Summary
AsHollow Knight: Silksong’s absence continues, one wouldn’t blameHollow Knightfans for branching out into other games. The DLC-turned-sequel has kept fans waiting since 2019, and there’s still no solid sign of a launch date, so fans are better off looking elsewhere for now. Plenty of indie games have taken cues fromHollow Knightover the past few years, just as larger titles inHollow Knight’s Metroidvania and action-platformer genres have continued trickling out. Such titles, alongside various mods, have provided some relief, but fans are still hopeful thatSilksongwill finally release soon.
No suitable distraction games have truly replicated Team Cherry’s mixture of writing, gameplay, presentation, and level design, but there is one title that came surprisingly close. WhileHollow Knightwas crowdfunded through Kickstarterin late 2014, another title calledRain Worldwas fresh off its own early 2014 Kickstarter campaign. Having been in development by Videocult for three years by that point,Rain Worldwould finally release in March 2017, just over a month afterHollow Knightitself came out. Funnily enough, similarly timed crowdfunding and launches are far from the only aspects shared by these two games.
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Hollow Knight and Rain World Were Cut From The Same Cloth
Presentation is an obvious link between each title, with theHollow Knight’s playable Knight and the white Survivor slugcat having similar designs in each title’s artwork.Hollow Knight’s detailed sprite art renders said art in-game more accurately thanRain World’s pixel art, but it’s still easy to pin both as Metroidvania platformers when viewed side by side. Each title involves traveling between rooms with heavy platforming,kid-friendly characters navigating deadly, ruined worlds, and music that, while beloved, is typically meant to enhance an environment’s mood.
Rain World And Hollow Knight Play Differently, But Reach The Same Results
WhileRain Worldis easy to recommend forHollow Knightfans on a surface level, those expecting the pair to feel similar will be sorely disappointed.Hollow Knight’s focus on equal parts combat and platforming is replaced byRain World’s survival-stealth motivating most platforming, as well as more technical movement for the slugcats.
Speaking of slugcat struggles,Rain WorldandHollow Knightare both difficult, butRain Worldhas randomized enemy placements and complex AI that gives beasts their own lives outside the player’s. Complete with the titular rains acting as time limits and amap as unwieldy asHollow Knight’s own,Rain Worldis ideal forHollow Knightveterans who want to recapture the latter’s pulse-pounding first playthrough.
Rain World and Hollow Knight Are Still Following the Same Path
Hollow KnightandRain Worldhave plenty of similar design choices, but that’s not even the end of it. Setting aside details like most of their lore being hidden, and some visual similarities in each game’s true ending, they also shared similar post-launch support. WhileHollow Knightreceived over a year’s worth of Kickstarter-funded free expansions,Rain Worldhad its own massive 1.5 and 1.7 patches, which brought in more story, content, and evenRain World’s easiest slugcat campaign.
Rain World: Downpour Beat Hollow Knight: Silksong To The Punch
Both titles gradually spread to consoles and got a variety of mods from dedicated fan communities. However, while Team Cherry was starting work onHollow Knight: Silksong, Videocult was also busy with its own paid expansion calledRain World: Downpour, which beatSilksongto a 2023 launch.
This speed was thanks to integrating several popular community mods, but the result was still several sequel and prequel campaigns that more than doubledRain World’s content. With loads of new secrets to uncover and evenrequestedHollow Knightfeatures like online campaign co-op,Rain Worldcould keepHollow Knightfans busy untilSilksongis ready.
