Highlights
- Hollow Knight: Silksong's release has been delayed, but fans can still be excited based on everything it may have to offer.
- The upcoming game will feature a massive world with new elements, including 165 new enemies.
- The Collector's Map, a beloved feature from the first game, would play a crucial role in discovering secrets and potentially saving the Caravan and its fleas.
Since Team Cherry announced a sequel to Hollow Knight, many have been eagerly awaiting Hollow Knight: Silksong. Unfortunately, while the sequel was announced in 2019, the game's release was delayed past its expected Q1 2023 launch in order to continue development. As fall approaches, it seems that Hollow Knight: Silksong is still supposed to come out this year, though an official date has not yet been given.
With just four months left this year, fans of the 2D platformer still have a lot to be excited about. Since Hollow Knight: Silksong is expanding on the lore of the first game, there are several beloved characteristics that should make a return. Specifically, there's a small yet important quality-of-life feature that needs to be present: the Collector's Map.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's World is Massive
Since Hollow Knight: Silksong has been in development for several years, it's safe to say a lot of work is going on behind the scenes. Team Cherry noted in a blog post that the world is ripe with new elements. There's a total of 165 new enemies and 100 different benches scattered about. For reference, the 2017 game only has 41 benches in Hallownest and upon completion of the Hunter's Journal, there are 150 different enemies.
While there are twice as many benches in the upcoming Metroidvania, it doesn't necessarily mean that Pharloom will be much bigger. The benches could simply indicate that the developers are trying to give players more places to save their progress. On the other hand, Hollow Knight: Silksong initially started as a DLC to Hollow Knight. In hardly any time at all, it became worthy of its own standalone title due to its world-building, new characters, and unique mechanics, so it's likely the in-game map is very substantial.
People have noticed that the latest protagonist of the series, Hornet, appears to be much more nimble than the Knight. In the brief glimpses that the audience has seen her, she can traverse through platforms much faster and make sharp turns. Still, even if Hornet's play style is faster-paced, discovering all the secrets of Pharloom could be easier with the Collector's Map from Hollow Knight.
The first game had several hidden corridors and nooks that could reveal collectibles, allies waiting to be saved, or bonus bosses. After obtaining the Collector's Map, it displays the location of all 46 grubs, though players need to purchase maps for every location first. After saving a grub, they can be returned to the Grubfather in Hollow Knight. For players collecting achievements, this grants the Metamorphosis award.
Sadly, the grubs haven't been spotted in the sequel yet. However, a Twitter post from user mossbag69 in 2020 noted a few friendly-looking creatures from the Hollow Knight: Silksong 2019 E3 demo that could be the next species in need of rescuing. These critters look a bit like fluffy fleas and according to the Hollow Knight wiki, they are called the Caravan. The fleas can be found sleeping around Pharloom while others are on the lookout for "something precious".
While many are hopeful the grubs will return in some form, saving the fleas could mean unique solutions since they have wings. Of course, whether the Caravan and its fleas are in need of saving is still to be determined. If they do, having a map that displays their locations in Hollow Knight: Silksong would be very helpful.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
