The developers behind Hollow Knight: Silk Song has given some insight into how the bosses were designed. Unsurprisingly, Hollow Knight: Silk Song is a challenging Metroidvania, like the original Hollow Knight. However, Team Cherry has revealed that the bosses were purposefully programmed to behave differently than those in the 2017 game.
After years of waiting, players have finally had the opportunity to play through the whole thing Hollow Knight: Silk Song. The latest game from Team Cherry focuses on Hornet as she adventures through the kingdom of Pharloom. As with the original Hollow Knight, Silk song pits the player against many challenging bosses. Some players have even claimed that these new enemies feel more brutal than those found in Hallownest. While the community continues to debate the hardest matches in both Team Cherry games, the developers have recently pulled back the curtain on the design philosophy behind Silk songs managers.
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Silksong's bosses choose their attacks differently than those in Hollow Knight
As discovered by GamesRadar+, an interview with William Pellen and Ari Gibson in an ACMI guidebook describes how bosses act differently in Silk song compared to Team Cherry's first game. In particular, the way bosses choose which attack to use has changed. “One thing we did completely differently Silk songalthough I'm not sure if it's obvious in the game, is that we've reworked how the bosses choose their attacks,” noted Pellen. He said that the bosses in the original Hollow Knight were much more reactionary, with their attacks chosen based on the player's positioning. However, Silk song did away with this, instead made the manager more proactive.
One thing we did quite differently in Silksong, although I'm not sure if it shows in the game, is that we reworked how the bosses choose their attacks.
Pellen explains that managers “will generally decide what they want to do and then move into the right position to do it—the action is decided first.” This is a significant change from the first game, which can make some bosses' movements more difficult to predict. The developer explained that this new programming for the bosses makes them better at positioning, which helps counteract the increased mobility the player has as the Hornet in Silk song.
These design insights testify to the effort Team Cherry put into its development Silk song and evidence of why it took so long to complete. While the game built on the successful formula of the original Hollow Knightsome significant changes were made, such as the reworked boss programming. While players can debate which game had the best boss fights, Silk songs new way of designing these bosses helps make it feel distinct.
It's worth noting that Team Cherry isn't done with Hollow Knight: Silk Song. Patches continue to be released to improve the gaming experience, such as Update 4, which squashed various bugs. Additionally, the developers have said that future DLC is in the works, with the game's composer, Christopher Larkin, recently teasing that he's still working on music for Team Cherry. It will be interesting to see if other bosses are added to the game in the future. While nothing is official, there could be more exciting battles ahead for fans over DLC for the original Hollow Knightanything goes.
- Released
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September 4, 2025
- ESRB
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All 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer
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Team Cherry
- Publisher
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Team Cherry
