We're now thoroughly in the afterglow of Silksong—after years of build-up, skongsanity, conspiracy theories, and ill-advised daily news programs, Team Cherry's long-anticipated "sequel" to Hollow Knight landed and was… well, just a very good game. And more to the point, one that stood on its own eight legs. Part sequel, part self-contained romp through a whole new kingdom.
Which was not only on purpose, says Team Cherry, but a tactic the developer will be carrying on into the future. If they ever made a new Hollow Knight game, that is. That's per an interview contained in a paperback guide for the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (thanks, GamesRadar+).
Co-director Ari Gibson told ACMI that Silksong was intended to "stand alongside Hollow Knight," and that the two games "really complement each other".
However, Gibson also notes that "I don't think you'd feel like you lost anything, travelling back to the original game after playing Silksong. And if there were ever others, we would hope that they all follow that same pattern—that the series is all games that just exist alongside one another."
Keep in mind that this interview seemingly dates before Silksong's release (earlier on, the developers speak on their hopes for its launch), but it's interesting to hear the word "ever" there. Silksong took six years from its announcement—likely more from the start of development—to finally skitter out into the world. And if I'd just spent six years doing something, I'd maybe want to look at something else, too.
It's also not surprising to hear that Gibson would want to keep the games self-contained. Sequels do not seem to be a part of Cherry's style—I mean, heck, even Silksong was initially meant to be a DLC to Hollow Knight, and we all knew how that turned out.
Honestly, while I might be breaking kayfabe here as someone who was arm-deep in the Silksong conspiracy board? I'm kinda interested in seeing what else Cherry's got up its sleeve. I like a bug as much as the next guy, but when I've got a favourite band, I don't want them to just keep playing the hits, y'know?
Either way, if the studio's relaxed, exploratory development pace continues? We'll probably be talking about what exactly that is in 2032 or something. I look forward to dusting off my red string and corkboard anew.
