Hollow Knight: Silksong Delayed to "TBD"

Hollow Knight: Silksong has been delayed past its original target of the first half of 2023. Development continues to polish the game further.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Delayed Past June 2023 Target

The follow-up to the beloved Hollow Knight, Silksong, has been delayed to a much later date. Last year’s Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase highlighted Hollow Knight: Silksong as one of its heavy hitters. All of the games in the showcase were said to be released “within 12 months” of the show, meaning by June 2023.

This has not entirely been the case, as a few games already have been delayed, particularly Starfield. Redfall, Pentiment, and The Last Case of Benedict Fox were already released so far. Diablo IV seems to be still on track. So what about Silksong?

Wait For Us, Hallownest

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s delay was announced by developer Matthew Griffin of Team Cherry via Twitter on the evening of May 9th. The “quick update” merely claimed that the development is still underway. He continues to say that they’re quite excited about the sequel and that it has become quite a large project. While they planned to release the Metroidvania in the first half of 2023, this will not be the case anymore. The extra time will be used to polish up the game, and squash some bugs (hopefully not Hornet herself).

The Tweet then ends with the assurance that more details will be shared as they “get closer to release”. However, when that release will be specifically is anyone’s guess right now. Hollow Knight: Silksong’s development has already been hit hard due to the pandemic, but at least we can breathe easy that the release may be just within reach.

It’s already been 6 years since the original Hollow Knight came out, and 4 years since the sequel’s announcement. What’s just a few months (hopefully) more?

The Hornet and the Knight

What’s new in Hollow Knight: Silksong? Just last year we got a surprise gameplay trailer for Hollow Knight: Silksong in the Xbox game conference. There, we saw tons of gameplay footage both new and old. The game’s protagonist, Hornet, was actually a miniboss from the first game. Now, she gets to spread her wings and sting like a bee.

She retains many of her abilities from the first game, but of course, gets an entirely new arsenal to play with. Hornet is much faster than the Knight and makes use of much quicker Needle attacks. She can also make use of her infamous silk thread AoE attack to slice everything around her.

That’s not all as Hornet creates her own identity quite different from the Knight. She is also 100% more vocal in combat, as she also retains her battle cries from the first game. Hornet can use Bind to heal herself while on the move, in contrast to the Knight who must stay in place. Bind can even be used mid-air, perfect for mending wounds while performing acrobatics. However, this comes at a greater cost as Bind will consume more resources to actually use (although it heals more than 1 Mask/Health bar at a time). Getting hit while using Bind will also interrupt Hornet, nullifying the heal but also consuming the Silk used.

Aside from the usual Crests for passive upgrades, Hornet can also equip various tools to increase her combat prowess. One example shown off so far is the Pimpillo bomb, an item that, well, explodes. It is quite interesting that the item’s description mentions the explosion damages both “friends and foes alike”. Will we have friends available, or will they be like the mini summons of the previous title?

The Princess-Protector of Hallownest

Hollow Knight: Silksong will feature an entirely new area of the Hallownest Kingdom. She will be exploring entirely unique locations, such as the Deep Docks, Moss Grotto, and the Greymoor. We can also expect these areas to be chock full of secrets, collectibles, and other points of interest. In true Metroidvania fashion, we can also expect to revisit old areas once we’ve unlocked more abilities that let us traverse the world with ease, unlocking previously inaccessible bits of the map.

The game will also have different types of quests, in addition to the main storyline. As of writing, there have been four types revealed: Gather, Wayfarer, Hunt, and Grand Hunt. Each will have their own objectives, such as acquiring specific items or killing specific enemies or even bosses like the Steel Assassin Sharpe, or Hunter Queen Carmelita.

Be sure to check out the Hollow Knight Wiki and Hollow Knight: Silksong Wiki for more information on both games!

In other news, check out Age of Wonders 4 Tops Steam Sales Charts and Evercore Heroes Announces Closed Beta Starting June 20th.