Hollow Knight Silksong: What's Official About Pharloom's World

Last Updated: October 21, 2025

In the vast, ever-hopeful kingdom of video game fans, few titles command as much anticipation as Hollow Knight: Silksong. For years, players have waited to explore the new world of Pharloom as the nimble princess-protector, Hornet. This fervent anticipation has created a vibrant landscape of fan theories and speculation, with players imagining everything from new abilities to the intricate design of yet-unseen lands. However, as we move closer to the game's eventual launch, it's crucial to separate established fact from hopeful fiction. This guide cuts through the noise to deliver an authoritative, up-to-date overview of everything officially confirmed about Hornet’s new adventure, correcting the record on a game still shrouded in mystery.

Pharloom: A New, Vertically Ascendant Kingdom

While the original *Hollow Knight* had players descending into the depths of Hallownest, *Silksong* flips the script. Hornet has been captured and brought to the haunted kingdom of Pharloom, a world of silk and song where she must ascend to a shining citadel at its peak. Official trailers and gameplay footage from developer Team Cherry showcase a world far more vibrant and diverse than the muted blues and blacks of Hallownest. We've seen glimpses of lush, overgrown areas like the Moss Grotto, the industrial Deep Docks, and the shimmering Gilded City. This vertical ascent is a core design pillar, promising a unique sense of progression and environmental storytelling as Hornet climbs from the kingdom's base to its summit.

Hornet's Arsenal: Speed, Silk, and Tools

Hornet is a fundamentally different protagonist from the Knight. She is taller, faster, much more acrobatic, a fact reflected in her entire moveset. Her dash is quicker, her jump is higher, and her dialogue will give voice to a previously silent world. Instead of collecting Soul to Focus and heal, Hornet uses Silk from a regenerating spool to Bind her wounds—a faster but more limited healing mechanic that encourages aggressive play.

The Charm system from the first game has been replaced with a more dynamic crafting system. Hornet will collect materials from defeated foes and hidden caches to craft a variety of tools, traps, and weapons. We've seen her deploy sharp Pimpillo bombs, spike-flinging Sting Shards, and other gadgets that can be customized to suit different challenges and playstyles. This emphasis on crafting and a loadout of Tools suggests a more versatile and strategic approach to both combat and exploration. While a double jump or similar air-mobility upgrade is a genre staple and highly expected, no specific item like a "Faydown Cloak" has ever been confirmed by the developers.

The Long Wait: The Status of Silksong's Release

Here lies the most critical update for any discussion of *Silksong*: the game does not yet have a release date. Initially announced in February 2019, the game has been in development for a considerable time. A prominent appearance at the 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase led to wide speculation that the game would be released within the following 12 months. However, in May 2023, Team Cherry's marketing and publishing lead, Matthew Griffin, confirmed the game had been delayed, stating, "We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We're excited by how the game is shaping up, and it's gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can."

Since then, Team Cherry has remained quiet, adhering to their known development style of working diligently behind the scenes until they have something substantial to show. All rumored or speculative release dates are just that—speculation. The official word is that the game will be ready when it's ready.

The Known Inhabitants and Challenges of Pharloom

Hornet’s quest will pit her against more than 150 new enemies and bosses. Trailers have shown a dazzling variety of foes, from small, scurrying beasts and bell-wearing sentries to formidable warriors and massive, screen-filling bosses. Unlike the bugs of Hallownest, many inhabitants of Pharloom appear to be pilgrims, hunters, and skilled artisans who will present unique combat puzzles.

The game will also feature a new quest system. Instead of a single central quest, Hornet will track her progress and side activities through notice boards, assisting the downtrodden citizens of Pharloom. This suggests a more populated and story-rich world, with multiple intersecting questlines that will reward exploration and engagement with the kingdom's lore.

In summary, while the community's imagination has run wild with ideas for specific regions and items, the reality of *Hollow Knight: Silksong* is rooted in what Team Cherry has officially shown. We are promised a larger, faster, and more complex adventure built on a foundation of ascending a vast new kingdom. Hornet's agile combat and crafting system will provide a fresh experience for veterans, while the hundreds of new enemies and quests ensure Pharloom will be a deep, challenging world worthy of the *Hollow Knight* name. For now, the definitive guide to any single area remains unwritten, as we all patiently await the day Team Cherry finally opens the gates to their new kingdom.