Summary
Hollow Knight: SIlksong’s eventual release is bound to reveal some exciting changes from the first game, and the sequel has a great opportunity to improveHollow Knight’s Nail Arts feature. Nail Arts inHollow Knightwere a great way to upgrade combat, butSilksonghas the chance to evolve the feature to the next level.
InHollow Knight,Nail Arts are powerful techniquesplayers can learn to fight better with the Nail, the Knight’s bladed weapon. There are three Nail Arts that players can learn throughout the game. By finding the three hidden Nailmasters, the Knight will learn these new techniques, butSilksongshould strive to make this feature more rewarding by making players fight for the techniques.
Silksong Should Make Nail Arts a Challenge
Although players have to find the three hidden Nailmasters, it’s still a relatively easy accomplishment.Hollow Knightis known to be challenging, and ifSilksongwants to make the difficulty even higher, then players should prove that they are worthy of learning the new Nail Arts, or whateverSilksong’s equivalent happens to be.
Silksong’s Approach to Nail Arts
One of themany differences thatSilksongwill presentto players is the protagonist’s weapon. Hornet doesn’t use a Nail, but instead fights with the Needle. This particular weapon still allows Hornet to hack and slash, soSilksongincluding its own version of the Nail Arts is not too far out of the realm of possibility. If the sequel wants to go even bigger with its challenges, then players should go head-to-head with the teachers who grant the power of these weapon upgrades.
Although theNail Arts are optional combat upgrades, they can provide some fun diversity to fights. Since acquiring Nail Arts isn’t fundamentally important to completing the game’s overall story, it only makes sense thatSilksongturns it into an extra challenge. It would be a fun way for the most dedicated players to make Hornet as powerful as possible while also proving that they put in the work to be rewarded with these abilities. Hornet’s use of the Needle appears to be a more sophisticated form of hack and slash combat compared to the Nail, and the road to getting the upgrades should truly enhance a player’s mastery of the weapon.
InHollow Knight, players gain Nail Arts by requesting tutelage from two Nailmasaters, while paying the third 800 Geo.
Expectations For Silksong
Thelong development timeline forSilksonghas made expectations higher than ever at this point, and many who are looking forward to the sequel will want even more than whatHollow Knightoffered.Hollow Knighthas risen through the ranks as one of the best Metroidvania titles in gaming, which has created an insanely high bar forSilksongto reach. There aren’t just hopes thatSilksongwill meet this bar, many want the successor to exceed it altogether, and that’s going to be tough.
However, Team Cherry’s diligent and thoughtful development is a promising omen forSilksong. There are plenty ofways forSilksongto outdoHollow Knight, and a harder approach to upgrading Hornet’s Needle weapon could be great proof of just how much time and effort the studio put into improving the sequel since the release of its predecessor. With the scope ofSilksongbeing larger thanHollow Knight, it only makes sense for the established features to be evolved as well.
