In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet's Height "Changes Everything," Says Dev

Team Cherry has kept details about Hollow Knight: Silksong, the indie studio's sophomore effort, close to the chest since its announcement. But we've now learned some more about the upcoming soulslike metroidvania, including how protagonist Hornet's design influenced the creation of the game's setting, Pharloom.

"Hornet being taller changes everything," Hollow Knight: Silksong game designer Willian Pellen told Edge, in an interview published in Issue #354. In comparison to Hollow Knight's rather small unnamed knight of a protagonist, Silksong features the tall Hornet, a half-insect warrior princess.

"Hornet can travel so much faster, she can jump higher, she can mantle or clamber onto ledges, she's generally more acrobatic," Hollow Knight: Silksong animator Ari Gibson told Edge. "So the caves around her need to accommodate her height."

Hornet's larger size influences more than the world design around her; enemies need to change too. "So the core of the world is mainly a reflection of Hornet: her fighting is so fast, and she's so competent, that it changes the way that enemies need to be designed, and her nature as a character is echoed in the way the world is set up," Gibson added. "And what that means is--and this perhaps happened automatically just through development--she's much more physical, and the world as a result is more physical. So there are less glowy orb things and magic bursts of light, and many more blades and traps."

Taking place after the events of Hollow Knight, Hollow Knight: Silksong sees Hornet, the first game's secondary protagonist, captured and taken to Pharloom, a kingdom ruled by both silk and song. Lost in the bowels of Pharloom, Hornet must journey up to the Citadel, the top of the kingdom, in order to escape. Silksong is scheduled to launch for PC and Switch. We're hopeful it will release in 2021, but in regards to a date, Team Cherry has only said, in a blog post, that the game will launch "when it's ready" and "matches the quality and scale of Hollow Knight."