Hollow Knight and Silksong May Be on Opposites Ends of the…

Team Cherry's long-awaited Metroidvania, Hollow Knight: Silksong, has been in development for over 6 years, but the game didn't receive a release date until recently. A few days ago, Team Cherry dropped a new trailer for Silksong on its official YouTube channel, where it confirmed that the game would launch on September 4, 2025. While it wasn’t shadowdropped, as some fans had hoped, the fact that Hollow Knight: Silksong was scheduled to release in just two weeks was enough to get the Silksong community abuzz with excitement.

Even though the game is supposed to come out early next month, Team Cherry has surprisingly kept most of Hollow Knight: Silksong's narrative under wraps. The three trailers for Silksong that have been released so far have all been pretty brief, and they don't reveal enough information about the game or its plot. The recent demo for Silksong that was available to attendees at Gamescom 2025, meanwhile, was almost exactly the same as the one from E3 2019, so it, too, didn't contain many new details. Even though there isn't much information to go off of, Silksong's narrative seems to be the polar opposite of its predecessor's, in some regards.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Seems to Have a More Hopeful Narrative than Hollow Knight

Riding an upward gust in Hollow Knight Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong will follow the adventures of Hornet, the Princess Knight, who plays a major role in the original Hollow Knight. Sometime after the events of the previous game, Hornet is kidnapped by outsider bugs and taken to the kingdom of Pharloom, a land haunted by silk and song. Before she arrives at her intended destination, Hornet breaks free from the cage she is held in and attempts to find her way through the surrounding land. As she goes on a dangerous pilgrimage to the peak of Pharloom, Hornet learns more about herself and her past in the process.

In the original Hollow Knight, players had to descend into the kingdom of Hallownest, while in Hollow Knight: Silksong, they have to ascend to the top of Pharloom.

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Hornet Will Be Restoring the Hope of a Kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong

It's not exactly clear what Hornet intends to find at Pharloom's peak, but on the official store page for Hollow Knight: Silksong, it is said that the princess is tasked with restoring the hope of the kingdom. Maybe this means that there is some kind of special artifact or person located at the top of Pharloom, who can help Hornet bring it back to its former glory. Regardless of the specifics, though, Hollow Knight: Silksong's overall premise seems to be a lot more hopeful and positive compared to the darker plot of Hollow Knight.

The Original Hollow Knight's Plot Was Darker and Centered Primarily Around the Cycle of Doom

Underneath Hollow Knight's cartoony exterior and cute-looking bugs lies a surprisingly complex story that revolves around doom and the cycle that enables it. In the game, players control a nameless warrior known as the Knight, who embarks on a journey to explore Hallownest, a kingdom that has fallen into turmoil due to a supernatural plague called the Infection. While the bugs who are plagued by the Infection gain more power, they not only lose their free will, but they also go completely mad and turn into undead beings. As the Knight, players are tasked with killing Hollow Knight's Dreamers and confronting the source of the Infection, which is carried within the titular Hollow Knight.

Hollow Knight and Silksong Seem to Handle the Same Concept in Different Ways

Although Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight: Silksong's narratives both involve a bug who goes on a quest to resolve a problem that's plaguing a kingdom, the two games handle the plot point in different ways. The kingdom of Hallownest in the original Hollow Knight is a decaying, ruined place that is too far gone to be saved. The kingdom of Pharloom in Hollow Knight: Silksong, on the other hand, still has some life in it and can seemingly still be restored to its former glory. While players will have to wait until the game comes out to get a clearer picture of the matter, it looks like Silksong's plot has a fairly optimistic tone, all things considered.

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