
It will feature more differences from the base game than “Steel Soul mode” made in Hollow Knight, though the extent of the changes is not currently known. Silksong will have an additional difficulty mode with permanent death called “Silk Soul mode” like the “Steel Soul mode” found in Hollow Knight. Upon death, instead of leaving a Shade like the Knight did, Hornet instead leaves a bundle of silk that refills some or all silk notches in her bar when broken. This change was meant to increase the pace of the game, and allow the developers to make the game more difficult than Hollow Knight. However, this depletes her entire bar of silk. She can near instantly heal three masks of damage on the move instead of needing to stop and slowly heal one mask at a time like the Knight, which could put it in danger from receiving more damage. Instead of using soul to heal like the Knight from Hollow Knight did, Hornet uses silk. The checkpoint system from the first game will return in Silksong. In a feature new to Silksong, Hornet will be able to craft weapons, tools, and traps from gathered materials. The quest system is broken up into at least four sections: Hunt, Gather, Wayfarer, and Grand Hunt. Silksong will feature a quest system, in which characters will ask Hornet to fulfil certain requests. Hornet will also encounter many friendly non-player characters. The game is planned to feature over 165 different enemies. During her adventure, Hornet encounters many hostile creatures.


The player controls Hornet, an insectoid creature who wields a needle to combat enemies and had previously appeared as a boss in the first game. The gameplay is largely similar to that of its predecessor Hollow Knight, with an increased emphasis on speed, combat, and platforming. Hollow Knight: Silksong is a 2D Metroidvania game, which takes place in a haunted kingdom inhabited by bugs.
