After what seems like an eternity, it’s starting to feel like Hollow Knight: Silksong being released is an actual possibility and not just a collective hallucination by the community. While it started out as an expansion of the original game in which a fan-favorite boss, Hornet, was playable, Silksong has become its own title that promises a world larger than that of Hallownest and its surrounding areas. It’s an ambitious promise, given that Hollow Knight is still one of the largest Metroidvanias ever made and has become a genre-defining title that everyone else labeled as the gold standard.
Although it might be hard to believe now, given its popularity, the original Hollow Knight didn’t release to clamor and worldwide acclaim. While it launched to moderate success, it took a while for Hollow Knight to become the grand success it is today. The game’s quality was undeniable, but launching with some performance issues and facing several strong competitors limited the traction it could pick up. Still, the game managed to find a community and explode into the bug-filled title that changed the Metroidvania genre forever, largely thanks to the Switch.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Will Learn From The Original's Switch Success
The Console Helped Hollow Knight Explode
At first, Hollow Knight‘s late February 2017 release date was hurt by the much-anticipated launch of Zelda: Breath of the Wild coming out roughly a week later, burying it under the hype of that year’s Game of the Year winner. Ironically, Nintendo would be the one to help cultivate Hollow Knight‘s success, since, a full year and a half later, a Switch version of the game came out. Indie and third-party developers helped round out its roster for Nintendo’s new console, and Hollow Knight picked up steam as an underground gem.
Hollow Knight released on February 24, 2017, receiving a Switch release on June 12, 2018.
The Switch release helped the game massively, selling 250,000 units in the first two weeks on the new console, as Team Cherry revealed to IGN at the time. By February 2019, Hollow Knight was at 2.8 million units sold, compared to the 1 million units it had sold on PC by June 2018. Hollow Knight took a while to become a huge success, but the fire of its slow burn remains alight, and all the game’s hype should ensure that a massive launch is in store for Silksong. Thanks to Silksong anticipation, Hollow Knight has become one of the biggest names in the gaming industry.
Xbox acknowledges this, and the Xbox Games Showcase used fresh Silksong gameplay footage to showcase the new ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handheld consoles, which slot into the same PC-based market as the Steam Deck. This is an important bit of news for both handheld and Silksong fans, the latter of whom are used to searching high and low for updates. Highlighting a 2D indie game instead of a more demanding title that could show off the handheld’s power indicates that Xbox acknowledges the original’s success on the Switch and seeks to replicate it somewhat with the Xbox Ally.
Handhelds Have Treated Hollow Knight Well
It Could Be The Perfect Way To Experience Pharloom
The ROG Xbox Ally and Hollow Knight Silksong are launching before this holiday season, and while there aren’t any specific dates for either as yet, Silksong could launch on the handheld device if it comes first. The Switch proved that Hollow Knight thrives on handheld consoles, and this could do quite a lot for both parties. Hollow Knight is a perfect pick-up on-the-go game, with players able to stop whenever they get to a new bench, and the IP is large enough to aid a console launch, meaning that both will benefit from this.
With benches resetting enemies, there have been a few comparisons to Hollow Knight and Soulsborne games with their Bonfire systems.
It should also be noted that Silksong is launching on a myriad of platforms, unlike its predecessor, which released solely on PC and took a long time to come to consoles. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Silksong break all sorts of sales records, considering how many platforms it will be on and the sheer speed of the hype train, which is finally charging toward its final station. While Silksong‘s launch almost matching the ROG Xbox Ally’s release is a massive deal for Xbox, it isn’t the only handheld console that will benefit from the game’s release.
Given all Hollow Knight‘s success on the first Switch, Silksong should be a hit on the Switch 2, and the pair seem to work in perfect harmony this time around. By the time Nintendo fans have gotten through the initial Switch 2 launch titles and are ready for something new, Silksong should be launching, and when the holidays come around, a lot of people might have a Switch 2 on their Christmas lists. It’s almost a perfect situation for both and will help the already massive launch of Silksong be even bigger.
Silksong On The Xbox ROG Ally Is The Right Call
It Has The Perfect Artstyle For Handheld Consoles
A part of the reason why Hollow Knight was so good for handheld consoles was its gameplay loop. It was all action with distinct breaks at the game’s many benches, and while there was dialogue, it didn’t lock players in the cinematics until they got to Hollow Knight‘s endings. These made it the perfect game to put down and pick up again. While Silksong looks to add loads of new features, its core gameplay loop looks the same, running through the deadly dungeons to get to the next bench, and that means it’s still perfect for handhelds.
While it’s great to play something as well-reviewed as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on handheld consoles, Hollow Knight‘s 2D, side-scrolling gameplay and clear outlines make it much more readable on a smaller screen. Stylized indie games tend to be perfect, visually speaking, for handheld consoles, with Hades on the Switch being a great example of this as well. This makes Silksong the perfect title to get people looking at Xbox ROG Ally, especially because Hollow Knight fans are always busy looking at scraps of news anywhere they can.
Consoles usually need a significant launch title to get people excited about the game, and while it isn’t an exclusive, Hollow Knight: Silksong will play this part for the Xbox ROG Ally. It is the perfect handheld game, and it could essentially be the perfect Metroidvania as well if it ends up being an upgrade on its predecessor. Xbox has learned from what made the original Hollow Knight so successful on the Switch, and repeating this cycle of success with Hollow Knight Silksong will only benefit both parties.
Source: IGN, Xbox.com
