The silent vigil until Hollow Knight: Silksong news drops continues, although mounting evidence suggests it won’t last much longer. Fans have been waiting since February 2019 for the game to come out, and the last major news drop came in June 2022, so any signs of life the community can find are cause for alarm. A recent Steam update, followed by Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s Xbox store page finally going up, points to more news in the near future, so unaffiliated internet users should expect Silksong‘s persistent social media trends to return in full force throughout the summer news season.
Hollow Knight’s original 2017 release is what’s inspired a lot of this enduring loyalty, as few indie Metroidvanias can compete with everything it got right. The idea that Hollow Knight: Silksong will introduce fresh ideas to its predecessor’s strong foundation that are held to the same standards has kept that loyalty strong, even if fans have been waiting years for another sample of Silksong’s parts in motion. Five years and multiple genre competitors later, it will be fascinating to see how Hollow Knight: Silksong handles its own blend of action, platforming, exploration, and challenge, especially since the original game did leave some room to improve.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong Has to Give Closure to One of the Series’ Most Disturbing Bugs
Plenty of NPCs populate Hollow Knight’s Hallownest to build its lore, but it falls to Silksong to explain one that seems at odds with the rest.
Hollow Knight Struggled To Convey Allies Through Gameplay
On top of being a Metroidvania, Hollow Knight incorporated several Soulslike elements into its mechanics and world. Apart from obvious staples like dropping currency on death and navigating a somber post-apocalyptic kingdom, Hollow Knight also works its NPCs’ fates directly into its quest design. Who lives, dies, or accomplishes their goals can depend on the player’s actions, and a lot of small interactions across the game build up into a surprisingly immersive experience. Silksong is expected to expand NPC interactions further into this by giving its protagonist, Hornet, dialogue during conversations, but it should also hone another aspect of Souls NPCs.
Battle Partners In Hollow Knight Were Underwhelming
Very rarely, Hollow Knight’s friendly NPCs accompany the player in battle. One instance sees Cloth helping against the Traitor Lord, while another involves Quirrel interrupting the Uumuu fight. Cloth offers a compelling take on Siegmeyer’s classic Dark Souls quest that involves helping her before she returns the favor, but Quirrel’s role is less impactful. Despite meeting the player frequently, Hollow Knight’s enigmatic Quirrel is limited to cracking Uumuu’s defenses instead of acting as an AI helper like Cloth.
It’s a shame that
Hollow Knight
’s lone helper NPC is missable content, and her fellow helper candidate was relegated to a frustrating mechanic, but Hollow
Knight: Silksong
could learn from their failings.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Is A Better Fit For NPC Partners
The key to Hollow Knight: Silksong improving its NPC summons is Hornet’s ability to share dialogue with NPCs. If Hornet is able to befriend a battle-ready character, she can then summon them before boss fights. Something like a combination of Lies of P’s Specters and Dark Souls’ summoning could be at play here, with the summon only appearing inside the boss arena while imposing a limitation like reduced resources or locked Tools. Developer Team Cherry could even delay summoning prompts until after bosses are discovered to ensure players will always have at least one normal fight with them.
Summoned NPCs Could Bring Silksong’s World Together
Summons will help struggling players see Hollow Knight: Silksong’s story through to the end and should do so better than the inferior follower Charms of the first Hollow Knight. However, more than just adding an accessibility feature, recruiting NPCs will encourage players to become more invested in Hollow Knight: Silksong’s setting and cast via attached side quests.
Also, designing a battle moveset for summons is a good justification for making optional bosses out of them as well. By reinforcing Hornet’s connections with the people of Pharloom, Hollow Knight: Silksong could turn this standard Souls mechanic into another piece of its intricate tapestry.
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Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania