Indie studio Team Cherry has confirmed that it won't be sending out any early codes for Hollow Knight: Silksong, which means anybody waiting to check out reviews before purchasing the sequel will need to wait until after the game's release on September 4. Although a lack of early review codes often raises eyebrows among gamers, Team Cherry seems to have a perfectly reasonable explanation for not sending any out for Hollow Knight: Silksong.
After the original Hollow Knight became a critically acclaimed hit for Team Cherry, fans have been patiently waiting for its sequel. Now, after an excruciating eight-year wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally has a release date, and it's coming on September 4. While Silksong originally started out as DLC for Hollow Knight, it has now become a full-fledged sequel filled with new enemies, bosses, benches, and the classic, fast-paced 2D action-platforming that fans know and love.
Every Chance to Play Hollow Knight: Silksong in the Next Couple of Months
In the months before its eventual release, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be playable not once but twice at two separate events in the next two months.
Team Cherry Isn't Sending Out Early Hollow Knight: Silksong Review Codes
With the launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong just two weeks away, it likely won't come as much of a surprise that Team Cherry isn't planning on sending out early review codes to journalists and content creators. Usually, this sort of decision can be cause for concern. Build a Rocket Boy, for example, did not send out review codes for MindsEye, and we all know how that ended. However, this doesn't appear to be a case of Team Cherry attempting to hide a bad game from the press. As reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier (via The Gamer), Team Cherry says they feel it would be unfair for critics to play Silksong before the game's Kickstarter backers and other players. Schreier also mentioned how it would take Team Cherry (a small indie studio) a long time to distribute codes when it already has a busy two weeks ahead of it.
In case you're wondering: Team Cherry told me they don't plan on sending out early codes for Silksong (they felt like it'd be unfair for critics to be playing before Kickstarter backers and other players), so don't expect to see reviews until after the game comes out — Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-08-21T16:53:41.637Z
It may come as a disappointment to those on the fence about purchasing Silksong, but for the majority of fans, this won't make any difference in the slightest. As one of the most anticipated sequels of the last decade, there's a strong chance that anybody who purchased and played Hollow Knight is going to jump into Silksong without hesitation. While Grand Theft Auto 6 may be one of the most anticipated games of all time, Silksong is a close contender. In fact, the sequel is looking to be so big that one game has already delayed its release date because of Silksong.
Another reason why fans may be concerned over the lack of early review codes is due to the long development time . As the years have passed by, fans have often speculated that the Hollow Knight sequel was in "development hell," but it turns out that wasn't the case. Quite the opposite, in fact. With the title's release date now set for next month, Team Cherry opened up about the lengthy development process behind Silksong, revealing that things actually went very well. The studio says it took so long to develop because they were just having too much fun coming up with new ideas. "It was never stuck or anything. It was always progressing," Team Cherry said.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
