(Pretty much) everything we know about Silksong before launch Script

Introduction

Umm… I didn’t think we’d get this far. Silksong is finally being released on September 4th, 2025. And Team Cherry decided to announce this information with a brand new trailer showcasing just how far the game has come since that first trailer released back in February 1963.

But that’s not all. Team Cherry was also interviewed by Jason Schreier where we learned what the process of developing Silksong was like. Apparently Silksong took so long because Team Cherry was just having so much fun making the game. In other words, Silksong was literally stuck in development heaven. In fact, Team Cherry enjoyed working on Silksong so much, they even plan to support the game into the future with more DLC as well. So if you were worried we’d have nothing else to wait for after September 4th, you can put your mind at ease.

But that’s not all. At the same time the trailer dropped, Silksong was also playable at Gamescom 2025. What is Gamescom, you ask? I dunno, kinda feels like it’s just E3 again, except it’s in Germany and Geoff Keighley is there. The Gamescom 2025 demo featured the same areas from the E3 2019 demo but with a number of tweaks and changes. Quite a few members of the Hollow Knight community even had the chance to try the game out. One of these creators, BlueSR, a Hollow Knight speedrunner, was even able to play the demo enough to get really comfortable with the controls. So it was interesting to hear his breakdown of how Silksong feels to play.

After all, Hornet is a much more complex character than the Knight. She can sprint, dash attack, dive attack, air dash, wall run, ledge grab, sidestep, harpoon dive, backflip, down dash, heal midair, and she even has a dedicated aura farming button that can consume silk for a little extra flair. She can even automatically run over short ledges. What can’t this girl do!? 

But that’s not all. Team Cherry has also updated Steam with new screenshots, trading cards and Steam badges that hint even more at just what is waiting for us in Silksong. 

But that’s not all. PlayStation uploaded a different version of the release trailer with three unique shots as well.

But that’s not all. The United Arab Emirates ban on crude oil originating from the Sudan is finally starting to impact the global crude oil trade market. So we’ve got a lot to talk about today.

This analysis is going to be diving into a lot of different aspects of Silksong, from the structure of the early part of the game, to several of the game’s bosses, to what I think is the overall story for the game. This is the last chance I get to discuss all this stuff before the game comes out, so I’m just gonna talk about pretty much everything we know regarding Silksong’s characters, world and gameplay. I’m also going to be spoiling some late game parts of Hollow Knight too, so if you don’t want to get spoiled for things, you might want to skip out on this one. 

Location comparisons

In my previous analysis videos I went shot by shot through each trailer, describing them in detail. But since a lot of the shots in this new trailer are similar to shots we’ve already seen in old trailers, I want to do things a little different this time.

Let’s start by comparing the old trailer shots from 2019 and 2022 to these new 2025 shots. It’s pretty clear to see that Silksong has changed a bit over the last 6 years. Everything looks more vibrant. Areas are darker in general, and colors are more saturated. The most obvious difference is in Hornet’s cloak, which is a more striking red color in this new trailer. But it’s not just Hornet. Deep Docks looks more red. Far Fields look more green. The Steps look more brown. Greymoor, ironically, looks more green. The Lace 2 arena looks more blue.

It seems like almost every region has seen tweaks to its color space. Areas like Bellhart and Deep Docks also look much more dilapidated. Structures look more worn down and grimey, which seems to lean in more to the idea of Pharloom being a kingdom in crisis. I’m a big fan of these changes, and I love the way the new trailer looks. It feels a bit more moody.

Map of Pharloom

But if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering where these areas are in relation to one another. This is something I’ve speculated about for years, and this trailer has finally given us a shot of Pharloom’s map. And this map shows off so much stuff it’s kind of insane. Like I said, we really are spoiling a good chunk of Silksong’s early game, and this map is the main culprit of that. That said, I think Team Cherry tried their best to mitigate the spoilers. I’m pretty sure Team Cherry manually placed these silver and yellow pins to try and cover up certain points of interest. But even with that, there’s still a lot of information to be gleaned from this. So let’s use this map as a vehicle to talk about the various regions of Pharloom one last time before the game releases.

Moss Grotto

The starting area, shown off extensively in the demos, is Moss Grotto, which is partly cut off in this map. That said, the layout looks nearly identical to how it looked in the demo. We can see a bench pin on the map, which corresponds to this bench found in the Ruined Chapel.

On the edge of the Moss Grotto is Bone Bottom, Silksong’s equivalent of Hollow Knight’s Dirtmouth. There are two pins here, one for a bench, and another pin with a rosary on it, likely a shop. There’s probably another pin here too, but Team Cherry has covered it up with a map marker.

Above Bone Bottom is a giant chasm, the same one Hornet fell from during the game’s opening cutscene. We’ll examine that a little later. Another point of interest is this strange structure, which looks identical to structures found in two other regions of the map: Shellwood and Deep Docks. I believe these structures are where Hornet can find the Weavers, who each give Hornet a unique silk skill. But I’m going to save that discussion until later in the video. All I’ll say for now is I would not want to shove one of those up my ass.

The Marrow

To the right of the Moss Grotto is The Marrow, which appears to be the final form of the Forest of Bones, an area planned for the original Hollow Knight. This section of Pharloom also features a repeating landmark, these bell shrines. One of these shrines can be seen at the end of the demos, and another one briefly appears in the new trailer. Three other shrines can be seen in Deep Docks, Shellwood and Greymoor. What exactly are these bells for, you ask? Lorewise, I really don’t have any good theories, but gameplay wise, it’s probably a progression gate. I’m guessing you’ll have to ring some or all of these bells to access the final boss.

Not far from the bell is a silver ring, which appears to be covering up a different pin. I’m pretty sure this is Team Cherry trying to hide what’s really under here. But we actually know what this is. Because Deep Docks has the exact same silver ring covering an identical pin. And we know from the Gamescom demo that this room is a fast travel station, given that it looks identical to the one shown off in the 2022 Xbox trailer. We also know what the symbol for the fast travel locations looks like, and it appears to be an exact match for what’s hidden under this silver ring. So nice try, Team Cherry. I just totally owned you. There are a total of five fast travel pins on this map, all covered by these silver rings, and I’m not going to bother pointing them out. You can check the map out yourself if you really want to know where they all are.

Speaking of pins, The Marrow is also where Hornet will meet Sharka, Silksong’s version of Cornifer. Shakra belongs to a tribe that resides at the edge of Pharloom, and she is both a warrior and cartographer. Her tribe is also, possibly related to Elder Hu, from Hollow Knight. Hornet can collect maps from her, and there are even sprites of Hornet wearing rings similar to Shakra. Whether she gets them from Shakra herself or her tribe, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Hornet might also meet Sherma here, a small bug on their own pilgrimage to the Citadel. He appears to pop up in various parts of Pharloom, and it seems like he’s going to need Hornet’s help along the way.

Deep Docks

After The Marrow is Deep Docks, parts of which we’ve seen in demo footage. The bugs in the Deep Docks work tirelessly to fill these metal containers with materials such as Smokerock and Sweetsmelt. These materials are likely used in the creation of all the bells scattered all across Pharloom. From a lore tablet in the region, we can see that their shipments are measured using music notation, and that their shipments are scheduled to the ringing of a bell.

Judging from the map in the trailer, less than half of the Deep Docks have been revealed in the demos. There’s an icon hidden underneath a silver ring here, but it’s not a fast travel location. In the demos, this location is the spot for a massive bench with bells hanging over it. But this doesn’t look like a regular bench pin to me. This unique type of bench was actually mentioned in the interview Team Cherry had with Edge Magazine back in 2020. They were described as Holy Benches, and they differed from regular benches in that they featured a workbench where Hornet could string up rosaries.

Rosary Strings are items in Silksong that can be broken to gain Rosaries, the game’s currency. The reason you might want to convert your rosaries into a Rosary String is because they aren’t dropped upon death like Rosaries are. Similar to Hollow Knight, Silksong has a corpse run mechanic where your currency is dropped upon death, and you only get one chance to get back to the place where you died and recover that currency. This mechanic was very punishing in the early game of Hollow Knight, and Holy Benches seem like a method of easing that pain for players in Silksong. And it would make sense that these special benches get their own unique pins on the map.

A shop pin sits in the middle of Deep Docks, which we know is Forge Daughter’s shop. We see her shop in the latest trailer. And she sells Hornet tools in exchange for both rosaries and some kind of resource. 

Far Fields

To the right of Deep Docks is Far Fields, a region filled with updraft currents and long stretches of open space filled with tall grass. A new town called Pilgrim’s Rest can be seen in this region. In the Bloomberg interview, Team Cherry mentioned that part of what made Silksong more complex to work on than Hollow Knight was the inclusion of multiple towns. The only proper town to speak of in Hollow Knight is Dirtmouth. But in Silksong we know of Bone Bottom, Bellhart, this enclave of pilgrims in the Citadel, and now Pilgrim’s Rest. 

Silksong is also probably going to feature a village created by a Kickstarter backer. This was the single biggest backer tier and only one person snagged it back in 2014. In an old development map of Hallownest, the village was referred to as Lion Village. Now I figured this was in reference to antlions, bugs that hide in pits and catch unsuspecting prey, but I asked Team Cherry to tell us more about this lion village, to which they said that it was “full of lions”. Not antlions, lions. And since we all know Team Cherry would never tweet something that could mislead fans in any way, shape or form, I am 100% expecting real lions in Silksong. Now, I would have preferred wolves, but obviously, I’ll take what I can get.

That brings the total to 5 towns. That’s like 5 or 6 times the number of towns that were in Hollow Knight. And it’s not just there being more towns, it’s the fact that Silksong is going to feature an entire quest system. We’ve seen very little of how this quest system is going to work. There are bulletin boards Hornet can check in the various towns that feature missions she can elect to complete. They fall into four categories. Gather quests involve finding objects in the world. Wayfarer quests seem to involve finding secret locations. And Hunt and Grand Hunt quests likely involve fighting specific enemies or minibosses.

It seems like these quests can even involve other characters. We’ve seen a few clips of Hornet fighting alongside Garmond and Zaza, who are basically like Don Quixote if the windmills he fought were actually evil. But we haven’t seen any other NPCs help Hornet on her quest, and we just know so little about how quests will work overall. It’s probably the biggest mystery surrounding Silksong’s gameplay at the moment.

Getting back to the map of the Far Fields, it appears the giant golem boss we’ve seen since all the way back in 2019 will be stationed in the lower part of the map. The map actually continues off to the right, but the trailer doesn’t show us what’s over there.

Greymoor

At the top of Far Fields is a deep chasm that goes up into Greymoor. Back in 2019, Team Cherry said Greymoor was the largest area they had ever designed. Unfortunately the region isn’t entirely visible on the map in this shot, so we can’t tell if Team Cherry is lying to us or not yet. They also explained that Greymoor is infested with Crawbugs and Dustroaches, and that the former tenders of the land have become haunted.

The most noteworthy feature of Greymoor are these massive twin towers. It appears these towers store massive stocks of silk. It’s said that the bugs of Pharloom engage in the cult-like behavior of transporting silk to the Citadel, so it seems the bugs of Greymoor are in the business of storing silk, possibly so it can be taken up by the pilgrims to gain favor with the Citadel Caste.

Team Cherry has also stated that Hornet can scale a soaring warlord’s tower at some point during the game, which might be referring to one of these towers. So it’s possible that Greymoor is suffering under the influence of some powerful bug who has taken advantage of Pharloom’s current state to gain power in the area.

In the middle of Greymoor is an area called Halfway Home. We’ve never had an official confirmation on what the Halfway Home looks like, but I’m fairly certain it’s this area. It looks like a Greymoor interior, and it gives off a more friendly vibe. If I’m right, then the Halfway Home is also the location of the recently revealed NPC character, Nuu.

Nuu is some kind of weird snail-like creature. Team Cherry had originally planned for snails to appear in Hollow Knight, and they would have been awesome. But unfortunately, they were ultimately cut from the game. Team Cherry must have realized their mistake and are finally correcting it with Nuu. Similar to how Zote was a self insert for William Pellen, I strongly believe that Nuu is a self insert for William Pellen.

Nuu tries to kiss Hornet in the trailer and she slaps him in the face. I like this because it nicely contrasts how Hornet reacts to a character trying to kiss her versus when a character tries to kiss the Knight. It really speaks to the difference in the two protagonists’ personalities. That is to say, Hornet actually has one.

We don’t know much about Nuu, other than apparently they’ve been forced to live in the attic of this place. They seem to be writing a scroll, likely implying that they are some kind of master scholar or gifted musician. Their Steam Trading Card entry says the following:

Cut them with your blade! Cut them with your mature spirit! Cut them with your savage adult heart!

I’m not sure who the speaker and listener are supposed to be in this sentence, but I assume it’s Nuu speaking to Hornet here. The fact that Nuu calls Hornet an adult implies that they are a child. Which kinda makes the whole kissing moment a little more innocent. It’s also nice to know that Hornet’s method for correcting a child’s behavior is violence. My biggest problem with Hollow Knight is that I just didn’t find the main character relatable.

On the far right side of Greymoor is a landmark known as Craw Lake. My guess is that this area is the Hermit Crab bay from the 2019 reveal trailer. There’s some kind of large structure on top of the Craw Lake. Perhaps this structure goes down into the lake, similar to the Teacher’s Archive. This might be the location of this screenshot. Hornet is using her cloak to float by some electrifying sea anemone type creatures.

I also think this part of the map is close to the location of this new room from the release trailer. This appears to be a resting place for the fleas, a band of travelers making their way through Pharloom. They’ve previously appeared in a different region of Greymoor, and it seems they can appear in multiple locations, given that they travel around in giant carriages. Even their bench is on wheels.

The fleas in Silksong seem to act similar to the grubs in Hollow Knight. You can find fleas scattered across Pharloom, and recruit them to join the travelers. We don’t know exactly what the fleas want, but they can offer Hornet special foods and drinks, perhaps explaining the purpose of this bubbling cauldron.

Bellhart

To the left of Greymoor is Bellhart, a tall slender region filled top to bottom with bells. Bells are scattered all over the land of Pharloom, and Bellhart seems to be ground zero for this phenomenon. It seems to be situated in the center of the map, which makes me think these bells are being dumped down into Bellhart from somewhere above, likely the Citadel.

There appears to be a secret entrance to Bellhart from the Marrow below, and I’m guessing this big bell filled room right here is this room we saw during the Nintendo E3 Direct from 2019.

The reveal trailer from PlayStation might have given us a glimpse of one resident of Bellhart, this centipede/millipede-type bug that is wrapped all around the room. We don’t know who this character is or what they do, but I absolutely love their design. 

Hunter’s March

Down and to the right of Bellhart is a wide but somewhat narrow region known as Hunter’s March. I suspect this section of the map is where the Hunter Ant enemies reside. So why do I think the Hunter Ants live in Hunter’s March? Well, we can see some kind of structure here in this room. And this structure seems to be a massive statue of Hunter Queen Carmelita, the ruler of the Hunter Ants. I get the vibe Carmelita is some huge superstar, and the Hunter Ants are her ferocious stans. This area underneath the statue is probably the entrance to the ant colony’s homebase, and I can’t wait to see Hornet’s reaction to all of this.

I also think the Hunter’s March was once the location where Hornet would meet The Huntress. This character is described as an old predator awaiting the birth of her children. She is also apparently very knowledgeable of Pharloom’s history and she isn’t a big fan of the Citadel Caste that controls things.

We just recently got a new clip of a creature that looks awfully similar to the Huntress. Some people think this is a different member of the same species, but I think Team Cherry redesigned the Huntress to make her look more like an actual predator. In the original clip, she’s awkwardly sitting on the eggs of her children in a very non-threatening way. She even has her back turned to the doorway. What kind of predator would ever do that? In the new clip, she rests on this really cool makeshift spider-web-like structure. Her brood might be these small webbed eggs scattered across the ground.

But I can’t tell where this room is located. It might be somewhere in Greymoor or Shellwood, but I’m just not sure.

There are two silver rings on the map here, but neither one of them has anything underneath them. I assume the far right one is related to the ant colony homebase. So maybe the one on the left is where the Huntress is.

Shellwood

To the left of Bellhart is an area we now know is called Shellwood. This area appears to be a large swamp. A big question surrounding this area is the nature of these strange stalactites sticking out of the ceiling. But I think the name of this region might just answer my question. Shellwood is the material Zote’s sword, Life Ender, is made from. It appears to be analogous to wood in the world of Hollow Knight. So I’m guessing these stalactites were originally a source of shellwood, and their current state is meant to evoke images of deforestation.

This is probably all a result of the Citadel, in a similar way to how Deep Docks is forced to work hard sending material up to the Citadel, and how the farmers of Greymoor have let their towers become dilapidated.

But that isn’t the only plantlife found in Shellwood. These white flowers also seem to reside in this part of the map. And we can see white petals raining down from the sky in several shots in Shellwood.

Shellwood also appears to be home to some old stone building, but I’m not sure where on the map this place is. It looks rad as hell though.

Mways & The Steps

To the left of Shellwood are two areas which we can’t quite identify. We can see the last few characters of the bottom area’s name, which appear to read “Mways”. But the top area has no name.

My best guess for the Mways is that they are this clover area, which we’ve seen in various clips and screenshots. But I don’t think this guess is accurate. I have a feeling this area is further left of the Moss Grotto, not directly above it. 

Despite only seeing a sliver of it, I think I do know the identity of this top area. I believe this is The Steps, a compound on the edge of Pharloom covered in dust from the strong winds that blow near the top of the world. I think The Steps serve two main functions in Pharloom.

First, it’s a prison for characters like Grindle, a bug sentenced to life in prison for what he calls “a little light thievery”. Hornet can break Grindle out of prison and I’ll be curious to see if there are any consequences to this action. Are items going to suddenly disappear from various shops in Pharloom? Will Grindle rob Hornet at some point?

One thing I loved about Hollow Knight were the unexpected moments that caught you off guard. I think we all remember that moment when we first stepped out into the City of Tears the first time as the vocals kicked in and the sheer beauty and scope of Hollow Knight’s world opened up before our very eyes. It truly was a magical moment. But it’s not the moment that made me fall in love with Hollow Knight. No, that moment came when I realized that Millibelle had run off with all of my geo. Those moments when the game plays with your expectations and subverts them in silly ways is what I might be looking forward to most in Silksong. I don’t know what Team Cherry plans to do with Grindle or any of these other little freaks, but I seriously can’t wait to find out.

The second purpose The Steps serve is to judge the pilgrims looking to enter the Citadel. The Steps appears to be home to the Last Judge, an intimidating figure who I think passes judgement on any who would seek to reach the top of Pharloom. 

I think the Last Judge will be a mandatory boss fight, required to defeat before Hornet can enter the Citadel. In the release trailer, there is a cutscene of Hornet opening a massive door. This cutscene likely plays when Hornet first reaches the Citadel. And in the trailer, it plays right after a clip of Hornet fighting the Last Judge. Additionally, this boss has been given the spotlight multiple times, so he seems pretty important.

So if the Last Judge is the final boss before the Citadel, it would make sense for him to be located close to where Hornet first fell, since the Citadel is likely not much higher up than the Wastes she was carried through.

And that’s it for the map. Nothing about its overall structure is that surprising, but my map from 2022 did get a few things wrong, like thinking the Marrow and the Bone Forest were two separate areas and thinking Shellwood was above The Steps. So I wasn’t totally accurate. If you know of any fanmaps that were more accurate than mine, leave a comment! I’d love to know if any better map makers are out there walking among us.

Unmapped Areas

But what about the areas we know of that weren’t on the map?  The most mysterious area to me is shown in this clip from the newest trailer. I talked in the past about this area being covered in some kind of spores, but I don’t think that’s quite the case anymore. While I still think these things are based on spores visually, they function more like snowflakes. It wouldn’t be the first time Team Cherry used something that wasn’t snow to evoke the idea of snow. Hornet’s masks in this shot are tinted blue, with ice particles appearing on them, indicating that Hornet will take damage in this room without some kind of protection.

Another mysterious area is the Coral Gorge. All we can tell is that the area is very tall. I’m guessing both of these areas are further to the right on the map. It doesn’t make sense for them to be below the lava found in The Marrow, Deep Docks or the Far Fields. And it doesn’t make sense for them to be above the Citadel since it’s at the top of the world.

Citadel

In the Edge Magazine interview, Team Cherry said that getting to the Citadel was only part of Hornet’s journey. Once she gets there, the next task is to get to the top of the Citadel. So it seems like the map will probably continue going up even higher. The Citadel itself will probably have a few different subareas to it, such as Cogworks, the clocktower/music box themed level that looks like it was pulled out of Castlevania III. Out of any level shown off in Silksong, this is the one I am looking forward to the most. I love the mechanical aesthetic and the platforming here looks amazing. There also seems to be some university or school where Hornet will fight a trio of scholars. There’s a furnace area, likely where all the bells are being manufactured. There’s some kind of grand stage or auditorium. And there’s like a big garbage disposal area for grinding up junk and other worthless trash. As far as I can tell, all of these areas are somewhere in the Citadel.

And who knows, there might even be a few more areas, both inside and outside the Citadel, we haven’t seen at all yet. The release trailer for Hollow Knight showed off every area in the game minus the Abyss, but Hollow Knight also had to prove itself a bit more than Silksong. Silksong is going to sell millions of copies no problem, so the trailers can be a little more reserved. Team Cherry also talked about their desire to keep spoilers for Silksong to a minimum, which is part of why they decided not to give regular updates on the game’s development.

That said, I don’t want to get my hopes up that Silksong is 10 times bigger than Hollow Knight. I just hope that the areas we do get are polished and well designed with lots of interesting details and an atmosphere that pulls me in just like the first game did. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this game, and as someone who's been desperately waiting for it since day one, I’m trying my best to keep my expectations in check.

Enemies

Since I mentioned the Hollow Knight trailer, I want to make a couple more comparisons to it in regards to enemy and boss counts. Hollow Knight’s trailer boasted over 140 enemies and 30 bosses. Silksong, on the other hand, claims to have over 200 enemies and 40 bosses. Now in Hollow Knight, Team Cherry counted bosses in with enemies, which does make these numbers a little misrepresentative, but we can assume that Silksong is doing the same thing. But something Team Cherry has talked about with Silksong is that they wanted the enemies to be more complex in order to keep up with Hornet’s quick speed and expanded moveset. So your average enemy in Silksong has more moves and animations than Hollow Knight, making the 60 additional enemies even more impressive.

From the various trailers, screenshots and demos over the years, we’ve already seen almost 100 different enemies. One of the newest ones revealed is this four armed flying member of the Citadel Caste, wielding what appears to be a giant music bow. This appears to be a late game enemy, and he just looks amazing. This mantis duo from the release trailer also look like a fun fight. There’s also these massive moss covered bugs. They remind me of Booflies from Hollow Knight if they were actually threatening. This chain wielder from Greymoor also looks really cool. There’s so much creativity in enemy design in this game.

I love that the bugs in Deep Docks wear bells on their heads and fight using cymbals. I love the mosquito-like enemies in Greymoor that resemble ravens on a misty moor. I love these weirdos in Shellwood and their makeshift tools made from sticks. This guy with the giant scissors is hilarious, I just hope he doesn’t run with them. The ants look badass, wearing the shells of bugs they’ve slain in combat. This bug that looks like coral is incredibly cute. I hate this asshole. But I’m a big fan of this moss-covered-deer-thing. Even the ugly roaches are cute.

A lot of the enemies are on the hollow knight wiki if you want to look at that them. And that’s hollowknight.wiki. Don’t go to the Fandom wiki. In fact, if you have any interest in using or contributing to a wiki for Silksong, please make sure to use the non-Fandom wiki.

Bosses

Let’s talk bosses. I love the boss battles in Hollow Knight so much, and the bosses are easily one of the things I’m most excited for in Silksong. Bosses are like the final words of a sentence, it’s crucial that they are handled goodly.

From my count, 21 bosses have already been shown off. And I’m now going to talk about them in alphabetical order. Please note that some of these bosses don’t have official names yet so I have to use fake names for them. But I’m not gonna tell you which ones have fake names and which ones have real names. You’ll have to figure that one out for yourself, if you think you can. 

Ass Jim

First up is Ass Jim. One thing I loved about Hollow Knight was that, despite its dark atmosphere and somber story, it wasn’t afraid to have a boss that throws poop at you. And Silksong continues that tradition well with a boss that throws the thing that poop comes from at you. The Ass Jim fight doesn’t seem that complicated, but the idea of a fat butcher boss is super cool, and I’m excited to learn the lore of this guy.

Bell Beast

The Bell Beast is Silksong’s travel system, similar to The Last Stag in Hollow Knight. But unlike The Last Stag, Hornet actually has to fight and subdue the Bell Beast first. This is bound to be one of the earlier fights in the game, and I think it will be interesting to compare it to Hollow Knight’s Massive Moss Charger. They seem like they have similar profiles, so a comparison seems apt. It will be a pretty low bar to surpass Massive Moss Charger in terms of complexity, so let’s see if the Bell Beast can do it!

Bell Shrine Spider

The Bell Shrine Spider looks like a pretty wicked fight. Their design is kinda dorky, but they make up for it a little by dual wielding needles. I’m a huge fan of this attack where they pull up the ground using silk hanging from the ceiling. It’s nice to see Hornet face off against another spider too, and there’s no doubt this guy is important to the greater lore of Silksong.

Cogworks Gay Lovers

The Cogworks Gay Lovers’ attacks evoke the coordination displayed by the Mantis Lords in Hollow Knight. But this time, they seem even more mechanical, as if they are a part of the Cogworks machinery surrounding them. In fact, these two might actually be mechanical beings, given the particles that come off them when they get hit. Also, this frame of them embracing has led some people to theorize that they are gay lovers. Gay characters are not unheard of in Hollow Knight, so it’s certainly possible, but if they are robots, can they really love? If they’re gay, were they programmed that way? But more importantly than all of that, should they really be engaging in displays of affection while at work?

Coral King

We saw the Coral King once in Silksong’s first trailer, and have only seen one screenshot of him since. Looks like he has the power to command coral. Wow. Better not make him mad. His henchmen do look badass, I’ll admit. Otherwise, I don’t have much to say about this guy. I do wanna know how he got this scar.

Drill Heads

We’ve seen the Drill Heads in two separate trailers using the same attack. I’m not sure if these guys are going to be all that complex, but given that they retreat into the walls, they’re going to force Hornet to be on the defensive, so this fight will probably feel a bit different than the others. Some people complain about the Nightmare King Grimm fight because Grimm disappears for parts of it, forcing the player to wait. But personally, I think these types of bosses can add diversity to the boss roster, so I’m not against the idea of bosses leaving the room like this. It just needs to be handled in a way that doesn’t make the boss too annoying to fight.

Frog Man

Frog Man is probably the best character Team Cherry has ever created. He looks so good, it’s insane. He’s like a giant frog bug. Although I guess he doesn’t have a frog tongue because he tries to suck Hornet into his mouth. All I know is the first time I’m fighting him, I am jumping straight into that perfectly shaped maw.

Golem

The golem is the boss that stuck out to me the most when the first trailer dropped in 2019. The scale of it in terms of size on screen is just completely unmatched by anything in Hollow Knight. It really felt like Team Cherry was upping the ante with their new Hollow Knight game, and this guy was a big part of why. I’m curious to see what his actual moveset will be. Will he be able to just grab Hornet and throw her around? Or does he just smash platforms. Either way, this boss looks amazing, and I can’t wait to fight him.

Hunter Queen Carmelita

Hunter Queen Carmelita is another iconic Silksong boss. Her battle arena is reminiscent of Grimm’s tent or the Colosseum of Fools but even more grand in scale. What drives me crazy is that we haven’t seen her or her arena since 2019. I can only imagine this place has received an overhaul since then. This is probably the boss I’m most excited to fight, if I’m being honest. But I really could say that about 10 different bosses on this list, so maybe that doesn’t mean much.

Lace 1

The Lace 1 fight is interesting because I’ve already played it. It was a tough fight for me because I wasn’t used to Hornet’s controls at all, but after a few fights. I was able to beat her. The fight was very well designed and it felt like an exhilarating dance between two passionate warriors. I’m excited to try the fight out again, this time from the comfort of my own home instead of the scary, confusing land of Melbourne, Australia.  

Lace 2

Similar to Hornet in Hollow Knight, Lace’s second fight will probably be one of the best fights in the game. From what little we know about Lace, her sassy personality is a great contrast to Hornet’s bluntness. And her lore is going to be crucial to understanding Silksong’s story. This fight is gonna be a good one.

Last Judge

The Last Judge fight looks really fun. Not only is he massive, but he’s also extremely fast. He also uses a big thurible on a chain as a wrecking ball and can even use it to light the ground on fire. He’s also another important lore boss. Mainly, I want to know why his mascara is running.

Leaf Lady

The Leaf Lady seems to be based off those insects that evolved to look like leaves as camouflage. And she seems to reside in some creepy looking temple, as if she’s lying in wait to claim her next victim.  I’m hoping this fight brings the same kind of horror vibes that No Eyes did in the original Hollow Knight. She can even summon little leaf minions, which are both creepy and cute at the same time. I wasn’t too fond of this boss when I first saw her, but she’s grown on me in the past 3 years since she was revealed. I can’t wait to kill her.

Moss Mother

I’m not particularly excited to fight Moss Mother. I’m not sure, but we might be related somewhere down the line, so that might be awkward. On top of that, this fight just looks too easy. It will probably only take me 4 or 5 attempts.

Phantom

This next boss fight was featured just recently as a Steam trading card. All we have is a name, a picture and a brief description. They’re honestly kind of wild.

This is Phantom. According to their Steam trading card, they are a mournful creature tasked alone to expel the Citadel's choking refuse. Their talent with a longpin is unmatched.

I think this character looks like a Deviant Art OC. But I also feel that way about Grimm. And Grimm is both an awesome character, and one of the best boss fights in Hollow Knight. So I’ll be curious to see what Phantom is like. Fighting an enemy with a long range melee weapon sounds interesting. And their lore makes them sound like some sort of Grim Reaper, visiting pilgrims rejected from the Citadel and making them disappear.

Scholarly Suite

The Scholarly Suite is interesting because it’s going to be a trio battle. Of course, the trio battle from Hollow Knight, Sisters of Battle, is a contender for the best boss fight in that entire game, so that’s a good sign. However, these enemies probably won’t have identical attacks, so we really don’t have any analogy for this fight. So I’ll be curious to see how Team Cherry handles it. This trio is said to guard some dusty vault of knowledge, so perhaps defeating them will reveal how Pharloom came to be in its current predicament, with the Citadel Caste ruling over the bugs down below.

Seth

This Seth fight looks great. I love that he throws his shield around like that American captain guy. Seth is described as an ancient guardian protecting a long forgotten secret amidst the tangled roots at the base of the Citadel. Whatever he’s protecting, it seems connected to the white flowers we’ve seen around Pharloom, given we can see white petals raining down from the sky in his arena. So perhaps whatever Seth is guarding is responsible for creating these flowers. Given how powerful a similar flower was in Hollow Knight, this would be a big deal if true.

Skull King

Skull King looks like a large version of a regular enemy. I still think the fight looks fun, but it’s probably not going to be on the same level as top tier bosses like Lace or Frog Man.

Hi, mossbag’s editor here. I know you’re not watching the video to hear my opinions, but I wanted to insert them anyway. Skull King is babygirl.

Steel Assassin Sharpe

Steel Assassin Sharpe was first revealed all the way back in 2018, before we even knew that Silksong was its own game, which means we’ve been waiting 7 years to see this guy in action. Sharpe is one of three assassins sent on a mission to kill Hornet. Given his similarity to Steal Soul Jinn, it’s likely his orders come from the Masters, a mysterious group that seem to have some connection to void. Sharpe himself seems to be made of Void, as his nose can stretch out into a long-reaching tentacle. The Masters are probably one of the single biggest mysteries in Hollow Knight, and I hope Silksong explains their nature a little bit more this time around.

Steel Assassin Unnamed

We’ve seen one of Sharpe’s two associates already, but we don’t know their name, and the sequence they appear in doesn’t really look like a boss fight. But I’m still counting it as a boss fight for now. I’m sure Hornet will have a proper fight with them at some point.

Trobbio

Rounding out the list is Trobbio. According to his Steam trading card he’s a haughty thespian convinced that only dazzling performance can raise Pharloom from the throes of death. According to Ari Gibson, he’s going to make a grand entrance onto the stage, utterly convinced of his own brilliance, and will then proceed to do a lot of stupid things. Needless to say, Trobbio will be a top tier boss fight.

Crests

The release trailer also gives us a look at another new crest, bringing the total up to 7 by my count. Crests do two main things. First of all, crests change Hornet’s moveset. Hornet’s regular needle slash will take on different forms, such as taking the shape of a claw while wearing the claw crest. Hornet’s attack out of her sprinting state also changes, such as the Hunter crest sprint attack being an uppercut move allowing Hornet to hit aerial enemies. Hornet’s dive also takes on different forms, with the claw crest making Hornet spin like a buzzsaw, and the harp crest having a more shallow angle. The newest crest actually makes Hornet phase out of reality when performing this attack. That seems kinda OP, so maybe it’s a late game crest.

The other major feature of crests is determining how many tools and skills Hornet can equip. Tools are similar to crests from Hollow Knight, but instead of costing a certain number of notches, tools come in three classes, and the crest you choose determines how many tools of each color you can have equipped at one time. For example, the Cog Crest lets Hornet equip three red tools, the most of any crest, but that comes at the cost of being unable to equip a skill.

Crests can also have other unique effects. The Arrow Crest has its own silk reserve that collects silk separately from Hornet’s main pool, although it’s unclear what the crest does with this silk.

Tools

Of the three tool types, red tools are the ones we know most about. Hornet can actively use them, while blue and yellow tools only apply passive effects. Here’s all the red tools that have been shown off over the years, 21 in all. Two of these tools, this singular spike and these twin bone blades, have never appeared outside of the menu in the game’s first trailer, so I’m not sure they’re actually in the game at this point.

Most of these tools are pretty self explanatory, a lot of them involve throwing objects at enemies to deal damage. One big difference with these red tools is that they cost shell shards to replenish. So I’m a little worried I won’t want to use them because I’ll feel like I’m wasting them. I’m the kind of person to finish an RPG with a bunch of unused items, so I might have to pay attention to that as I play. 

But not all red tools are just for throwing. This tool turns Hornet’s body into a drill, somehow. The Lifeblood Syringe gives Hornet lifeblood masks. This red object gives Hornet’s needle a flame effect, seemingly allowing her to deal fire damage to enemies. But there are also a couple of tools we have not seen in action yet. This yellow jar looks a bit like the pot we saw near the fleas, so perhaps this tool is unlocked by interacting with them. This purple syringe might be what gives Hornet her electric silk attack we saw in the sprite sheet released earlier this year. It seems this purplish pink color is related to electricity in this game.

As for blue and yellow tools, we haven’t seen them quite as much. There’s these spikes that appear on Hornet’s masks, which probably deal damage to enemies that hurt her. This item appears to be the Magma Bell, sold by Forge Daughter, which protects Hornet from lava damage. This tool acts as some sort of silk reserve. This mask probably gives Hornet an extra hitpoint. This tool extends Hornet’s silk reserves. And the function of these last two tools remains a mystery to me. There also seems to be a tool that gives Hornet one silk notch when she has zero. There are also tools shown in the menu that we haven’t seen in action yet.

It’s also hinted that Hornet can upgrade her tools somehow. Edge Magazine talks about Hornet modifying her own tools based on things she sees in Pharloom. There’s also an item called Crafting Kit shown off in the latest trailer, which somehow makes Hornet’s tools stronger.

Skills

Another deviation from Hollow Knight is that Hornet can equip different silk skills she learns from the Weavers residing in Pharloom. Her starting spell is the Silk Spear, which just shoots out a big attack in front of her. Her gossamer storm attack creates a big AOE around her. This move lets her barrel through enemies in a whirlwind of silk. There are also two more silk skills we haven’t seen Hornet use yet. That means Hornet might be able to find at least five Weavers on her journey through Pharloom.

Cloaks

Another way Hornet may be able to augment her playstyle is with cloaks. Hornet’s hunter’s cloak is an item in her inventory, and it seems kinda pointless to have it there if she can’t change it in some way. And we’ve seen two instances of Hornet using an altered cloak. She has a double jump, where wings come out from under the cloak, and glide ability where she falls more slowly. I don’t think both of these abilities can be equipped at once, which rules out only having one cloak that gets permanent upgrades. And it also locks them out of being tools, since you can equip multiple tools of each color.

In addition to all of that, we have this amazing sprite of Hornet with her cloak off. Why would she remove her cloak unless it can be swapped out or augmented in some way. So I suspect that Hornet can unlock more cloaks and swap between them or alter her Hunter’s cloak while she is at a bench. And I think the different cloak abilities are all related to Hornet’s non-combat related movement. For example, this scuttle ability might replace Hornet’s sprint move when wearing a special spidery cloak.

Additional Observations

Before I wrap things up with my final lore breakdown, I want to rapid fire a bunch of stuff from the trailer and demo that didn’t fit nicely into other parts of the video. In the options menu, you can turn off Hornet’s voice, so you aren’t constantly hearing “Shaw” and “Adidous” and “OH MY GOD” while playing the game. I have no idea why anyone would want to turn this off. You can also apparently also disable the HUD as well. This will be very nice, both for taking clean screenshots and footage of the game, and for people wanting some kind of “hard mode” variation where you don’t know how much health or silk you have.

It appears this game’s equivalent of Hollow Knight’s Dream Nail is the Needolin. The button didn’t do anything in the demo, but I’m hoping this will work like the ocarina in Ocarina of Time.

It seems like crests can be upgraded, since the Wanderer Crest in the recent demo has pips that don’t do anything. Perhaps these can be upgraded into tool slots.

It looks like the bind ability is much slower than when it was first shown off in the 2019 reveal trailer. It was blazingly fast before, so Team Cherry probably realized it made encounters too easy. The Moss Mother’s boss theme has been changed to the song used in the 2022 Xbox trailer. The game now does this flashy slow motion effect at the end of certain enemy encounters. Lace can now get knocked into the lava during her Deep Docks fight. But she jumps right out and is fine. Try this at home, kids!

If Lace kills Hornet, she looks up to the sky for some reason, almost as if she’s looking for something. Not quite sure what this is about. Perhaps she is looking towards the Citadel.

The Old Church in the Moss Grotto has been renamed to Ruined Chapel. This is huge. I’m planning another video to fully explain the significance of this, but I figured I should get this shorter video covering everything else out first.

Team Cherry changed Hornet and Lace’s dialogue to make Hornet refer to Lace as a child. We know that Hornet is actually an ancient being who has lived since the fall of Hallownest eons ago. So either Hornet is just calling Lace an immature, young person here, or uhh… all that Lacenet fan art I’ve been seeing over twitter.com for the past 6 years is extremely problematic.

Is it just me, or does this cutscene of Hornet reaching the Citadel look a little weird. It looks like Hornet is drawn in a different art style than normal. There is a noticeable evolution in Ari’s art style over the years, but this took me a little by surprise.

We see another cutscene in the trailer, this time in the art style I’m more familiar with, of Hornet training with a new bug, similar to how the Knight trains with the Nailmasters. Perhaps this is how Hornet can unlock needle arts for her different crests.

Final Lore Analysis

I think it’s time to finally dive into what the overall lore for Silksong might be. Now, full disclosure, I am going to make some pretty big claims in this section of the video. Please keep in mind that I am doing a lot of speculation here. We just don’t have enough details to say anything conclusively about this game’s story, and I’m almost certain that Team Cherry has been intentionally withholding key characters and plot points from us. So take everything you’re about to hear with a grain of salt.

Pharloom is described as a kingdom haunted by silk and song. Hornet has been captured and brought to this strange land, and now she must ascend on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak. But who exactly are the Citadel Caste who rule over the land of Pharloom, and who is Lace, the mysterious bug intent on stopping Hornet in her tracks?

Let’s start by going over what we know. Silksong is going to start with a poem called Pharloom’s Folly by Conductor Romino. The poem reads as follows:

They see your beauty, so frail and fine,

They see your peace, woven of faith and toil,

They forget your heart, bound in slumber and servitude,

When you wake they shall see your truth,

A beast's nature bare to all.

The game’s first cutscene shows Hornet being carried into Pharloom inside a cage imbued with a Seal of Binding. A glowing, white fly comes down from the sky and lands on the cage, breaking the seal. As soon as that happens, strands of thread start to appear around Hornet. Hornet fights back and the threads engulf the bridge beneath Hornet and her captors.

The bridge breaks and Hornet tumbles down a massive chasm, landing at the bottom of Moss Grotto. As Hornet climbs her way out of the Moss Grotto, she frequently stops to have what I can only imagine is a realistic depiction of a panic attack. Whether it was due to her time trapped with a Seal of Binding, the strange event that happened after it was broken, or plummeting down a deep chasm, something has drained Hornet of her energy. 

After defeating the Moss Mother, Hornet collapses, but is seemingly rescued by this churchkeeper, who teaches Hornet some kind of song. Hornet then begins her journey through Pharloom. In Hornet’s way are many hostile bugs who give off silk when hit, and threads can sometimes be seen above them when they are killed. It seems that these threads always point back towards the Citadel, with threads in Moss Grotto and Shellwood going to the right, threads in the Far Fields going left, and the threads in Deep Docks basically going straight up. The pilgrims of Pharloom also fanatically collect silk, to the point of even attacking one another, and carry it to the Citadel in some strange ritual.

Hornet is eventually confronted by Lace, who mocks her, offering to kill her to save her from the suffering she would face above. After this fight, Hornet finds a bell shrine, which we can only assume does something.

Hornet will also meet Weavers along her journey. who will give her special skills to help her overcome the challenges she will face ahead. According to Hollow Knight, Pharloom was likely the Weaver’s original home, but there don’t seem to be many left here.

Citadel Plans

Now that we’ve laid some foundation, let’s start breaking some of this down. Let’s start by talking about the Citadel Caste and the nature of Pharloom itself. In the arena where Hornet fights Trobbio, we can see a massive model in the background. At the top of the model is a symbol seen all over Pharloom, which appears to be a ball of silk positioned within a hook. 

Underneath this ball is a series of tubes that weave through these bulbous structures. This is very reminiscent of the Citadel, as massive pipes can be seen in the background. Remember those strange structures on the map I mentioned earlier? Where I said the Weavers might be found? They are likely end points for these pipes.

I believe Pharloom has trapped these Weavers and is farming them for their sweet, sweet silk. Which sounds a bit weird. But Hollow Knight’s plot involved killing babies so I don’t think Team Cherry is against their game featuring a giant silk milking machine. I think that’s why the kingdom is called Pharloom. The entire kingdom itself is a giant loom, with strands from the Weavers traveling through the pipes, up to this silk ball, and then out across the entire kingdom, connecting to every bug below the Citadel, turning the land into one giant machine built to serve the will of those at the top.

The Citadel Caste’s subjugation of the Weavers seems reflected in the Pharloom’s Folly poem from the start of the game. It’s not uncommon for spiders in Hollow Knight to be referred to as beasts. And given the existence of Weaver Effigies in Pharloom, it seems like the Citadel Caste views them very negatively. Which makes sense, since it seems like at some point in the past, the Weavers lived happily in this kingdom but are now almost completely gone.

It’s also possible that this giant ball of silk serves another purpose, that of a cocoon. I say this for a couple reasons. First of all, it’s possible that Pharloom’s Folly is referring to one specific being, similar to how the Elegy for Hallownest could be read as referring directly to the Pale King. There might be a Higher Being inside this ball of silk, and the Citadel Caste is using some combination of silk and song to keep it slumbering while they feed off its power.

Second, there’s a noticeable pattern of cocoons in Silksong. The Weavers Hornet finds in Pharloom are wrapped in cocoons. And when Hornet dies, her corpse somehow becomes wrapped within a cocoon as well. Her corpse is also weirdly Void-like, but I’ll address that later, I swear.

I think the Citadel Caste is using some sort of spell to force Weavers and other spider-like creatures like Hornet into cocoons. This spell could be what affects Hornet after the Seal of Binding on her is broken, and is also what makes her so weak during the Moss Grotto segment of the game. I don’t think it’s until the Churchkeeper teaches Hornet a song on her needolin that Hornet is able to dispel this power over her. This song might be how Hornet frees the other Weavers from their cocoons too. If placing spiders in cocoons is how the Citadel exerts power over them, then this giant ball at the top of the kingdom is the ultimate expression of their control. I think the Citadel has captured the Higher Being that created the Weavers inside a massive cocoon.

And through their control of, let’s call them, the Weaver Lord, and the Weaver Tribe, in general, the Citadel Caste has been able to build a massive city that shines bright as gold. A city so grand, only the pilgrims selected as worthy are allowed to enter, and many more souls below will be forced into servitude.

Wow, that sounds bad! But it seems there is some kind of imbalance with the Citadel Caste. I think in recent times, something about the Citadel’s control over the Weavers has diminished. This is forcing the Citadel to take drastic measures, compelling pilgrims to collect silk, and driving up the production of bells. And they’ve even been forced to send out a party of bugs to capture Hornet from all the way in Hallownest.

The question of why Hornet was brought to Pharloom is probably going to be the main mystery to Silksong, and likely won’t be answered until very far into the game. So chances are, I’m way off base here, but I suspect Hornet was brought in as an attempt by the Citadel Caste to stop or slow the awakening that threatens their superiority over Pharloom. Perhaps being a spider born of the Pale King’s essence makes Hornet’s silk even more powerful than that of the Weavers.

Lace’s Plans

But whatever the Citadel’s plans for Hornet were, they seem to have been derailed when the Seal of Binding over Hornet’s cage was broken. And I think the culprit responsible for this is none other than Lace.

Lace can be seen conducting the same species of glowing flies that both broke the seal on Hornet’s cage and watched Hornet in Moss Grotto. Lace even makes a snide remark about Hornet falling from her cage, indicating that she is already aware of what happened.

So Lace isn’t just killing Hornet because she happened to bump into her and is racist against spiders or something. Well, she might be racist against spiders, but the point is that Lace must have been planning to separate Hornet from her captors before they even arrived in Pharloom. I suspect Lace is aware of what the Citadel Caste intends to do with Hornet, since she comments that Hornet will face a great deal of suffering if she should end up in their hands. And whatever it is the Citadel Caste is doing, it seems Lace wants to put a stop to it. And the easiest way to stop the Citadel Caste from using Hornet in their plan is to just straight up murder her.

Lace might be trying to defeat the Citadel Caste by accelerating the awakening of the Weaver Lord or all the Weavers, which would, in turn, destroy the mechanism by which the Citadel is controlling the people of Pharloom.

If this is all true, then does that mean Lace is a good guy? If this theory is correct, then Hornet’s ultimate goal would be to awaken all the Weavers or the Weaver Lord, which would also destroy any power the Citadel has in Pharloom. So both Hornet’s and Lace’s goals would overlap. The problem is, Hornet risks capture by the Citadel, which Lace probably views as too risky. And it kinda seems like Lace just enjoys killing people. So I’m not quite ready to call Lace a good guy, but we’ll see. Maybe she really turns it around in the second half.

So Silksong is about a three way struggle between Hornet and the Weavers, Lace and any potential allies she might have, and the Citadel Caste for the future of Pharloom. And do you know what the best part about this theory is? If Hornet does succeed, and Pharloom becomes a safe place for Weavers again, that would connect nicely back to a piece of lore from Hollow Knight. The Weavers actually left Hallownest before the events of the game to return back to their old home. This makes a lot more sense if Silksong is actually a prequel to Hollow Knight. The Citadel Caste is the reason the Weavers had to leave, and Hornet saving Pharloom is the reason the Weavers can return. If Silksong is a sequel, then why did the Weavers leave in the first place? If it’s because of the Citadel Caste, why would they ever go back?

Now, this theory has its issues. First of all, I am making a boatload of assumptions. What exactly makes Hornet capable of keeping this beast from awakening? How do we know for sure that this beast exists in the first place? How do the bell shrines fit into any of this? Who’s this spider-like creature that’s webbing them up? Did none of the Weavers in Hallownest think to tell Hornet about any of this? Is it really fair to say that Hornet and Lace can’t set aside their differences, defeat the Citadel Caste together, and move into a bell-shaped apartment together and play scrabble?

Even with these lingering questions and bold assumptions, this is the best framework I’ve ever had for making sense of what little we know about Silksong’s lore.

Void Stuff

But we’re not quite done yet, we’ve still got to talk about the very last shot of the trailer. The room this shot is set in is filled with Void. We can even hear a droning sound similar to what is featured in the Abyss in Hollow Knight. It’s also been revealed that Arcane Eggs will appear in Pharloom, objects created by the Ancient Civilization who worshiped the Void in Hollow Knight. So it seems that same civilization, or another Void worshipping civilization used to exist in Pharloom as well. And there’s the Steel Assassins, of course, who seem to be made of Void themselves. It’s not clear what they hope to accomplish by killing Hornet, but their masters’ plans likely involve Void in some way.

All this information implies that Void is a universal force within the world of Hollow Knight. I mentioned earlier that we would talk about what’s going on with the strange figure in Hornet’s cocoon. Some have speculated this black stuff is Void. But even though it is black particles, it doesn’t really act like Void. Compared to how the Void looks when it’s dripping off the Collector, it’s much more liquidy. These black particles might be chunks of carapace or exoskeleton.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say it is Void. If that’s the case, then it might line up with the Hunter’s Journal entry for the Shade, saying that we all leave a stain of regret when we die. I’ve said before that I think Void might form from the regrets of dying bugs. That could explain why there is Void in the Pale King’s throne room. His deep regrets about sacrificing his children to the Void caused him to leave a dark stain on the world. That might also explain why his corpse is a hollowed out shell when we find him. It’s not quite the same as Hornet as her whole body has turned black, but if this really is Void, I think it’s because Void can form from regrets when a bug dies, not because Hornet was a Void being when she was alive.

And if it’s true that regrets create Void, then it makes sense that Void can appear anywhere, and it would especially appear in places where many bugs have lived, like in large civilizations where bad things happen like Hallownest and Pharloom and my childhood home.

In Hollow Knight, there was one object that seemed capable of neutralizing Void entirely, and that was the Delicate Flower given to the Knight by the Grey Mourner. We’ve recently learned of another item that will be in Pharloom called an Everbloom. The sprites look almost identical, but I’m honestly kind of confused. We’ve been seeing these white flowers a lot in various Silksong promotional art and footage, but they don’t really look like the same flower. Are there two different white flowers in Pharloom, or is there something I’m missing?

It might be that the Everblooms are what Seth is guarding, as Team Cherry described Seth as being an ancient guardian granted with incredible strength. It would make sense that a flower called “Everbloom” would give someone a longer life. But Seth also claims he was chosen by a power called The Voice. The Delicate Flower never had anything like this, so I’m not sure if it really is the same flower.

These flowers, which look more like white roses than the Delicate Flowers in Hollow Knight, seem to grow from the light in the room where Hornet fights Lace a second time. I assume this light is coming from the giant magic silk cocoon at the top of the Citadel, but why that light grows flowers, I’m not sure. It might be a reference to the line in Pharloom’s Folly about the frail and fine beauty of the beast. Somehow the cocoon that holds this beast shines a light that makes beautiful flowers grow. We even see floral patterns on certain walls within the Citadel that look more like these white roses. 

So these flowers seem more connected to the Citadel than anything.

Either way, if these Everblooms are the same flowers as the Delicate Flower from Hollow Knight, that means Hornet might have a tool in her arsenal to deal with any Void entities that might bother her, whether they be from the Ancient Civilization or the Masters.

Outro

And that’s it! I can’t believe it’s been over 6 and a half years since I posted my first Silksong trailer analysis video. I only had 33,000 subscribers at the time, and it’s mind blowing to think about how much things have changed for me since then. I want to thank you all for your support over the years. I’m looking forward to exploring the next chapter of Hollow Knight’s story with you. I’m excited for all the silly moments, epic boss fights, and crazy lore theories we’re all going to share with each other. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Silksong is finally here. And nobody even had to sacrifice me.

Songs used:

Hornet - Hollow Knight Fungal Wastes (Bass Mantis Loop) - Hollow Knight Haunted Foes (Main Loop) - Hollow Knight Moss Grotto (Silksong OST Remake) by Min Ferna Convergence - Ecco: Tides of Time Aquatic Ambiance - Donkey Kong Country Greenpath (Main Loop) - Hollow Knight Kingdom's Edge - Hollow Knight Optional NPC Room - Hollow Knight Shaman - Hollow Knight Fog Canyon - Hollow Knight Crystal Peaks (Main Loop) - Hollow Knight City of Tears (Outside Loop) - Hollow Knight Soul Sanctum - Hollow Knight Crossroads (Bass Loop) - Hollow Knight White Palace - Hollow Knight Dung Defender - Hollow Knight OST False Knight - Hollow Knight Mantis Lords - Hollow Knight Grey Prince Zote - Hollow Knight Soul Master - Hollow Knight Lace - Hollow Knight: Silksong OST Broken Vessel - Hollow Knight Hive Knight - Hollow Knight White Defender - Hollow Knight Queens Garden (Sub Loop) - Hollow Knight Dirtmouth - Hollow Knight Gods and Glory (Part B) - Hollow Knight Decisive Battle - Hollow Knight OST Resting Grounds - Hollow Knight Brinstar Overgrown with Vegetation Area - Super Metroid Godhome - Hollow Knight OST Daughter of Hallownest - Hollow Knight OST Haunted Foes (Troupe Master Grimm Flamespawner Attack) - Hollow Knight Furious Gods - Hollow Knight Nosk - Hollow Knight Royal Hollow Knight Theme - Hollow Knight Lace - Hollow Knight: Silksong OST Infected - Hollow Knight Bonebottom - Hollow Knight: Silksong OST Reflections - Hollow Knight OST