The highly anticipated, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was released after an eight year wait on September 4, 2025. Long-time fans rushed to purchase a copy, and widespread purchases caused popular online stores like Steam and Microsoft Store to crash globally- but was the wait and inconvenience worth it?
The first Hollow Knight game is set in the destroyed Kingdom of Hallownest, which was overtaken by a mysterious plague. The player plays as The Knight, a bug vessel who uncovers the source of the plague and intends to imprison it inside themselves. Team Cherry, the team who created Hollow Knight, combined hand drawn elements with dark fantasy themes which are often compared to the Dark Souls games.
Long time fan of the series, Tai Nicholas Castro, a sophomore at James Campbell High School, said that. “The story behind the main location, Hallownest, is what I found most beautiful about this game” Hollow Knight’s Metroidvania-like gameplay was also a big selling point to him. “I like to explore in the game and the game developers behind Hollow Knight want you to 100% backtrack and explore.” Hollow Knight’s boss fights are a staple to the series, Castro said that the Mantis Lords boss fights, and the story, are what initially captivated him to this series.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is set in the Kingdom of Pharloom, which the player’s character, Hornet is captured and brought to. Hornet embarks on a journey to discover why she was captured and to uncover the mystery of the threads that plague Pharloom. Team Cherry continues to use the hand drawn style, with dark fantasy elements. However, the game has levels that are more vibrant compared to the initial game and setting of Hallownest. So how does it compare to the first game? Castro said, “..the game is really good, but unforgiving.” Silksong provides less check benches, harder enemies and bosses that require skill and quick thinking to defeat them.
Silksong also has a similar story and challenge as the first game, but with the difference of a new protagonist. Hornet is described as a more energetic warrior compared to The Knight, offering new and fresh dialogues with NPCS. How does this compare to the first game, and was it an upgrade or downgrade? Castro believes that Silksong was an upgrade from the original, “..due to the game having more content and side quests to do.” Fans and entertainment websites seem to agree as well! The game received an average of 4.5 stars on steam and IGN gave the game a 9/10, calling it an “Unapologetically challenging sequel..”
Silksong took 7-8 years of development to be published, making it have a lengthy wait time next to even Triple A titles such as Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI). Long development time can be beneficial and also detrimental to games. Timothy Cain, creator and game developer of the famous video game title, Fallout, explains on his youtube channel that; long development time can lead to good things such as addressing issues before publishing, and companies being able to genuinely complete a game while still funding the creators. But also, issues like constant updates to follow a trend and incomplete design are negative factors.
So did long development time help Silksong? Castro said, “It built up hype and excitement for the game.” Despite the negative effects of long development time, Silksong seems to be an exception from this.
Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally been published after a long eight years. For many fans such as Castro, the game was a success and well worth the wait. With a great story, fun gameplay and more challenging aspects from the first game, many fans see themselves replaying this game for a long time.
