The era of Silksong is fast approaching, as Team Cherry has recently broken its long silence to announce that the game is finally coming on the 4th of September. The day it releases will undoubtedly be a monumental occasion, with many indie developers delaying the launch of their titles as a result.
However, before people do so, they must take the time to return and enjoy Silksong's predecessor, Hollow Knight. While not absolutely necessary, doing so can actually be beneficial, for story and gameplay-related reasons. To those of you who are still not convinced to play Hollow Knight before Silksong's release, here's a list of exactly what can be gained that may change your mind.
1. Better Preparation for the Difficult Platforming Segments
Given that Silksong is a 2D platformer, it will likely have many difficult sections where players must be precise with their jumps, landings, and item and skill usage to make it from one safe spot to the next. To prepare for those, it's best to go back to Hollow Knight, as it also has numerous areas that can help improve one's platforming abilities.
While it likely won't be as difficult as Silksong's, given how the sequel seems to highlight a lot more vertical gameplay, it's still worth going back to prepare for what's to come. Additionally, areas like Hollow Knight's Path of Pain can help one understand how Team Cherry perceives difficulty in platforming, which can better set expectations for what the sequel has in store.
2. Understanding the Challenge of the 2D Combat
There will be those, mostly newcomers, who will see Silksong and think that since battles will take place on a 2D plane, it won't be as challenging as one would initially perceive it to be. However, just because its combat gameplay isn't similar to Elden Ring or any entry in the Souls series, it doesn't mean its own won't be just as or even more difficult.
Proof of this can be found through playing Hollow Knight, as that game shows just how difficult fights can be when they're in 2D. With how tough it is, Silksong's is expected to be much harder, which is why it's worth going back to play through the first game to get a better feel for combat with only an X and Y axis.
3. Getting Ready for Some of the Most Difficult Boss Encounters
The trailers promoting Silksong promise many boss fights to look forward to, and fans, especially veterans of Hollow Knight, will want to see if they have the skills to overcome them. However, they might end up being harder than expected, which means it's best to polish one's skills to ensure that, regardless of how hard they are, victory can still be attained.
Hollow Knight's bosses offer some of the toughest challenges a 2D Soulslike can ever provide, and given how the game is Silksong's direct predecessor, it's the perfect preparation tool. It's essential to use it as such, as the sequel's major enemies will likely be very challenging, especially since Team Cherry has been working on them for over six years.
4. Being More Immersed in the Game’s Deep Lore
Those who decide to jump straight into Silksong without playing its predecessor will not enjoy it as much as those who did. The reason for this is that they won't have any attachments to potential lore-deepening callbacks or story segments that will likely be spread throughout the world Hornet will be traversing.
Those who intend to play Silksong will want a better understanding of what's going on so that they can fully immerse themselves in the world-building, and to do that, they'll have to play Hollow Knight. Things that happened in the previous game will likely explain many things in the sequel, so it's worth taking the time to go back to better understand the deep and highly interesting in-game lore Team Cherry has worked on for so long.
5. Easily Adjusting to How the Sequel Will Handle Environmental Exploration
While there's no way to tell for now, Team Cherry has likely developed Silksong in a manner that its in-game exploration will be exactly similar to Hollow Knight's. This means players will have to rely solely on their memory regarding where they need to go, at least until they acquire the appropriate tools to make navigation much easier.
Going back to Hollow Knight will help ensure players are already acclimated to that way of environmental traversal, ensuring they have a great experience with Silksong. Doing so is especially important for those who are prone to getting lost easily, considering that they'll want to enjoy everything the sequel offers as well, but won't be able to if they can't even tell where they're going.
With Silksong being released in less than two weeks, assuming nothing prevents it from being delayed, fans should do everything possible to get the most out of it. That means returning to Hollow Knight before the sequel comes out, and for those who can or are willing, it's best to do it now.
And that's it. For more on Silksong, stick with us at Gfinityesports.com.