The Two Failed Games That Combined To Make Hollow Knight

One of the best games to come out of 2017 is a Metroidvania known as "Hollow Knight." It was such a hit that Team Cherry, the game's developer, decided to take follow-up project "Hollow Knight: Silksong" from DLC to a full sequel. It's a promising title that centers on a new protagonist named Hornet in an adventure that's sure to please fans.

Gamers are always eager for more "Hollow Knight" goodness. Fans are so excited, in fact, that they were anxiously digging around for possible hints at "Hollow Knight: Silksong" news after a December 2020 tease tweeted from the official Edge magazine Twitter account. 

Considering the first game's massive success and following, you may be surprised by its origins. Believe it or not, "Hollow Knight" owes its existence to the failure of two games, which were merged into the hit you know and love.

Ari Gibson and William Pellen of Team Cherry told Game Informer in 2018 that they first designed a game called "Hungry Knight" for a game jam in 2013 that starred a hero identical to the titular Hollow Knight. This progenitor was "a top-down survival title" that is all about staying alive by hunting down and feasting upon fellow insects. "Hungry Knight" was published on Newgrounds, where it received only a single star out of five. Even Game Informer had to admit that "it isn't very good." Fortunately, this didn't stop the duo.

The two wanted to bring this character back for a second game jam that challenged developers to explore subterranean worlds. In a conversation with MCV/Develop, the creators revealed that this concept led to the initial phase of "Hollow Knight," only they were unable to meet the deadline. Fortunately, this gave them something to work with. Taking what they built during that jam, they launched a Kickstarter in 2014. The rest is history.