards, Team Cherry kept mum about Silksong for most of 2020.

But even if there's no confirmed release window, Silksong might not be far off. During a discussion on the company's official Discord channel about how release dates should be handled, Team Cherry PR head Matthew Griffin indicated that a significant portion of the game might be done. "You could say 'we've finished all the content of the game and are in final testing,'" Griffin said, "but even THAT doesn't say anything about release schedule – my own personal philosophy is that you should not announce a release date until you have a build that could be released, and then you're just giving yourself some time to fix additional bugs and market a game."

However, Griffin later warned his followers not to take his quote out of context, since it doesn't actually confirm anything. Fans will have to wait and see if Silksong will come out in 2021, or beyond. 

The only official trailer for Silksong so far is the reveal trailer, which Team Cherry first shared on Feb. 19, 2019. The trailer starts with a captured Hornet being transported to the haunted kingdom of Pharloom. She breaks free from her captors using her silk-making abilities, which gives a taste of her fighting style. The trailer also gives glimpses of Silksong's exotic locations, friendly NPCs, bosses, quests, and enemy types. According to the trailer, there will be over 150 new insect and beast enemies.

Team Cherry and Nintendo Treehouse: Live also released a 20-minute gameplay video at E3 2019. The gameplay video showcases Silksong's first level, the verdant Moss Grotto, and one of the first bosses, Moss Mother. Then it introduces Deep Docks, an industrial region found later in the game. Fans can also check out some of Hornet's earlier fighting, jumping, and grappling abilities, all of which seem to be more powerful than the Knight's.

Hornet has a whole different set of attributes and abilities than the Knight. One big difference is that Hornet is taller and more agile. In an interview for the Feb. 2021 issue of Edge magazine, co-directors Ari Gibson and William Pellen said that level and enemy design were both made more difficult in order to challenge Hornet's abilities. That means bigger levels with more deadly hazards, and smarter enemy A.I.

Hornet's abilities are closely tied to the Silk she produces. Similar to Hollow Knight's Soul system, Hornet gathers Silk by striking enemies and can use her Silk to heal injuries. She can heal much more quickly than the Knight, and she can restore up to three health masks from the start. Many of Hornet's offensive abilities also use Silk. Additionally, Hornet will be able to craft tools and traps to use against enemies. 

There will be a more developed quest system than in Hollow Knight, which mostly took a hands-off approach. This time there will be a dedicated quest log that guides the player to hunt down legendary monsters, find lost treasure, and lots more.