Summary
Australian developer Team Cherry has kept quiet while developingHollow Knight: Silksong, but that silence will hopefully come to an end sometime soon. Since February 2019, fans of the originalHollow Knighthave done their best to stay patient while waiting for the sequel to one of the best indie Metroidvanias ever made.Hollow Knight: Silksonghas enormous expectations sitting on its back because of how quicklyHollow Knightbecame an all-time classic, but hopefully its considerable development time shows through onceSilksongis out.
Plenty of other great games have been released in the meantime, soHollow Knightfans should not be left wanting forSilksongalternatives and placeholders. FromSoftware’s open-world Soulslike conversionElden Ringis chief among them, with both it and its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC providing great ways to kill time while waiting onSilksong. At this point, even Team Cherry has hadenough time to be inspired byElden Ring, andHollow Knight: Silksong’s massive 2D fantasy adventure could be close enough toElden Ring’s to incorporate one of its best features.
How Elden Ring Lets The Player Decide Its Conclusion
Every player’s adventure through the Lands Between is unique to them, illustrating the strength ofElden Ring’s open-world format. Tarnished can venture off in any direction and be met with various challenges and storylines, some of which can have very long-reaching consequences. Some side quests go as far as rewarding Mending Runes or alliances that seem like they should have story-altering consequences, and many of them, in fact, do. AlthoughElden Ringtechnically has six endings, four are variations on the same ending, while the other two have slightly different variants.
Elden Ring’s Branching Endings, Explained
While the Age of Fracture simply sees players become Elden Lord, using the rewards from either Goldmask, Fia, or the Dung Eater’s quest lines can produce the Age of Order, Age of Duskborn, and the Blessing of Despair, respectively. Despite their visual similarities, theimplications of each ending significantly impactElden Ring’s narrative. Finishing Ranni’s quest for the Age of Stars, and uncovering the Three Fingers to become the Lord of the Frenzied Flame, offer more distinct results, and further diverge if players earn Ranni’s romantic dialogue or sacrifice Melina before gaining the Flame. Unlocking all of these endings involves exploring the furthest reaches ofElden Ring’s massive map, but the sense of accomplishment and discovery makes it all worth the effort.
Silksong Could Do More With Hollow Knight’s Multiple Endings
Hollow Knightis no slouch when it comes to alternate endings, sporting three by default, another two at the end of its Godmaster content, and a secret add-on with Mr. Mushroom. Even so, the way the base-game endings are framed impliesdefeating the Radiance isHollow Knight’s “true” ending, and Godmaster’s endings are both alternate paths to roughly the same result.Hollow Knight: Silksonghas the chance to emulateElden Ringinstead of its predecessor here, packing in many more optional endings that actually conclude the story in a meaningfully different way.
Pharloom Is Primed To Hide Alternate Endings Everywhere
Silksong’s plot isn’t currently known, but its assumed scope should be big enough to accommodate the kind of large-scale quests thatElden Ringused to prep its endings. Preliminary information has already revealed thatHornet will spendSilksongclimbing the kingdom of Pharloom, and that there are secrets hidden at its base as well. That alone provides at least two endings, but more could be done through Hornet conversing with NPCs and venturing to the distant corners of all of Pharloom’s layers. Not only could there be silk-based Mending Rune equivalents, butSilksongcould also outdoElden Ringand include endings outside the typical final boss location. The sky’s the limit forHollow Knight: Silksong, and taking some inspiration should help it reach those expected heights.
