Few games have been as hyped up as Hollow Knight: Silksong in recent years, and even fewer have been indie games. After the critical success of the original Hollow Knight led it to become the indie darling of the gaming community, Hollow Knight: Silksong captured the attention of many when it was first announced in 2019, but has seen sparse details in the years since that initial reveal. While the game is slated to release sometime later this year, the lack of information from developer Team Cherry has some fans worried, but it could end up working in the game's favor in the long run.
Modern games need to tread carefully with what they reveal prior to release and when as it can ultimately influence the public's perception of a title before it's released. As has become a common issues with many AAA titles in recent years, pre-release trailers and marketing for a game can set fan expectations for better or for worse, which has been the case for titles like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Redfall. With Silksong reaching levels of hype akin to AAA titles, it's in the best interest of Team Cherry to keep its cards close to its chest until the game is completely finished.
Keeping Hollow Knight: Silksong Under Wraps May Be the Best Move for the Game
Silksong last reared its head at the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase in June 2022 where it was claimed that all titles shown during the presentation would release within a year. As it approaches the one-year mark from that presentation and no word on a release date for Silksong has been announced, many fans are beginning to worry about the status of the game. However, amid the fan pressure to show more from the game, Team Cherry needs to hold strong until it is completely ready or risk not only hurting Silksong's impressions but those of indie gaming as a whole.
Having gone this long without substantial gameplay footage sets the expectations for the game quite high, but releasing an underwhelming or in-development trailer could cause the mountain of hype to come crumbling down. A similar situation happened with Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League where a disappointing gameplay showcase from a highly-regarded developer after years of waiting for their new project suddenly halted all momentum the game had going for it. It would be a shame for Team Cherry to give into the pressure to show more of Silksong only to have it disappoint eager fans.
Instead, Team Cherry should follow the approach Nintendo is taking with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and keep trailers sparse prior to release and let the game speak for itself. Silksong isn't in dire need of a marketing campaign in the lead up to launch as simply the thought of a sequel to Hollow Knight has so far been enough to fuel online discussions of the game and bring it back into the conversation anytime a Nintendo Direct, Sony State of Play, or Xbox Showcase is announced. The best path for Team Cherry would be to keep up the mystique surrounding the game until just before it's ready to launch in order to present it in its best state.
As a part of this strategy, Team Cherry also shouldn't cave to the pressure to release the game within the arbitrary one-year window from June 2022's Xbox and Bethesda Showcase if the game is not yet ready. There have already been games shown at that showcase like Starfield that have been delayed outside of that window, so it shouldn't be taken as a hard and fast release schedule. With how much hype this indie game has behind it, Silksong could define the future of the indie gaming scene and deserves to be released in the best state possible.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
