Lace, a featured boss fight in the demo, is “part of a group who is going to impede Hornet’s journey.” While there is no shortage of discourse about how these bosses and NPCs fit into the wider picture of Silksong based on trailer breakdowns, at this point, such analysis remains speculative.

Several bosses and NPCs are present in the demo, as well as the announcement trailer. Silksong, described by Team Cherry as a “very large” game, will feature more than 165 new enemies. Instead of a sphere of liquid soul, we see Hornet with a spool of unwinding silk. Hornet also wields a needle and thread, as opposed to the Nail used by The Knight. That thematic focus filters all the way down to replacing Soul with Silk as a means to heal (which Hornet can do instantly) and use abilities. Agility and rhythm seem to be recurring themes in the revealed details, both in how Hornet plays, as well as the mentions of Pharloom being haunted by “song,” and the appearance of bells in the Nintendo Treehouse demo. Hornet has been revealed to be much more agile and acrobatic than The Knight, something that will come as no surprise to anyone who battled her in Hollow Knight. While many details of this system haven’t been revealed, Team Cherry mentioned to Edge Magazine that Hornet will use shell fragments, and the familiar rest benches, as a means to craft and restore various types of equipment and items, including bombs, spike traps, and the like. Where charms were crucial to The Knight’s development in Hollow Knight, Hornet will instead use a new crafting system.

Hollow knight silksong kickstarter