As a small video game craftsman, the Australian studio Team Cherry knows how to create expectation around its productions. First tremendous success on Kickstarter before becoming a legendary metroidvania, Hollow Knight still waiting to welcome its sequel, subtitled Silksong.
Originally imagined as a simple DLC centered on the character of Hornet, Silksong has since become a sequel in its own right. But the small Team Cherry team has been discreet to say the least since the game was announced almost three years ago.
From DLC to sequel assumed
Silksong was initially only a "stretch goal" linked to Hollow Knight's Kickstarter campaign, and was intended to become the next DLC added to the base game − after the Godmaster expansion. But as development progressed, it became clear to Team Cherry that the adventure imagined for Hornet deserved a better setting.
The announcement of a proper sequel to Hollow Knight was made on February 14, 2019. In the blog post that accompanies the first trailer, we discover in part the growing ambition shown by the Australians in starting the development of this additional content. Describing their project as “a very big game”, the developers notably promise more than 165 new enemies to face, new allies, cities and quests inviting us to “prepare for the unexpected. »
Captured to be taken to the kingdom of Pharloom, the princess-protector of Hallownest will not have to descend into the depths of the Earth like the knight of the first part, but will have to make her way upwards to meet her jailers. The plot is still being kept secret by Team Cherry, but Pharloom is said to be "haunted by a 'song'". Perhaps a charm that would make the natives aggressive?
Airier gameplay
Anyone who has ever played Hollow Knight knows that Hornet is a formidable opponent. Very agile, she has a signature dive attack, as well as a devastating rope, which will of course be part of her range of attacks in Silksong. Capable of jumping higher, Hornet also knows how to catch up on ledges which, on paper, could save you a few falls. But we must keep in mind that the character being larger than that of Hollow Knight, the areas had to be redesigned so as not to make our task too much easier.
At its heart, the gameplay of Hollow Knight: Silksong will take up most of what made the salt of its predecessor in 2017. It will be a question of traversing different labyrinthine zones, which will only reveal all their secrets once we will have obtained certain specific objects and powers − a pure metroidvania therefore. And challenge lovers can rest assured: Silksong should be at least as difficult as Hollow Knight was. You will also have to lose your bad habits. For example, we know that enemies can no longer be attracted to knock them off a platform.
Team Cherry has also confirmed that the benches, which act as save points and buffer zones to breathe a little, will be back. They will also allow Hornet to craft a few items.
Unlike Hollow Knight's Stinger, Hornet won't use souls, but silk to heal himself. A mechanic that changes the game, in that it is instantaneous and no longer needs to be charged over time. It allows, for a certain cost of silk, to instantly recover three life points. Note that this same gauge of silk is also used to cast powers. It will therefore be necessary to make a choice during a confrontation.
Hornet will give voice
Another big change from Hollow Knight, Hornet isn't a mute protagonist. Like the characters encountered in Hallownest, the princess-protector will address her interlocutors in the vernacular language of the place – that is to say with diverse and varied onomatopoeia. According to the person who walked reporters through a demo at E3 2019, "Hornet has a really fun voice, opinion, and personality." In particular, she will interact with the bosses during the fights, which should help make them even more exciting.
What give more life to the sound space and mark the break with the desolation that reigned in Hallownest in the first game of Team Cherry. In Pharloom, we will discover several towns that will be so many opportunities to cut the fat with the natives. The key: elements of lore, but also quests to complete in order to improve your arsenal of skills. On this point, the Australian team also confesses to Edge magazine (number 354) that they have made efforts to make their monitoring more intuitive.
Quand sortira Hollow Knight: Silksong ?
If all of this has made your mouth water, come back down to earth for a while. Unfortunately, Hollow Knight: Silksong does not currently have a release date.
However, there is hope that Silksong will land soon. On September 13, a gigantic leak involving the Cloud gaming service GeForce Now revealed that the release of several expected (or unknown) titles was imminent. For now, the PC releases of Final Fantasy VII Remake, God of War or even GTA The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition have been proven. And, as far as Hollow Knight Silksong is concerned, the date of February 1, 2022 was brought forward on GeForce Now.
If it does not refute the leak, NVIDIA hastened to clarify that, in this list, were "released titles, or speculative releases, used only for internal testing". Nothing set in stone then. As we said above: a hope, nothing more.
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Is Hollow Knight: Silksong a Nintendo Switch exclusive?
With Team Cherry taking advantage of a Nintendo Treehouse at E3 2019 to tell us more about Hollow Knight: Silksong, many are imagining it will be a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
The fact is that, for now, the release of the game has only been confirmed on Switch and PC. On the other hand, there is no mention anywhere of a possible exclusivity. Hollow Knight being available on all platforms, it would be surprising if Team Cherry did not make its sequel available through the same channels.
It will probably be necessary to be patient, but PlayStation and Xbox versions are far from excluded. Remember for all intents and purposes that Hollow Knight was first released on PC on February 24, 2017, before joining the Nintendo Switch catalog on June 12, 2018 and PS4 / Xbox One on September 25 of the same year.
