Hollow Knight: Silksong Should Tear Down The Barrier to One Feature

Summary

Team Cherry’sHollow Knight: Silksongpromises many things that fans should look forward to.The new kingdom of Pharloomis planned to be much bigger than the previous game’s locations, meaning there will be a lot of new and possibly returning content to discover and enjoy. Large areas mean the sequel title will need a feature from to the originalHollow Knight, but it should handle that element differently.

Hollow Knight: Silksongwill focus on Hornet, a returning character from the previous game, and her story throughout Pharloom. The new kingdom promises to match or even surpass the world of Hallownest in scale, meaning players will need something to help them navigate their way around.Hollow Knighthad a map that would aid in pointing out where one is, but how it was handled could be seen as obnoxious. Players of the previous game had to locate the NPC who sold the different maps of each area, requiring them to devote an unnecessary amount of money to a necessity. Team Cherry should strongly consider not reusing the same method forSilksong’s navigational tool as it could lead to similar issues to the previous game.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Tag Page Cover Art

Why Silksong Should Deviate From How the Previous Game Handled Its Maps

The predecessor toSilksongmay have had interesting environments to traverse, but players could often get lost due to how difficult they were to navigate. Games with large areas require proper maps to ensure that people avoid wasting time and getting where they need to be whenever they please. Locking such an important tool behind a paywall feels counterproductive to a title that encourages exploration.Silksongshouldn’t copy the handling ofobtaining every map in the originalHollow Knightfor a few reasons:

IfSilksongis going to hit the ground runningupon release, it needs to make sure its world is awe-inspiring while easy for players to explore. The sequel must consider removing the need to search for and purchase an important navigational tool and instead make it something players can obtain naturally. Such a change opens up possibilities for better world design.

How Silksong’s Map Feature Can Differ From Hollow Knight’s

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s possible sizecould benefit from having a single map that contains all the features the previous title required players to hunt for. A single navigational tool is better than one broken up into different, hidden pieces as it makes larger areas feel less tedious to traverse. If the developers still feel it needs to be purchased, then its price should not be high. An item essential for exploration should not require the player to grind a large amount of currency to obtain. It’s also beneficial for the game to introduce its map naturally instead of having players find it through sheer coincidence or stubborn searching.

WhileSilksongis still stewing in silence, the developers can continue to work on modifying or improving the game’s important features.Hollow Knight’s maps gave players more to do, but it felt unnecessarily tedious. Team Cherry has the opportunity to change how mapping works in the sequel, updating it in ways that make exploration easier for both new and returning players.