Hollow Knight: Silksong finally lands – here’s why the game has gamers obsessed

After years of speculation, delays, and mounting hype, Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally launched worldwide on 4 September 2025. The sequel to the beloved indie hit Hollow Knight has already sent the internet into meltdown. Steam storefronts suffered outages, social feeds filled with first impressions, and players everywhere are finally getting their hands on Team Cherry’s most anticipated project.

A Quick Primer on Hollow Knight (for newcomers)

If you haven’t played the first game, here’s what you need to know. Released in 2017 by the small Australian studio Team Cherry, Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania — a style of game that blends open-ended exploration with ability-based progression. The title became a cult classic thanks to:

• Atmospheric worldbuilding: The game is set in the ruined, underground insect kingdom of Hallownest. It pairs minimalist storytelling with evocative environments to create a hauntingly memorable world.
• Exploration and Metroidvania design: You traverse a large, interconnected map, unlocking skills that let you reach previously inaccessible areas — the joy is in discovering hidden paths and secrets.
• Challenging combat and bosses: Encounters are precise and often demanding; the game rewards practice and experimentation rather than button-mashing.
• Value and content: With dozens of bosses, multiple endings and extensive optional content (including free post-launch expansions), the original offered dozens of hours of play for a modest price.

Beyond mechanics, Hollow Knight earned a passionate community: fan art, mods, speedruns, and theories kept the world of Hallownest alive long after players finished the main story. That legacy is a big reason why Silksong’s arrival feels so important.

The Trailer

Why Silksong Is Trending

Silksong was first announced in 2019 and, since then, has built an almost mythical level of anticipation. Now that it’s here, several factors explain why it’s dominating gaming conversations:

• Hornet as protagonist: Players control Hornet, a fan-favourite character from the original. She brings a quicker combat style and fresh mobility options, which immediately change the game’s pace and feel.
• Years of anticipation: Long gaps between teasers, combined with very deliberate updates from Team Cherry, kept fans speculating and analysing every clip and screenshot.
• Wide platform launch: Silksong debuted across modern and older hardware — PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Windows, Linux and macOS — making it accessible to a broad audience.
• Day-one Game Pass: The decision to include the game on Xbox Game Pass on launch day dramatically increased the player base and online chatter.
• Cultural momentum: The original game’s creative community ensured that talk of Silksong never died down; fan projects kept interest steady through the wait.

Why Fans Anticipated Silksong’s Release

Silksong wasn’t just expected — for many, it was a cultural event. Several reasons explain the intensity of that wait:

• High bar set by the original: The first game became a reference point for how evocative indie games could be. Gamers wanted a sequel worthy of Hallownest’s legacy.
• Mystery and speculation: With limited information released during development, the community filled gaps with theories about lore, bosses, and new mechanics — a feedback loop that amplified interest.
• Promises of scale: Trailers and previews hinted at more bosses, expansive biomes and deeper systems — signs that Silksong would be at least as substantial as its predecessor.
• Community creativity: Fans of the original sustained interest through art, mods, and speedrunning, ensuring Silksong remained a conversation topic for years.

The Launch Experience

The launch was noisy in more ways than one. The game’s immense popularity briefly overwhelmed certain digital storefronts, with reports of slow downloads and Steam store outages on launch day. Despite technical hiccups, early players mostly reported the experience they hoped for: a faster, more agile combat system, a wide array of bosses to challenge, and the same brooding atmosphere that characterised the first game.

Early coverage suggests Silksong offers a satisfying mix of familiarity and novelty — retaining the uncompromising design that made Hollow Knight a hit while introducing mechanics that keep the sequel feeling fresh.

What New Players Should Expect

If you’re new to the series, here are a few practical tips before you jump into Silksong:

• Don’t rush exploration: the map hides shortcuts, secrets and story beats — take your time and backtrack with new abilities.
• Practice the combat: learn enemy patterns and use Hornet’s mobility — many encounters reward timing and positioning more than raw aggression.
• Embrace optional content: side bosses and hidden paths add huge value and memorable encounters; there is no shame in exploring at your own pace.
• Community resources help: If you get stuck, guides and maps created by the community are excellent and often spoiler-free options to help you progress.