Should You Play Hollow Knight Before Silksong?

Hollow Knight Silksong finally has a release date, and to fill in time leading up to its launch in early September, many players are wondering whether they should return to Hollow Knight before diving into the sequel. After all, Silksong is a sequel to Hollow Knight and features Hornet as its protagonist, who plays a major part in the story of the original game.

All Hollow Knight Achievements & Trophies

Be prepared to spend a lot of time in Hallownest across multiple playthroughs to get all 63 achievements in Hollow Knight.

Posts

By Erik Petrovich

But there are some things to consider before returning to Hollow Knight before Silksong releases. This guide offers some things to think about before committing to a new playthrough of Hollow Knight before Silksong – especially considering the short amount of time until Silksong launches on September 4.

Why You Should Play Hollow Knight Before Silksong

Refresh Your Lore & Gameplay Knowledge, Tie Up Loose Ends

If you never played Hollow Knight and want to try Silksong, thanks to all the hype, it's not a bad idea to play Hollow Knight first to see if you like it. Silksong will be different, but as a sequel, if you don't like the original, you may not like Silksong.

For veteran Hollow Knight fans, a good reason to go back to Hollow Knight before Silksong is to tie up any loose ends, and try to get achievements you missed in your previous playthroughs.If you beat the game on one save, you should be able to load into the last bench you rested at before the final boss fight. This allows players to see multiple endings, though some endings have strict requirements you may have to backtrack to fulfill.

If you replay Hollow Knight before Silksong comes out, you will be able to refamiliarize yourself with the lore of Hallownest and the greater Hollow Knight world – which may be referenced in Silksong's kingdom of Pharloom. You'll also get a chance to refamiliarize yourself with Team Cherry's game feel.

Why You Should Wait For Silksong

Silksong Might Not Feel as Fresh if You Play Too Much Hollow Knight

Replay Hollow Knight Before Silksong Hornet City of Tears Statue

Though it seems to make perfect sense to replay Hollow Knight before Silksong launches in early September, there is one factor to take into consideration: repetitiveness. If you already beat Hollow Knight in the past, replay it exclusively until September 4, then dive headfirst into Silksong, you might start to feel some burnout, which would be a shame so soon after the release of the most highly anticipated indie game of all time.

Now, this is a hypothetical scenario, but the point is this: if you log a hundred hours replaying Hollow Knight before Silksong, the impact of Team Cherry's long-awaited sequel might not hit as hard as if you had experienced it completely fresh.

Ultimately, It's Up To You

Just Don't Go For 112% Unless You're Quick & Confident

Replay Hollow Knight Before Silksong Hornet The Knight

At the end of the day, the decision on whether you should replay Hollow Knight before Silksong is up to you.

If you want to re-experience the original game's elaborate world, refamiliarize yourself with its combat mechanics and platforming feel, and complete things you missed in previous playthroughs, you have plenty of time to get back into it. But be careful not to play it too much if you want to preserve the magic of Silksong's release.

A good middle ground between playing too much Hollow Knight and avoiding it entirely is to play until you fight Hornet for the first time, then decide if you want to continue. Hornet can be encountered in the top-left of the Greenpath area, and she shows up again several times through the Knight's adventure through Hallownest.

If you just want to see our new protagonist in action, getting to her location in Greenpath takes about an hour from the start of the game, which is more than enough time to figure out if you want to stick with the playthrough or abandon it and wait for Silksong instead.

If you do decide to keep going, expect to see Hornet again in the City of Tears, Kingdom's Edge, and other zones throughout the game. She even appears in one of the game's endings, if you can get that far before September 4.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image