9 years later, Hollow Knight's lore just became even weirder thanks to a subtle update to the Metroidvania from Team Cherry

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From the same school as FromSoftware

The Knight stands blade in hand in key art for Hollow Knight, used in Edge Magazine's Time Extend feature
(Image credit: Team Cherry)

I've put countless hours into both Hollow Knight and Silksong, and if you asked me about the history of Hallownest, I could only really give you my own rough interpretation. The mythology is fairly esoteric, and due to a recent update, now even more inscrutable.

Hollow Knight YouTuber "mossbag" pointed out the differences online, sharing a screenshot of the description for a Lightseed. "Strange air has been seeping down from above since long ago," reads the background for the slimy creatures.

While small, it does bring some added mystery, as if time isn't even measured on the same scale as us in this bizarre, squishy world. Although this change is happening to a nine-year-old game, it's part of a stylistic decision that's been in place for some time.

The Hollow Knight wiki contains a section on time, specifically "hours," pointing out terminology to avoid. "No specific time is ever perceptible. Enforces the idea of a world in stasis. 'An age ago' is okay," states the entry.

The real question is why it took almost a decade to enact this part of Team Cherry's style guide on the OG Metroidvania. Probably too busy making Silksong and fixing other niggling issues, and it kept slipping down in the tasks. We've all been there.

The next question is, how can devs make it all even more byzantine? I'm sure they'll find a way, and for some reason, I'll wind up appreciating these games even more.

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Anthony McGlynn
Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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