Hollow Knight: Silksong's Charms May Have Tough Competition Now

Hollow Knight: Silksongis highly anticipated for good reason, as the upcoming successor to one of the most beloved indie games of all time.Hollow Knightreceived acclaim for its blend of challenging combat, charming visuals, and engaging exploration. It took inspiration from a number of classics, but made plenty of innovations itself. Now,Hollow Knight: Silksongmay face more competition than ever.

It would be the understatement of the century to say thatHollow Knight: Silksonghas had an infamous development cycle. Updates about the game have been few and far between, and even the announcements that have been made have done little to paint a clear picture. By contrast,Silksong’s many competitors haven’t stayed quiet during this period of radio silence.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Tag Page Cover Art

Hollow Knight: Silksong May Have Lost Its Momentum with One Key Feature

Hollow Knight’s Charms Were a Cornerstone of Gameplay

Players can still be certain thatSilksongwill maintain many aspects of the original, with new features to enhance the experience, and all played out on a larger scale.Hollow Knightis now seen as a bit of a trailblazer in its time, and its sequel no doubt has the same ambitions. However,Hollow Knight:Silksonghas a difficult taskahead if it still wants to impress.

One ofHollow Knight’s most defining features is its Charms. Charms can be equipped by a player in a number of possible loadouts, and each individual Charm provides a unique buff to aid the player on their journey. One can’t emphasize enough just how much impact these buffs have on the rest of the game. Even many years later, there are still countless guides speculating about thebest charms inHollow Knight.

WhileSilksonghas yet to properly reveal the extent of its gameplay, a few things seem clear. The general approach behind the sequel’s design seems to be “take what works, and make it work harder”.Hollow Knight:Silksongdoesn’t seem to include Charmsverbatim. Instead, it actually seems to improve on the mechanic with an equivalent system utilizing Crests and Tools. Unfortunately, this is exactly where the troubles begin.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Needs to Address its Tough Competition

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s system of Crests and Toolsseems like a decent follow-up to its predecessor, butHollow Knightisn’t the only game in the conversation anymore. Many games have come and gone since the release ofHollow Knight, and many have included their own takes on similar features. With this in mind,Silksongsimply can’t afford to solely innovate on its predecessor.

Some indie games have used similar systems since, takingdirect inspiration fromHollow Knightitself. Unfortunately forHollow Knight: Silksong, competition isn’t solely limited to its independent peers. Big budget games likeJedi Survivorhave adopted this approach to item loadouts, andSilksongdoesn’t exactly have all the benefits awarded to aStar Warsgame.

It’s not as ifHollow Knightwas the first game to ever invent enchanted items. Though Charms have a unique approach that encourages managing resources to optimize their build, this exact system has only become more popular over time. While innovating on it may have been enough several years ago,the wait forHollow Knight: Silksonghas only emphasized this issue.

The dayHollow Knight: Silksongwas first revealed, it was already one of the most anticipated games of the generation. This largely remains true, butSilksongnow faces a difficult path ahead. Charms were a key feature of the first game, and it’s unclear how the sequel’s equivalent can outshine not only its predecessor, but the rest of its competition as well. Worse still, this isn’t the only feature facing this predicament.Hollow Knight: Silksongdoesn’t have to walk on eggshells just yet, but it should certainly move with caution.