Hollow Knight: Silksong's Hornet Dialogue is a Double-Edged Sword

Summary

Hollow Knight: Silksongis Team Cherry’s opportunity to create a strong player-character with a personality that people can empathize with.HavingHornet asSilksong’s main protagonist means big changescompared to the previous game, specifically in character interactions. Hornet being able to speak and express her thoughts is better for overall character building, but this also means it might come up short of whatHollow Knightachieved with its silent protagonist.

During E3 2019,Hollow Knight: Silksong’s gameplay demo was presented during Nintendo Treehouse’s live segment. It showed the new world that players will get to explore, enemies to face, and most importantly, a returning character called Hornet who players will get to control.Hollow Knight’s mysterious princess-protector gets the spotlight inSilksong, giving players a chance to see how her established personality harmonizes with the environments and inhabitants of Pharloom. Hornet’s ability to produce dialogue and express emotions can have positive and negative consequences on the game’s story and the player’s perception of the world.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Tag Page Cover Art

The Potential of Hornet’s Ability to Provide Dialogue

Whencomparing Hornet to The Knight, the clear difference is thatSilksong’s protagonist can speak and share her thoughts about the different situations she finds herself in. Although those who have playedHollow Knightwill already know about her selfless and relentless nature, the sequel will allow for further character development. Having a main protagonist that is not a blank slate gives Team Cherry more to work with regarding the kind of story it wants to tell. This allows for different opportunities, such as:

All of this can also aid Team Cherry in streamlining the plot, making it easier for the players to understand what is happening while seeing how the protagonist feels about the events unfolding. Witheverything known about Hornet prior toSilksong, composing a deep and meaningful narrative that effectively ties to her identity is highly likely.

The Consequences of Hornet as a Speaking Protagonist

In the previous title,the world ofHollow Knightwas filled with different areas and creatures that told a captivating story through both verbal and non-verbal means. The Knight’s lack of a personality allowed players to form unfiltered connections with the world they were exploring and the story being told, making even the smallest details more personal. With Hornet being more vocal and expressive than her predecessor, players will see and feel everything from her perspective rather than just their own.

HavingHollow Knight’s main protagonist act as a link to the player allowed for immersive world-building, giving every action and interaction more meaning. Since Hornet is already established with her own character, the player will be compelled to go along with her thoughts and conclusions rather than formulating all of them themselves. Although this will make it easier for the developers to show how emotionally impacting certain key events or areas should be, it leaves less to the player’s imagination.

While the question ofwhenHollow Knight: Silksongwill be releasedremains unanswered, fans at least know thatSilksonghopes to make Hornet an even more memorable figure than she already is. With Hornet’s ability to speak, players will have an easier time understanding the sequel’s narrative, giving her a storytelling edge over The Knight, albeit at the cost of some of the first game’s identity.