Every so often, a game comes along that contains just the right ingredients to make a hit – engaging gameplay, a unique central premise, and a visually stunning aesthetic that sets it apart from other games in the same genre. Team Cherry's Metroidvania action-adventure title Hollow Knight ticked all of these boxes and became a runaway sensation in gaming circles. Praised for its atmospheric soundtrack, challenging combat, unique character design, and engrossing worldbuilding, Hollow Knight received a number of awards, and it wasn't long before the sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced.
First confirmed in 2019, fans have been desperate for news of Hollow Knight: Silksong ever since it was known to be in development. Like its predecessor, the game will utilize 2D Metroidvania mechanics and explore more corners of a haunted bug-filled kingdom. In contrast to the first game, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be taking its new protagonist Hornet to the mysterious heights of Pharloom instead of the underground depths of Hallownest. A few other details have been released of Hollow Knight: Silksong so far, including some glimpses of these new environments.
Moss Grotto
Moss Grotto is the first area that players will encounter in Hollow Knight: Silksong. It is located at the bottom of the kingdom of Pharloom – a new setting that switches things up from Hollow Knight's claustrophobic and warren-like areas to make the most of Hornet's nimbleness and verticality. As the name would suggest, Moss Grotto is filled with moss-themed enemies and items, and its lush, verdant surroundings are a colorful contrast to much of the previous game's moodier aesthetics. There is also a sub-area called the Old Church where Hornet battles her first boss in the crumbling plant-infested structure.
Deep Docks
Another early area in the game is Deep Docks, which is an industrial location complete with metallic workers, forge-like structures, and lakes of lava dotted around the map. Here, the design of Hollow Knight: Silksong offers something completely different from the beautifully overgrown areas of Moss Grotto, and ties into the title's darker aspects.
The Marrow
The Marrow is also an area that players will be able to explore at the start of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Eerie bells line the dimly-lit tunnels and spooky caverns, similar to the design of the Stagways in Hollow Knight. This is the domain of the Bell Beast, an enemy that Hornet will face who can eventually be tamed and used as a means of traversal throughout Pharloom.
Greymoor
The moodier color palettes and bleaker tone of the Deep Docks are continued on in Greymoor, a cavernous region beset by mists and weakly illuminated by lights. The structures of Greymoor are falling into disrepair, and the dilapidated landscape shows how this huge area is indicative of wider problems within the kingdom. Greymoor is infested with Crawbugs which players will have to contend with as they explore this haunted region of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
The Citadel
Reaching the Citadel is the goal throughout Hollow Knight: Silksong as players fight their way to the top of Pharloom. This late-game area is full of challenging enemies and unraveling mysteries, as Hornet explores this deceptively hallowed location with its shining halls and impressive architecture. The Citadel was featured in Hollow Knight: Silksong's reveal trailer and seems to have a prominent place in the narrative of the game.
Unconfirmed Locations
There are plenty of other areas of Hollow Knight: Silksong that players have glimpsed in trailers and other promotional material, but while some have been featured a lot, they may not yet have official names. The coral forest is a beautiful and brightly-colored area that boasts vibrant backgrounds and interesting barnacle-encrusted buildings. Some images and locations shown so far seem just as mysterious, with flower-strewn battlegrounds where Hornet faces off against recurring boss Lace, or a mechanical area complete with cogs and other machinery.
Hollow Knight: Silksong clearly has a wide breadth of fascinating and unique locations for players to explore, and while the combat and gameplay look like they'll be shaking things up compared to the first Hollow Knight, the series doesn't seem like it's losing its distinctive design aesthetic and attention to detail.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.