Hollow Knight: The Sanctuary Challenges Silksong’s Anticipation

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For several years now, Team Cherry’s upcoming game, Hollow Knight: Silksong, has consistently topped lists of highly anticipated titles. The initial release of Hollow Knight back in 2017, with its Metroidvania-inspired gameplay and challenging Soulslike elements, instantly captured the hearts of gamers. Ever since then, fans have eagerly awaited the sequel that delves into the story of princess Hornet. However, this wait has been prolonged for almost eight years. Despite the assurance that the game will eventually be released, there’s a void in content that the fanbase has attempted to fill through mods. Enter Hollow Knight: The Sanctuary, a mod that could generate just as much excitement for its release as the actual Hollow Knight: Silksong sequel.

Despite the impressive post-release work by Team Cherry, with four DLCs launched over two years, there’s been a significant lapse since what many consider the height of excitement for Silksong‘s release. As the discrepancy between fan expectations and the actual development pace widened, numerous mods emerged to enrich the realm of Hallownest even more. These mods tackled various aspects; from creating new regions to revising boss battles for balance, to providing voice acting in multiple languages for Hollow Knight. In the instance of Hollow Knight: The Sanctuary, its combination of these elements into a single fan-created expansion pack has essentially created an unintentional rivalry with Team Cherry.

Silksong May Have to Battle for Mindshare With The Sanctuary

There are some parallels in the development process between “Hollow Knight: Silksong” and a team’s mod, both showing a similar level of secrecy about their progress since they were announced in 2021. In fact, there have been instances where people speculated that both the official sequel and the mod might not be happening at all. However, things took an unexpected turn in April. Reliable sources hinted in late March that “Silksong” could potentially launch this year itself.

Later, the game being shown during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct presentation significantly boosted the rumors’ validity by announcing a 2025 release date. On the other hand, the long-awaited silence from the mod was finally broken in mid-April. One of the key modders hinted at the secretive development process with a tweet, offering a sneak peek into the mod’s gameplay; demonstrating the Knight engaged in combat against multiple enemies, which appears to be a new area that the mod is introducing within the Hollow Knight series.

Despite the Competition, Silksong and The Sanctuary Could Form a Dynamic Duo

Considering the excitement generated by the recent announcement, and with Hollow Knight‘s dedicated fanbase often disappointed during the long wait for Silksong, it’s quite possible that Hollow Knight: The Sanctuary could be a more appealing – and feasible – choice to anticipate. It’s not uncommon for Silksong to seem like it has a confirmed release date (as suggested during the 2022 Xbox Showcase), so it’s understandable that some fans might choose to disregard any new rumors until they can actually see the sequel in their hands.

Despite potential release of Silksong in 2025, the expansions for Hollow Knight: The Sanctuary offer such depth that they can’t be overshadowed. Given the excitement shown by playtesters for The Sanctuary Team’s call, this mod could have a significant impact within the community, possibly matching Silksong’s popularity, even though fans have been waiting since 2018 for its release following the DLC additions. Regardless, with Hollow Knight, there’s never too much of a good thing, and it’s entirely possible that dedicated fans will play both the mod and the sequel when they eventually launch.

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2025-04-25 17:05