New Hollow Knight: Silksong Details Revealed in Edge Magazine Exclusive

An exclusive feature in Edge Magazine has given Hollow Knight fans some new details to mull over about its upcoming sequel, Silksong. First officially announced back in the heady days of 2019 and with precious little word on it since then, Silksong still has no official release date – but its creators were more than happy to give Edge a look at the highly-anticipated Metroidvania game.

Silksong originally started development as DLC for the original Hollow Knight after the appropriate Kickstarter stretch goal was achieved, but soon expanded into its own standalone game after developers Team Cherry realised how much potential there was in Hornet as a playable character. What we know of the story is still pretty sparse, but players will control fan-favourite Hornet as she explores the kingdom of Pharloom and deals with the insectoid inhabitants within. Hornet’s ability to express her aims and intentions sets her apart from the Knight, whose silent and stoic demeanour ended up a large plot point in the original game – still, the team assured us that ‘there’s still heaps of mystery, but the player will really quickly…get a basic idea of who Hornet is, her attitude, and her starting goals.’

For example, Hornet probably knows why she’s all tied up here

Mystery aside, however, what directors Ari Gibson and William Pellen did reveal in the Edge feature was a host of new screenshots along with details regarding world design, combat mechanics and the like. One key detail separating the level design of Silksong from that of Hollow Knight, for example, was Hornet’s height – or, as Pellen put it: ‘Hornet being taller changes everything.’ Gibson elaborated:

Hornet can travel so much faster, she can jump higher, she can mantle or clamber onto ledges, she’s generally more acrobatic. So the caves around her have to expand to accommodate her height.

They have also promised a new approach to enemy AI: where many foes in Hollow Knight could be tricked into falling off ledges or hurling themselves onto spikes, the denizens of Pharloom would be a little smarter. As Pellen put it:

The characters in this game, they’re kind of one step beyond that, where it doesn’t quite feel right for them to be that simple. Like, they have to have surprising ways of chasing you, keeping up with you, or evading your attacks.

All these details and more can be found in the full feature in Edge Magazine, available now in print or online, and even though you can’t preorder Hollow Knight: Silksong just yet, you can still wishlist it on Steam or the Nintendo eShop. And hey, there’s still a few days left in the Steam Winter Sale if you want to save 50% on the original Hollow Knight too. It’s discounted until the 5th January so hop to it!