Highlights
- Silksong introduces a new cocoon-based system for post-defeat recovery, replacing the Shade mechanic from Hollow Knight.
- Players can strategically choose when to break the cocoon, potentially providing them with an advantage in boss fights or challenging encounters.
- The cocoon feature in Silksong may hold important clues about Hornet's story and the mysteries of Pharloom.
With Hollow Knight: Silksong anticipated to be just as challenging as its predecessor, its new approach to in-game defeat with its cocoon-based system could allow players to better strategize about the risks and rewards when it comes to recovering everything they lost. Like many Soulslike games, Hollow Knight featured an interpretation of a post-defeat recovery system where an enemy known as a "Shade" would be left behind when a player is killed. Players are then incentivized to return to the location where they fell, defeat this Shade, and retrieve any in-game currency they held at the time while also repairing their Soul meter.
This mechanic worked from as much a narrative standpoint as it did a gameplay one, as it was potentially one of the earliest indicators of the Knight's origin and its connection to the Void hidden deep in Hollow Knight's Abyss. However, given that Hollow Knight: Silksong's Hornet doesn't share the same origins as the Knight, the approach of beating the player's leftover Shade wouldn't be possible. Instead, Team Cherry has alluded to a new cocoon feature, something which will change Hollow Knight: Silksong's gameplay drastically.
A Hollow Knight: Silksong Shadow-Drop Would Be a Blessing and a Curse
At this point, many Hollow Knight fans would be happy if Silksong just came out with no warning, but that carries more risks than it’s worth.
Exploring Hollow Knight: Silksong's Cocoon Feature
As part of its showcase during E3 back in 2019, Team Cherry gave a long overdue update about Silksong which provided a general overview of its story, gameplay, and changes from the original Hollow Knight. Among the various details it touched on was Silksong's mechanics around the player's defeat, as this was an integral part of Hollow Knight like many Soulslike and Metroidvania games. But just as Silksong shifts away from soul and toward silk for Hornet's mechanics, it seems the same has happened with its defeat system, with the player leaving behind a cocoon when killed instead of Hollow Knight's Shade.
While this does align with Hornet's origins as the daughter of Herrah and her potential connections to the Weavers of Pharloom, it provides a significantly different take on the post-defeat recovery mechanic and progression used in Hollow Knight .
Unlike the first game, which required players to actively defeat the enemy Shade to both prevent it from attacking and to recover their geo and soul, Silksong's cocoon appears to be an environmental feature. Team Cherry's own E3 wrap-up states the following:
Where the Knight left a Shade upon defeat, Hornet leaves a cocoon. This fragile container holds a full stock of silk! Experienced players can make tactical use of the cocoon, breaking it open only when most needed, late in a boss fight or challenging encounter, to give Hornet an extra edge.
The Risk Versus Reward of Hollow Knight: Silksong's Cocoon Feature
Since players won't be forced to beat Hollow Knight's Shades to recover anything they lost following defeat, Hollow Knight: Silksong will provide them with the choice, though it may come at the cost of losing everything altogether. It seems that breaking the cocoon can be done at any point, potentially boosting the player into the air when attacking the cocoon while also giving them back their silk to recover health through binding. But if players don't break the cocoon right away and save it for later during battles, they could be defeated again and lose even more than the first time around.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's Cocoons Could Tie Into Its Story
However, while this does present players with more options about when to break the cocoon during difficult parts of Silksong, it could also tie into the game's plot regarding Hornet and Pharloom. Similar to the Knight's intended purpose as a pure vessel and relationship to the Void and Shades, Hornet's cocoon feature could connect back to Herrah, the mystery of the spider-like Weavers, and Pharloom itself. With Silksong's Pharloom's Folly referencing awakening a beast from slumber and Herrah being referred to as a beast, the cocoon and its state of dormancy could be the game's earliest hints about Hornet's story and Pharloom's secrets.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Franchise
- Hollow Knight
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X , PC , macOS , Linux
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania
