Two of the most hyped games in the gaming space right now are Elden Ring with its upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and Hollow Knight: Silksong, the sequel to 2017's hit indie Metroidvania. While both Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and Hollow Knight: Silksong share a similar history of anticipation and periods of radio silence as fans awaited more news about their releases, the two titles are very different in many ways. One of the most apparent differences between the two is the size of their development teams and their studios' history, which could ultimately affect the maintenance of that hype post-launch.

The dedication of the fan bases for Elden Ring and Hollow Knight has been impressive during the wait for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and Silksong, with both games giving fans very little in the way of news for long stretches of time. While the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring has been confirmed to be released on June 21 this year, Hollow Knight: Silksong's launch is still up in the air, with little details suggesting when it might be released. The recent listing for Hollow Knight: Silksong appearing on the Xbox storefront has reignited hype for the game, but whether that hype can be sustained after its launch is unknown.

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After Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry Could Go Full FromSoftware

With anticipation mounting for the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the studio behind the indie darling should take notes from FromSoftware.

Hollow Knight: Silksong's Hype Might Die Down Faster than Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree After Release

Hollow Knight: Silksong was officially announced back in 2019, meaning it has now been in development for at least five years. Compared to Elden Ring's DLC, which was announced in February 2023, Hollow Knight fans have been waiting far longer for Silksong than Elden Ring fans have been for Shadow of the Erdtree. To make matters worse, Hollow Knight fans have a far smaller library of Team Cherry games to play to scratch the itch for more Hollow Knight content during the wait for Silksong.

On the other hand, Elden Ring fans have a vast library of FromSoftware titles to tide them over during the wait for Shadow of the Erdtree. It can be a satisfying experience to go back through the catalog of FromSoftware titles to see how games like Demon's Souls, the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice influenced Elden Ring's design. This large library might also help keep the hype for Elden Ring alive after Shadow of the Erdtree's launch, as players new to FromSoftware games might want to go back and experience these past titles after finishing Elden Ring and its DLC.

Team Cherry's Limited Portfolio Might Impact the Hype for Hollow Knight: Silksong

While Elden Ring fans might have the luxury of FromSoftware's expansive library of titles to help ease the wait for Shadow of the Erdtree, Hollow Knight fans are not as lucky, with only the original Hollow Knight and its DLC to play in the meantime before Silksong's launch. Team Cherry is a far smaller developer than FromSoftware, so it's understandable that the studio would have a smaller portfolio of games for fans to experience. However, players experiencing their games for the first time through Silksong will only have the original Hollow Knight to fall back on after beating the game, potentially limiting the length of the game's post-launch hype.

Hollow Knight does have some pretty substantial content available as DLC, with four additional expansions including Godmaster, Lifeblood, The Grimm Troupe, and Hidden Dreams to extend the experience past the base game. Silksong might also inspire players to check out other popular games in the Metroidvania genre, which could scratch a similar itch during the wait for Silkong to release. However, depending on how in-depth Silkong's content is, the game may not be able to sustain the same amount of post-launch hype as Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion simply due to Team Cherry's smaller size.

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

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