Developers behind Hollow Knight: Silksong they gave some insight into how the bosses were designed. unsurprisingly, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a challenging Metroidvania, just like the original Hollow Knight. However, Team Cherry revealed that the bosses were deliberately programmed to behave differently than in the 2017 game.
After years of waiting, players finally had the chance to play the whole thing Hollow Knight: Silksong. The latest game from Team Cherry focuses on Hornet as he sets out on an adventure in the Kingdom of Pharloom. As with the original Hollow Knight, Silksong pits players against many challenging bosses. Some players have even claimed that these new enemies feel more brutal than those found in Hallownest. As the community continues to debate the toughest fights in both of Team Cherry's games, the developers recently pulled back the curtain on the design philosophy. Silksongbosses.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is releasing a new update for November 2025
After a long public beta, Hollow Knight: Silksong releases the final version of Update 4, which brings new fixes, improvements and adds a fan module.
Silksong bosses choose their attacks differently than those in Hollow Knight
As noted by GamesRadar+, an interview with William Pellen and Ari Gibson published in the ACMI Guide details how bosses behave differently in Silksong compared to Team Cherry's first game. Specifically, the way bosses choose which attack to use has changed. “We did one thing completely differently Silksongalthough I'm not sure if it's noticeable in the game, it's that we've reworked how the bosses choose their attacks,” noted Pellen. He said that the bosses in the original Hollow Knight they were much more reactionary, with their attacks chosen based on the player's position. However, Silksong removed that and instead made the boss more active.
One thing we've done quite differently in Silksong, although I'm not sure if it shows in the game, is that we've reworked the way bosses choose their attacks.
Pellen explains that bosses “generally decide what they want to do and then move into the right position to do it—action is decided first.” This is a significant shift from the first game, potentially making some boss moves more difficult to predict. The developer explained that this new programming for bosses makes them better positioned, which helps counter the increased mobility that a player like Hornet has in Silksong.
These design insights confirm the effort the Cherry team put into development Silksong and evidence why it took so long. While the game built on the successful formula of the original Hollow Knightsome major changes were made, such as overhauled boss programming. While players can debate which game had better boss fights, SilksongA new approach to designing these bosses helps make it look different.
It's worth noting that Team Cherry isn't done Hollow Knight: Silksong. Patches are still being released to improve the game experience, such as update 4 which fixed various bugs. Additionally, the developers have stated that future DLC is in the works, with the game's composer, Christopher Larkin, recently teasing that he is still working on the music for Team Cherry. It will be interesting to see if more bosses are added to the game in the future. Although nothing is official, there could be more exciting battles for fans if the DLC for the original Hollow Knightthere is more to go on.
- Released
-
September 4, 2025
- ESRB
-
Everyone 10+ / Fantasy violence, mild gore
- Developers
-
Team Cherry
- Publishers
-
Team Cherry
