Dropping in February 2017, the first Hollow Knight quickly became one of the most beloved Indie games of all time. Taking inspiration from the Souls series, Hollow Knight managed to set itself apart in ever-growing market by adopting a beautifully dark, subversive art style, and implementing some intricate Metroidvania level design. Hollow Knight's reputation has only grown more positive over the last five years, being ported to just about every contemporary console. But as adoration for the original has continued to grow, as has fan anticipation for the sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Originally intended to just be a DLC expansion, Hollow Knight: Silksong has since become its own game, with its developer promising that it'll be a fully-fledged sequel, bringing a range of new mechanics and features that enhance and improve upon the original in some distinct areas. While Team Cherry has kept pretty quiet on Silksong's development, a few details have slipped out since the game's announcement back in 2019, and these details are fairly promising.
New Gameplay Mechanics Coming with Hollow Knight: Silksong
One of the biggest improvements that Hollow Knight: Silksong seems to be making over its predecessor is the addition of some brand new gameplay mechanics. In Silksong, players will take control of Hornet, as opposed to the original game's Knight protagonist. Being much more agile, Hornet will use a variety of new traversal abilities, including a range of vertical dashes, and sprints. Hornet will also be able to heal quicker than the Knight.
As opposed to using Charms like the Knight did in the first Hollow Knight, Hornet instead uses a slew of hand-made tools. These tools are designed to help Hornet in battle, with some of the ones revealed so far being bombs and traps. One of the key differences between Hollow Knight and Silksong is related to this tool system, as players will now be able to craft these items. By defeating foes, Hornet will gain Shards, which can then be used alongside some other environmental ingredients to craft these side weapons and items. These craftable items can also be upgraded via this system, such as the throwable needle, which can be upgraded to throw three at once.
One of the most significant changes Hollow Knight: Silksong is making over its predecessor is its introduction of a quest system. In the original Hollow Knight, players could meet NPCs, learn some lore tidbits and receive a hint about their objective, and that was about it. In Hollow Knight: Silksong, NPCs are much more plentiful, and each one will give the player a specific quest.
These quests are split into four distinct categories: Hunts, Grand Hunts, Wayfarer, and Gathering quests. The first two categories will see the player venture out to defeat specific enemies, with Grand Hunts being reserved for large boss enemies. Wayfarer quests will task the player with taking the NPC to a certain area, and Gathering quests are a set of classic fetch quests. Each of these quests will be kept easy to track via the game's new quest log.
Potential for a More Fleshed Out Story
The first Hollow Knight wore its Dark Souls inspiration on its sleeve, not only from a mechanical sense but also in its storytelling, choosing to keep its narrative quite obtuse. To find out Hollow Knight's story and setting, players would need to seek it out via journal entries or environmental storytelling.
While Hollow Knight: Silksong is sure to continue this trend, it does seem to be paving the way for some more direct storytelling. The introduction of more NPCs and quests, for instance, would suggest that some of the game's lore will be relayed directly to the player via dialogue, especially as Hornet can talk.
Additionally, Hollow Knight: Silksong is set in a brand new kingdom, which gives the developer plenty of room to create a new story, and flesh it out in a new, more direct way. This new kingdom is named "Pharloom," and as opposed to Hollow Knight's underground labyrinths, this kingdom will take players on an ascending journey into the sky.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC and Switch.
