Summary
Coming seemingly out of nowhere,Hollow Knightreleased in 2017 and quickly took the world by storm. A phenomenalindie Metroidvania gamewith a joyously dark art style and a handful of Soulslike elements to boot, it didn’t take long for word to spread throughout the wider gaming ecosphere. Now just a month away from its seventh birthday,Hollow Knightholds up remarkably well, though that hasn’t satiated fans' desire for a brand newHollow Knightexperience, withHollow Knight: Silksongstill very much on the minds of many.
Announced back in February 2019, the fervor surroundingHollow Knight: Silksonghas only continued to grow exponentially over the last five years, now reaching a point where the game has become somewhat of a phenomenon. Somehow, this little indie sequel has become one of the most anticipated games of all time, and while eagerness and excitement are always great to see, there are two big things that fans need to remember aboutSilksong’s developer, Team Cherry.
Fans Need to Be Patient with Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Developer Team Cherry
Team Cherry Only Consists of Three People
An indie developerbased in Adelaide, South Australia, Team Cherry currently consists of just three full-time employees. Ari Gibson is one of Team Cherry’s co-directors, alongside William Pellen. The firstHollow Knightoriginally stemmed from a game jam that Gibson and Pellen participated in, with Gibson taking on the role of developer and Pellen taking on the role of artist. From there, Gibson and Pellen joined forces with Jack Vine, the studio’s lone coder, and Dave Kazi, the studio’s former technical director who left the company in 2017.
Of course, Team Cherry had a little help along the way with the firstHollow Knight, with Shark Jump aiding in distribution and PR for the game, and composer Christopher Larkin forgingHollow Knight’s incredible soundtrack. But now, just Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine are working onHollow Knight: Silksong, meaning that one of the most anticipated games of all time is being worked on by a team of just three people. Therefore, development time is understandably longer than it might be for a larger team.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Only Team Cherry’s Second Game
There’s a ridiculous amount of pressure onHollow Knight: Silksongright now, and it can be largely separated into a few key layers. The first layer of pressure comes from the simple fact thatSilksongis a sequel to one of the most beloved indie games of all time, and that comes with an expectation that the next game will inherently be bigger and better. While this is a fair assumption, it’s imperative to remember thatHollow Knightwas Team Cherry’s first game and thatSilksongwill only be its second.
Then a whole other layer of pressure comes from this notion of fan hype. For every year that Team Cherry stays radio silent, the more and more fans build upHollow Knight: Silksongin their mind, and the more difficult it becomes to reach those standards. While huge AAA games likeGTA 6andElder Scrolls 6can take that pressure on and often deliver experiences that live up to the long-running hype,Hollow Knight: Silksongis still very much a small indie project, and no matter how much hype surrounds it, it can’t be held to the same standards as developers whose franchises have been around for decades.
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.
