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Dive into the captivating world of Hollow Knight before Silksong's long-awaited arrival. Playing the first game can enrich your experience by familiarizing you with the Hollow Knight style of combat, characters, storytelling, and world design.
Inspired by titles like Metroid, Dark Souls, and Mega Man, the game has made quite the impression with its interesting blend of Metroidvania exploration, gorgeous art style, stunning atmosphere, and challenging yet rewarding gameplay.
Featuring an interconnected-level design, the game utilizes environmental storytelling to tell the tale of its world and those who inhabit it. You take control of the Knight as you explore the gorgeous hand-drawn 2D environments, face difficult enemies and bosses, meet interesting NPCs, and piece together the lore.
Hollow Knight before Silksong: Why you should play the game
1) The beautiful world of Hollow Knight
Elements of world design are expected to carry over to Silksong. Hollow Knight features one of the best-designed worlds in indie gaming. Each area features its own set of NPCs, enemy types, and mechanics brought to life by the beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds. The levels are extremely secretive, and the game encourages exploration. Exploration leads to various upgrades that can help overcome difficult challenges.
Each area has its own unique theme and mechanics to explore. Navigating between chainsaws in White Palace or jumping on conveyor belts in the industrial Crystal Peak add to the variety and never makes exploration monotonous. Enjoying Hollow Knight before Silksong is recommended, as both games will take place in entirely different regions; hence, you might miss out on this beautiful world if you skip the first title.
2) 2D Souls-like experience
Playing Hollow Knight before Silksong can prepare you for the steep learning curve in these titles. While primarily a Metroidvania, Hollow Knight borrows elements from popular souls-like games. It features combat that requires recognizing enemy patterns, patience, and perseverance, similar to the souls-like titles.
Death is common in this game, and you lose your collected currency every time you die. Benches act as checkpoints where you can swap your build and update your map. This blend of Souls-like difficulty elements with Metroidvania exploration creates an engaging experience.
3) Deep and engaging lore
The lore isn’t spoon-fed but scattered throughout the world in fragments. It can be found in environmental details, cryptic messages, and item descriptions.
Without delving into major spoilers, you play as the Knight in a kingdom named Hallownest, which is plagued by a mysterious infection that changes inhabitants into monsters. As you explore, you discover remnants of a once-great civilization. Storytelling is ambiguous, with multiple endings that result in various interpretations.
You should play Hollow Knight before Silksong because it features Hornet as its main character. Understanding her character from the first title will provide a deeper context for her motivations and goals in her adventures in the sequel.
4) Challenging combat
Your primary weapon is a sword that performs basic slash attacks. These attacks can be improved through upgrades and unlockable nail art. Additionally, there is a charm and spell system to enhance gameplay by granting new abilities and power-ups.
Each enemy in Hollow Knight possesses unique attack and movement patterns. Recognizing these cues is important as you go deeper into the game. Dodging telegraphed attacks on the bosses and exploiting invincibility frames create attack opportunities.
Hollow Knight features some of the hardest bosses in games. The title rewards observation and perseverance, encouraging players to study enemy behavior. Mastering Hollow Knight before Silksong can be useful as the next game could utilize pre-existing enemy concepts and overall combat mechanics.
5) Community mods
Hollow Knight has developed a dedicated player base and mod community. As they wait for the release of Silksong, these dedicated fans have continued to support and add more content to the game.
Randomizer mods completely overhaul the experience by shuffling items and enemy placement. Content mods like The Pale Court add brand-new bosses and areas.
There are also multiplayer mods for the game that allow you to battle other players or seek help in combating a difficult boss. Overall, Hollow Knight’s mods breathe new life into the game, offering fresh new experiences for everyone.
As discussed earlier, playing Hollow Knight before Silksong can significantly enhance your experience by providing the necessary knowledge of lore, game mechanics, and world design. For more similar games, check out our article on games like Hollow Knight.
