After a sequel to Team Cherry’s critically acclaimedHollow KnightdubbedHollow Knight: Silksongwas announced in 2019, fans of the indie platformer have been eagerly awaiting updates. Some speculate that this month, an official release date will finally be confirmed at Summer Game Fest.
The last public showcase concerningHollow Knight: Silksongwas gameplay footage during the E3 2019 Nintendo Treehouse Live. From this video, players got to see Hornet, a familiar character from the original game, venturing through new biomes, battling foes, and even exchanging dialogue - something that did not occur as often with the enigmatic Knight. Some of the more exciting reveals included a new quest system, plentiful NPCs, and more upgradable items. However, no further information has been shared since the rumored development struggles that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Potential Confirmation by Team Cherry
Summer Game Festgoes live on Thursday June 9, which is said to be focusing primarily on games that have already been announced such asGotham Knights,Final Fantasy 16,Persona 5,andCuphead: The Delicious Last Course. The stream is expected to last somewhere from 90 minutes to two hours and will be available to watch on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Those followingSilksong’sjourney have good reason to be excited about the live stream, following a recent Sunday night tweet fromGeoff Keighley, host and curator of the event. “There’s nothing like the feeling of seeing a good world premiere arrive in your inbox,” he cryptically wrote.
While this didn’t seem like much of a confirmation in of itself, it was a reply from Matthew Griffin, an employee on Team Cherry’s marketing and publishing team, that caused quite the commotion among expectant fans: “I approve of the tease. =P,” Griffin wrote in his response, and with these five simple words, hope ignited thatSilksongwould, in fact, feature during the event. However, Griffin is also involved in a differentKickstarter-funded Metroidvania game calledCrossworn, inspired byHollow Knight,Bloodborne, andDMC, which his Tweet could very well be talking about instead.
Reactions fromHollow Knightfans have varied, from those asking “what does this mean, Matthew Griffin sir” and others simply replying with theAvengers: Endgamememe “don’t do that, don’t give me hope.” After all, players of the challenging platformer have grown used to disappointment, especially afternothing was announced during the Nintendo Indie World Showcase. This event would have been a perfect time for Team Cherry to share even more polished gameplay footage and map locations but many of these events have long since passed with no updates to be seen.
Sadly,Silksongseems to have replacedElden RingandCyberpunk 2077in the gaming community as a highly anticipated game that doesn’t seem to be coming out anytime soon. Ithas even been referenced in other games likeHaiku the Robot, another 2D Souls-like Metroidvania platformer, with a tombstone in a graveyard inscribed with the words: “To those in the distant future, should you find my grave, I ask this: isSilksongout yet?”
During a Twitter Spaces session, Keighley did urge fans to “manage their expectations” concerning the games that would be shown at Summer Game Fest, emphasizing that the stream would be putting a lot ofattention on games that have already been confirmed. “We’ve got a couple of new game announcements in the show and hopefully some surprises if everything holds. But it definitely is a show that’s primarily focused on stuff that is announced.”
Nothing is official, unfortunately, and those curious will want to tune into the upcoming Summer Game Fest to see if their prayers have been answered. An official release date may be exactly what players need to hear to keep their dreams alive.
Hollow Knight: Silksongis currently in development for PC and Nintendo Switch.
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