Developer Team Cherry has been secretive about the sequel to 2017's popular Hollow Knight since Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced in February 2019. The indie studio's first game was a runaway hit, with players and critics showering the Metroidvania action-adventure title with praise. It's no wonder that a sequel was announced after the first game's success, and fans are eagerly awaited news about Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Hollow Knight's charmingly macabre art style and character design were some of its greatest strengths, along with the fast-paced combat and exploration of its vast in-game world. Fans of the first title are hoping the follow-up game Hollow Knight: Silksong will include many of the same features, and glimpses of the game so far seem to indicate it will have a similar style and familiar gameplay mechanics, with a few updates.
There isn't a confirmed release date yet, and Hollow Knight: Silksong still remains largely a mystery, but players are speculating that it might be a 2022 game. Although this will undoubtedly be an exciting release for fans, it could mean that Hollow Knight: Silksong comes up against some stiff competition in both the indie and AAA spaces. This may lead to the game being drowned out in a sea of other strong titles, and while it will no doubt still find its fans, it could be more beneficial for Team Cherry to aim for a 2023 release for Hollow Knight: Silksong.
What Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Up Against In 2022
Beyond major releases like Elden Ring and Horizon: Forbidden West, 2022 is shaping up to be a promising year for indie titles. In fact, there is already a game that has strong Hollow Knight vibes set for release in March 2022. Have a Nice Death is a 2D action roguelite where gamers play as the beleaguered CEO of Death Inc. With a tiny caped protagonist, dynamic action, and a somber color palette, Have a Nice Death is reminiscent of Hollow Knight. In order to avoid a more direct comparison or player fatigue from the seemingly similar format, Hollow Knight: Silksong could escape this problem by setting its release for another year.
In addition to similar indies aiming for a release this year, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be up against a strong slate of Metroidvanias in 2022. Games like Salt and Sacrifice, Gestalt Steam and Cinder, and Curse of the Sea Rats are all likely to release this year, and with similar game mechanics and combat, it would make sense for Hollow Knight: Silksong to try and avoid this cluster of titles.
Why a 2023 Release Date Would Be Beneficial
With only a handful of games announced for 2023, Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn't have as much competition as it would for a 2022 release. Over the course of the year, more games will be announced and this balance may shift, but as it currently stands Hollow Knight: Silksong will have a better chance of standing out if it aimed for a 2023 release. It's a big enough name that Hollow Knight could even push other prospective 2023 games out of the way if it announces its spot early enough.
Not only that, but squeezing more development into the game can only be a good thing for Hollow Knight: Silksong, making sure it can deliver on the hype built by its predecessor. As hardly any details have been released for the game so far, aiming for a 2023 release would also give Team Cherry time to engage in a more active marketing campaign, showing off elements of Hollow Knight: Silksong and talking about what players can expect in order to generate as much excitement as possible.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development.