Summary
Fans are still loyally waiting forHollow Knight: Silksong, even as its release date seems no closer than before. As the sequel to the smash hit indie metroidvaniaHollow Knight,Silksongstands alongsideMetroid Prime 4as one of the most consistently discussed games online every time a major gaming presentation rolls around.Hollow Knightsurprised many people with its tight mechanics and macabre world surrounding its cute Knight protagonist, and expectations for the sequel to build on these strengths only add toHollow Knight: Silksong’s hype.
When it’s released,Hollow Knight: Silksongwill feature Hornet, the princess-protector of Hallownest and rival from the first game. Her entry is expected to be faster and more combat-focused, but retain the action platformer elements that made the original great. Plenty of things inSilksongwill be different fromHollow Knight, and plenty more should stay the same. There is one particular mechanic, however, that some players would like to see changed in the sequel.Silksongmay still inspire a sense of wonder and discovery, but it could be better off changing how those findings are mapped.
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Why Hollow Knight’s Map Could Use Some Changes
One of the more controversial aspects ofHollow Knightis how it handles its map. At first, players don’t even have one despite button shortcuts and a menu screen indicating a map’s existence. Filling out the map is an iconic part of the metroidvania genre, withCastlevaniaandMetroidcommonly factoring uncovered mapsinto their completion percentage.Hollow Knightkeeps up an air of mystery to get players literally lost in its world, but it could have found better ways to do it.
How Hollow Knight’s Map is Gained and Used
Players need to find the NPC Cornifer before they’ll get a map. He appears in most areas before a local boss or objective is cleared. His maps need to be bought, and if he leaves then players must instead backtrack to Dirtmouth to buy a given area’s map from Cornifer’s wife Iselda. She’s also theonly merchant inHollow Knightthat sells a Quill, so players can finish Cornifer’s maps themselves. Rooms the Knight has visited will only fill out at the next Bench they sit at, and every map icon must be bought piecemeal. If that wasn’t enough, the player’s exact location is only displayed if they purchase and fill a Charm Slot with the Wayward Compass. In a word, it’s inconvenient.
What Hollow Knight: Silksong Can Do To Improve Its Maps
Hollow Knightmakes every step of mapmaking a costly time sink that diverts players from actually exploring, and doesn’t initially show them where they are even when they’re several rooms into a new region. Much of this could be streamlined inHollow Knight: Silksong, and the game would be better for it. Hornet could start without a map again, but given thatPharloom is a more active civilization than Hallownest, she could buy maps to areas before she reaches them. The Quill should be bundled with the first map she gets, and it would be better if the Wayward Compass and every map icon could be turned on right away.
Toning down the itemization of maps is easy enough, but how they get filled out must be handled delicately. Unhelpful maps contribute toHollow Knight’s sense of hostile difficulty, so rooms shouldn’t just be filled out as soon as Hornet enters them. A middle ground where Hornet has been in would appear on the map, with the need to sit at a Bench to record entire rooms, would be best. Players will know where they are, but won’t have their surroundings and paths forward spoiled before exploring. That should makeHollow Knight: Silksong’s mapsjust the right level of helpful, giving players more incentive to delve deep into the sequel’s expanded world.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, and adventure through a whole new kingdom ruled by silk and song! Captured and brought to this unfamiliar world, Hornet must battle foes and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure. As the lethal hunter Hornet, journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.
