Although it's been a while since fans received development updates for Hollow Knight: Silksong, the gameplay reveals so far have been exciting and fans are looking forward to the changes that the sequel will bring. One of the more mysterious changes revealed by Team Cherry has been the Silk Soul Mode, the Hollow Knight: Silksong equivalent of the Steel Soul Mode from the original Hollow Knight.Â
The original Steel Soul Mode was a challenge game mode unlocked after finishing the game for the first time. Upon death in Steel Soul Mode, the player would not respawn and the save file would be reset. This new permadeath game mode gave experienced players incentive for a greater challenge in Hollow Knight. While Team Cherry has stated that Silk Soul Mode would be Hollow Knight: Silksong's equivalent, few details are currently available.
Information Revealed About Silk Soul Mode
Currently, there are very few details that have been revealed about the Silk Soul Mode in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Similar to the Steel Soul Mode from the original Hollow Knight, the Silk Soul Mode will only unlock after players complete the game for the first time. However, Team Cherry has revealed that while Steel Soul Mode had minor tweaks with permadeath being the major feature, Silk Soul Mode will supposedly take it a step further by providing a longer lasting experience.
Beyond this however, almost nothing else has been revealed about Silk Soul Mode. While it's not definitively stated, fans suspect that Silk Soul Mode might include permadeath as a mechanic once again. The original Steel Soul Mode also had a few minor changes in gameplay to reflect the permadeath mechanic such as removing Confessor Jiji as her shade recovery service is useless. However, while permadeath might remain a mechanic in Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry seems to imply bigger changes as well.
Possibilities For Silk Soul Mode
Hollow Knight: Silksong seems to be designed to attract to veterans and newcomers alike with its accessibility and nimble playstyle. While the permadeath mechanic might be an interesting aspect for the Silk Soul Mode, it also seems that there's potential in creating something similar to a New Game+. Making the boss fights more difficult or introducing unique mechanics seems to be more in line with Team Cherry's vision for Hollow Knight: Silksong given how the playstyle differs from the original game.
Fans also speculate that the quicker playstyle could lead to a game mode where Hornet's silk spool could also double as her health pool. This mechanic would force players to manage their ability usage carefully while still dodging and predicting enemy movements. Healing could still be done at benches or through enemy drops but players would need to approach levels with much more caution. Permadeath could still be implemented as a feature but these mechanics feel more natural with Hollow Knight: Silksong's thematic focus on silk together with its agile platforming. Although the finer details for Hollow Knight: Silksong's Silk Soul Mode have yet to be revealed, there are plenty of interesting directions that Team Cherry could take and this should be an exciting prospect for fans of the series.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is currently in development for PC and Switch.
