Hollow Knight: Silksong — Overview, Editions & What Changed in 2026

Hollow Knight: Silksong is Team Cherry’s long-awaited follow-up to Hollow Knight — the metroidvania that spent six years as a meme before launching on September 4, 2025 to 7 million copies sold in three months (plus millions more on Game Pass) and a Best Action/Adventure win at The Game Awards 2025. You play as Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, captured and hauled to the haunted kingdom of Pharloom.

What is the story of Silksong?

Hornet is snatched from Hallownest by haunted Choirbugs on Grand Mother Silk’s orders and dragged to Pharloom — a kingdom ruled by song and silk, whose monarch is desperate to wake. Her escape route runs through three acts of ascending hubs, ending either in the Cradle or in the Abyss depending on how much of the world you’ve untangled.

Pharloom is deliberately parallel to Hallownest: another kingdom built around a sleeping higher being, another religion, another plague of possession — this time threads of Silk instead of infection. Newcomers get a self-contained story; veterans get payoffs eight years in the making.

How is Silksong different from Hollow Knight?

The core loop is the same — explore, find movement abilities, die, learn — but nearly every system was reworked:

• Needle combat with crests. Hornet’s moveset is equipped, not fixed. Each Crest changes her attack arc, down-slash, and bind ability — the Wanderer crest even approximates the original Hollow Knight moveset.
• Tools and Silk Skills. Crafted red/yellow/blue tools and unlockable silk abilities replace charms and spells. Slots unlock per-crest with Memory Lockets.
• Bind healing. Healing spends a full silk spool but restores three masks almost instantly — faster and more aggressive than the Knight’s Focus.
• Wishes. Side quests are formalized as Wishes posted on the wishwalls of each major settlement — including the Silk and Soul chain that gates the secret Act 3.
• A bigger world. Team Cherry advertises 200+ enemies and 40+ bosses — by far the studio’s largest kingdom.

What acts and endings does Silksong have?

Three acts, three endgame bosses. Act 1 climaxes with the Last Judge at the Grand Gate of the Blasted Steps — the game’s infamous first wall. Act 2 ends in the Cradle against Grand Mother Silk, where your choices produce one of three endings (Weaver Queen, Snared Silk, or Twisted Child). The hidden Act 3 — unlocked through the Silk and Soul wish — descends into the Abyss and ends with Lost Lace and the Sister of the Void ending.

What changed in Patch 5?

Patch 5 (v1.0.30000, March 16, 2026) is the version this wiki tracks: Traditional Chinese localization, German polish, Silk Soar can carry you through top-of-room exits, the Last Judge’s death explosion deals 2 damage instead of 3, and the Magma Bell now blocks all fire explosions outright. Team Cherry framed it as the final major patch before the expansion.

When does Sea of Sorrow come out?

The Sea of Sorrow expansion — a free, all-platforms “underground ocean” DLC — is announced for 2026 with no narrower date yet. The October 16 physical editions ship without it (it downloads free after release). This wiki will track it the moment Team Cherry gives a date.

Hollow Knight: Silksong — Release Trailer (Team Cherry) — YouTube

Hollow Knight: Silksong — Release Trailer (Team Cherry)

Where should I start on this wiki?

• Stuck in Act 1? → Last Judge boss guide
• Chasing the true ending? → How to unlock Act 3
• Collecting? → All 30 Lost Flea locations
• Choosing a moveset? → Best crests and where to find them
• New to Pharloom? → Silksong beginner guide