What was once downloadable content has morphed into a completely new sequel. Early this morning Australian indie developer Team Cherry announced Hollow Knight: Silksong, and it sure looks fantastic.
Previously promised as DLC for the spectacular action-platforming game Hollow Knight (thanks to a Kickstarter stretch goal), Silksong stars Hornet, the spear-wielding heroine (and occasional antagonist) from the original. There’s no word on a launch date yet, but the developers say it’s set in an entirely new kingdom with many new enemies, bosses, towns, quests, and so on. It’ll launch on PC/Mac/Linux and Switch first, with Xbox One and PS4 versions to follow.
Watch the trailer here:
You can also watch the developers at Team Cherry talk more about Silksong in this informal 20-minute developer diary. “Almost from the very start, Hornet’s adventure was intended to take place in a new land, but as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned,” they wrote on their website. “We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you’ll get to explore is worth it.”
Hollow Knight is a brilliant, beautiful game, so I will be lining up for this one as soon as it comes out. And it was smart of the trio of developers to transform the planned downloadable content into a standalone game, one that even people who didn’t play Hollow Knight (who exist, inexplicably) will be able to check out. After all, single-player DLC has been a tough sell.