anticipation for the indie game has only continued to grow.

Since its initial reveal in 2019, Team Cherry has repeatedly demonstrated the level of ambition and creativity that's being put into Silksong. From the wealth of new enemy encounters, to the more acrobatic, versatile moveset of protagonist Hornet, Silksong intends to expand on Hollow Knight's gameplay and presentation in exciting and ambitious ways. That being said, one confirmed change to Silksong could result in the game losing one of the original Hollow Knight's best attributes.

Silksong Will Reportedly Have 100 Different Save Points

This Is Almost Double The Number Found In The Original Hollow Knight

One of Silksong's biggest changes compared to its predecessor will be the game's number of available save points, which take the form of benches. In an interview with Edge Magazine in 2020 (via Reddit oneofthejoneses28), Silksong designer Ari Gibson confirmed that the development team had included "100 different benches" for the game. To put this into perspective, the original Hollow Knight had a grand total of 51 benches, meaning that Silksong will be almost doubling that number.

Silksong's higher number of benches will certainly be a helpful boost for players as they traverse through the game's world. Benches in Hollow Knight were not only save points for the game, but they allowed for health to be regained, while also granting the player the ability to swap out charms, which gave various different boosts to the Knight. And, with the benches serving a similar purpose in Silksong with Hornet's variety of tools, the higher number of benches will grant the player more flexibility in how they want to approach exploration and combat, with more opportunities to swap abilities.

Why More Benches Could Hurt Silksong's Gameplay Challenge

Hollow Knight's Challenging Gameplay Was One Of Its Strongest Aspects

That being said, the large number of benches available in Silksong could diminish one of Hollow Knight's strongest aspects: its challenge. The much lower quantity of benches in Hollow Knight and their scarcity put players at high risk of losing tons of progress at any given moment. This additional level of challenge added to the tension and suspense players would experience, reflecting the sense of danger that could be felt throughout Hallownest. Benches were not only a handy tool for players, but a moment of much-needed relief from the many dangerous enemies that surround them.

By saturating its world with numerous benches, Silksong risks losing the added level of immersion that Hollow Knight achieved with its challenging gameplay. Not only would players feel less tension as they no longer have as much to lose, but Silksong's own world could feel far less intimidating and dangerous than what Team Cherry may want to convey. Even if the increase in benches is to accommodate for a bigger world, Silksong's current bench total still feels too high and could be a hindrance to giving the game the same addictive challenge that its predecessor delivered on.

It's hard to tell how Silksong's myriad of benches will affect the game's overall difficulty. Moreover, with the Edge interview occurring a little over four years ago, there's always the possibility that this number could have changed during development. Regardless, Hollow Knight's challenge remains one of its strongest aspects, and if Hollow Knight: Silksong is unable to balance its higher number of benches to maintain that level of difficulty, then the game could lose a part of what made the original so special.

Source: oneofthejoneses28/Reddit