When Team Cherry released its 2017 debut game Hollow Knight, the indie developer was quickly greeted with stellar sales and overwhelmingly positive reviews for its Metroidvania action adventure. Fans and critics praised the title’s huge game world, charming art style, and rewarding balance of platforming, exploration, and combat mechanics. However, this sort of success comes at a price, and the lengthy development cycle of its follow-up title, Hollow Knight: Silksong, has led fans to question whether the game has run into development difficulties.
However, the long wait and lack of updates from Team Cherry may be positive signs that the developer is focusing on making Hollow Knight: Silksong even bigger and better than its illustrious predecessor.
How Hollow Knight: Silksong Blossomed Into More Than DLC
Hollow Knight received widespread acclaim for its deceptively enormous game world, but Team Cherry had always hoped to make the game even larger. Whilst the game achieved its original Kickstarter target, some stretch goals were not fully funded, including one to have recurring boss character and fan favorite Hornet available as a playable character.
Following the enormous success of its insect-themed epic, Team Cherry intended to rectify this via a DLC expansion to accompany the likes of The Grimm Troupe and Godmaster. However, the developer quickly realized that its plans for the new content merited a full-blown, separate title, and Hollow Knight: Silksong was officially announced in early 2019.
Fan anticipation for the new title quickly snowballed, with some enthusiasts even drawing imaginary Hollow Knight: Silksong characters every day until the game is released. However, despite almost three years having elapsed since Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced, Team Cherry has been notoriously tight-lipped about its next release. This has caused many fans to speculate whether the developer is struggling to complete the title, or even if the game will be cancelled.
What a Long Development Cycle Could Mean for Hollow Knight: Silksong
Concerned fans have many reasons to be optimistic about Hollow Knight: Silksong. The original Hollow Knight took years to develop, partially because Team Cherry was only a two-man team. Despite subsequently hiring an additional coder, the Australian developer’s minuscule size means that any sizeable project was always destined to take a similar timeframe to complete.
This methodical development approach might be frustrating for fans, but is much more likely to result in a polished and successful finished product than a hasty and slapdash approach. Other infamously rushed titles like Cyberpunk 2077 have encountered seemingly endless problems with glitches, unfinished content, and fans disappointed with the developer’s alleged crunch culture.
It is also the first time Team Cherry has worked under this sort of spotlight, given that Hollow Knight was a debut title without such high expectations. Team Cherry may need to familiarize itself with constant attention and fan scrutiny if it maintains its track record of success. However, it is unreasonable to expect such a small team to communicate with fans in the same manner as an experienced AAA developer with a fully-staffed PR department.
Furthermore, there are many examples of other games that have been successfully kept "under wraps" until development nears completion. FromSoftware have mastered this approach in recent years, with fans receiving scant information about smash hit samurai action RPG Sekiro until it was virtually complete. FromSoftware is taking a similar approach with its upcoming fantasy epic Elden Ring.
However, fans remain nervous about Team Cherry’s next game, and the developer’s lack of consistent updates is understandably fueling these concerns. The studio is undoubtedly encouraged to see that Hollow Knight: Silksong continues to receive such regular attention. Team Cherry may simply be focusing its time and resources on making sure the new release is as good as it can possibly be.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development.