Hollow Knight: Silksong Not Rewriting the Book on…

The April 2 Nintendo Direct presentation revealed that Hollow Knight: Silksong is launching in 2025, and that it will come to the Switch 2, and fans are now eagerly awaiting more news from indie developer Team Cherry. After years of scarce details on the follow-up to 2017's acclaimed Hollow Knight, the game's appearance at the Direct was a welcome sign for fans who've been waiting patiently for a release window. Notably, while Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally broken its silence, it did so quietly, and aside from confirming a 2025 release window, little else about the game was shared.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 set to release on June 5 in most territories, the Hollow Knight sequel is likely to launch sometime after that date, but potentially before it is part of the Game Worlds exhibition at ACMI in September. As confirmed on the ACMI website, Game Worlds will transport players into the "levels of 30 unforgettable video games," including the "highly anticipated Australian title Hollow Knight: Silksong." And yet, if Team Cherry's upcoming game doesn't turn out to be a groundbreaking title in the Metroidvania genre, that has to be okay.

Hollow Knight: Silksong release window clue

Hollow Knight Fans Think They've Found Another Clue About Silksong's Release Window

Fans spot new evidence for the release window of Hollow Knight: Silksong, potentially narrowing down when it could be coming.

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By Tyler Shipley

Expectations Are High for Silksong, But It Doesn't Need to Meet Them All

Hollow Knight and the Birth of the Modern Indie Metroidvania

When Hollow Knight released in 2017, it quickly earned several accolades, including PC Gamer’s Best Platformer in 2017 and Independent Game of the Year at the 2018 Australian Game Awards. This isn’t surprising, considering that when the game launched, it wasn’t just a compelling addition to the Metroidvania genre, it expanded and redefined what that genre could be. Priced at just $15 USD, the game excelled in multiple areas, boasting a vast amount of content, richly interconnected environments and story, free DLC updates, and gameplay that was easy to pick up but difficult to master.

The addictive appeal of Hollow Knight isn’t hard to pinpoint: its methodical combat, complex platforming, and compelling narrative set in the fallen world of Hallownest all contribute significantly to its success. Similar to 1994’s Super Metroid, which told a meaningful story with minimal dialogue and cutscenes and inspired games like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest, Hollow Knight itself sparked a wave of games that could be described as “Hollow Knight-like.” For instance, Team Cherry’s 2017 release has directly inspired indie games like Haiku the Robot, while titles such as Dead Cells and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights also show evident influences from it.

Silksong Doesn’t Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Be Great

While some players admit that playing Metroidvania games after Hollow Knight often leads to comparisons, Hollow Knight: Silksong shouldn't have to compete with the unfair expectations set by its predecessor. After all, some believe Silksong has become a victim of Hollow Knight's success, with fan expectations at an all-time high despite the few and far-between updates from Team Cherry. With the game having been in development for over six years, it may be challenging for the sequel to meet or surpass the community's expectations, given the considerable hype surrounding it.

Of course, with new tools, collectible items, a new protagonist, boss fights, and quest boards, Hollow Knight: Silksong is set to be a deeply engaging experience, but it shouldn't have to be groundbreaking to be well-received. At the same time, the title will likely serve as a new touchstone for both Metroidvanias and Team Cherry as a studio. And if the 2025 release doesn’t completely reinvent the genre or push boundaries to the extreme, that should be alright with fans.

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