Highlights
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is highly anticipated by fans of the original game, and expectations are high for it to build on the strengths of its predecessor.
- How Hollow Knight handles its map is seen as an inconvenience, and players would like to see changes in the sequel to make it more streamlined and helpful.
- Suggestions for improving the map mechanics in Silksong include allowing the protagonist to buy maps before reaching areas and filling out the map gradually instead of immediately, striking a balance between providing information and maintaining a sense of exploration.
Fans are still loyally waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong, even as its release date seems no closer than before. As the sequel to the smash hit indie metroidvania Hollow Knight, Silksong stands alongside Metroid Prime 4 as one of the most consistently discussed games online every time a major gaming presentation rolls around. Hollow Knight surprised many people with its tight mechanics and macabre world surrounding its cute Knight protagonist, and expectations for the sequel to build on these strengths only add to Hollow Knight: Silksong's hype.
When it's released, Hollow Knight: Silksong will feature Hornet, the princess-protector of Hallownest and rival from the first game. Her entry is expected to be faster and more combat-focused, but retain the action platformer elements that made the original great. Plenty of things in Silksong will be different from Hollow Knight, and plenty more should stay the same. There is one particular mechanic, however, that some players would like to see changed in the sequel. Silksong may still inspire a sense of wonder and discovery, but it could be better off changing how those findings are mapped.
Why Hollow Knight's Map Could Use Some Changes
One of the more controversial aspects of Hollow Knight is how it handles its map. At first, players don't even have one despite button shortcuts and a menu screen indicating a map's existence. Filling out the map is an iconic part of the metroidvania genre, with Castlevania and Metroid commonly factoring uncovered maps into their completion percentage. Hollow Knight keeps up an air of mystery to get players literally lost in its world, but it could have found better ways to do it.
How Hollow Knight's Map is Gained and Used
Players need to find the NPC Cornifer before they'll get a map. He appears in most areas before a local boss or objective is cleared. His maps need to be bought, and if he leaves then players must instead backtrack to Dirtmouth to buy a given area's map from Cornifer's wife Iselda. She's also the only merchant in Hollow Knight that sells a Quill, so players can finish Cornifer's maps themselves. Rooms the Knight has visited will only fill out at the next Bench they sit at, and every map icon must be bought piecemeal. If that wasn't enough, the player's exact location is only displayed if they purchase and fill a Charm Slot with the Wayward Compass. In a word, it's inconvenient.
What Hollow Knight: Silksong Can Do To Improve Its Maps
Hollow Knight makes every step of mapmaking a costly time sink that diverts players from actually exploring, and doesn't initially show them where they are even when they're several rooms into a new region. Much of this could be streamlined in Hollow Knight: Silksong, and the game would be better for it. Hornet could start without a map again, but given that Pharloom is a more active civilization than Hallownest, she could buy maps to areas before she reaches them. The Quill should be bundled with the first map she gets, and it would be better if the Wayward Compass and every map icon could be turned on right away.
Toning down the itemization of maps is easy enough, but how they get filled out must be handled delicately. Unhelpful maps contribute to Hollow Knight's sense of hostile difficulty, so rooms shouldn't just be filled out as soon as Hornet enters them. A middle ground where Hornet has been in would appear on the map, with the need to sit at a Bench to record entire rooms, would be best. Players will know where they are, but won't have their surroundings and paths forward spoiled before exploring. That should make Hollow Knight: Silksong's maps just the right level of helpful, giving players more incentive to delve deep into the sequel's expanded world.
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
