While Team Cherry has yet to reveal a release date for the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, there's been plenty of excitement from fans looking forward to the changes that a sequel will bring. Along with the confirmation of princess knight Hornet as the brand new protagonist, Team Cherry have also hinted at some major changes to the mechanics and playstyle of the original Hollow Knight.
Hornet brings a fast-paced, agile style of play in Hollow Knight: Silksong, and the map design will likely reflect this new direction. Whereas the original Knight utilized a nail as a short-range melee weapon, Hornet will be able to fight at longer distances thanks to her thread and needle. While Hollow Knight: Silksong should feel familiar for many players, it will likely feature a number of big map changes to reflect Hornet's abilities.
What's Been Revealed About Hollow Knight: Silksong
Although Team Cherry has maintained secrecy regarding Hollow Knight: Silksong, it has revealed a number of big changes from the original Hollow Knight. With the introduction of Hornet as the new playable character, Team Cherry has also confirmed that she will have a much more nimble playstyle compared to the original Knight. Hornet will be able to jump higher, move quicker, and grab ledges easily due to her height advantage. Wielding a silk thread and needle, Hornet can be seen in the trailers jumping around enemies acrobatically while using her range advantage to fight at a distance.
Hollow Knight: Silksong will also feature a number of new mechanics such as a more diverse map, a crafting system, a dedicated quest log, and new foes. These new changes seem to imply a different approach to the Metroidvania elements in Hollow Knight: Silksong as Hornet will have a faster, more fluid combat system. Moreover, the crafting system should also offer different approaches to the levels as players are able to craft tools, weapons, and traps to aid themselves.
Improving the Map for Hollow Knight: Silksong
These new changes in Hollow Knight: Silksong have a lot of potential depending on how the map is designed. As Hornet is a taller protagonist than Knight, her verticality and acrobatic playstyle should be reflected in how the map regions are implemented. For example, Hornet should be able to play around more open-ended spaces and utilize her range advantage effectively. While Knight was only able to use spells for ranged attacks, Hornet's design enables her to take advantage of the environment and the level design should reflect that.
The biggest issue that could arise in the level design for Hollow Knight: Silksong is that the map can be physically bigger than Hollow Knight but not feel bigger for players. Even if the world itself is physically bigger, Hornet will be able to cover that ground much faster since she's much more nimble than Knight. In that sense, the Hollow Knight: Silksong map design will play a big role in how the game feels compared to its predecessor.
The small tunnels that appeared in Hollow Knight would feel cramped or constrained for a character like Hornet. Thankfully, the shift from the original setting of Hallownest to the ascension of Pharloom seems to imply that the map design will be altered to suit Hornet's playstyle better.
While Hollow Knight: Silksong will undoubtedly feature many of the mechanics that made the original Hollow Knight so great, it's also important that the map design reflects the agile playstyle of the new protagonist, Hornet. Although many of the details surrounding the game are still a secret, the new additions should hopefully signify a change of direction in level design.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is currently in development for PC and Switch.