Every Game Competing With Hollow Knight: Silksong on September 4

Last week’s reveal that Hollow Knight: Silksong would be arriving on September 4 was a cause for both celebration and concern. While the millions of players who’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of the Hollow Knight sequel are ecstactic about being able to finally get their hands on the game after 6 long years, indie developers who have been planning the release schedule for their game around the assumption that Silksong‘s release date was still up in the air were left with a difficult choice: do they delay their game or release it as-planned and risk it being cannibalized by the major event that is Silksong‘s release? There have already been several titles that have opted to delay into October or later based on Silksong‘s surprise debut, but the following games are still on track to go head-to-head against Team Cherry’s sequel on September 4.

• Developer — Ilex Games
• Publisher — Atari
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The upcoming Adventure of Samsara has the unenviable position of being one of the few Metroidvania games choosing to go up against Silksong. To make matters worse, it’s a previously indie title that was picked up for publishing by Atari and retrofitted into the Adventure universe, meaning the title now has some sales targets to meet that it might find troublesome when releasing on the same day as the most anticipated Metroidvania of all time. Still, Adventure of Samsara does have enough of a unique visual aesthetic and gameplay identity to stand out from Silksong as a viable alternative for anyone looking for something more old-school.

• Developer — Sword & Axe
• Publisher — indie.io
• Genre — TRPG
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch

After having already had a successful launch on PC, turn-based tactical RPG Dark Deity II is finally coming to Nintendo Switch on the same day that the hybrid console gets Hollow Knight: Silksong. The original Hollow Knight was a huge success on the Nintendo Switch, with a lot of the game’s lasting appeal coming from the resurgence in the Metroidvania genre brought on by the console. Despite Dark Deity II being a completely different genre from Silksong, it’s still a major risk for any indie game to go up against the upcoming Hollow Knight sequel. Here’s hoping that Dark Deity II‘s Switch launch doesn’t end up dead in the water.

• Developer — Rogue Factor
• Publisher — Nacon
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

For those of us who’ve been looking forward to Hell Is Us, the game’s launch on September 4 remains locked in. Unfortunately, there’s a strong likelihood that a lot of the same players anticipating Hell Is Us are also looking forward to Silksong, meaning we’ll have to choose which game to prioritize on their shared release date. While Silksong is a Metroidvania/Soulslike hybrid, Hell Is Us is a more traditional third-person Soulslike that does some interesting things with how it handles exploration and progression, and its incredible demo set the stage for it to be one of the year’s more original and exciting games.

• Developer — Berangin Creative
• Publisher — Soft Source Publishing
• Genre — Puzzle Platformer
• Platforms — PC

Another highly anticipated indie game that’s going head-to-head against Silksong is Kejora, which thankfully isn’t anywhere close to being a Soulslike or a Metroidvania. Instead, Kejora is an adventure game/puzzle platformer hybrid with an emphasis on narrative and some gorgeous hand-drawn visuals. To its developer’s credit, Kejora is one of the few indie games not to move its release date in anticipation of Silksong, which could indicate faith in the game’s ability to deliver a different and compelling experience that runs concurrently to Silksong rather than going up against it.

• Developer — Primal Game Studio
• Publisher — Knights Peak
• Genre — Metroidvania, Soulslike
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch

Another Metroidvania that has the unfortunate position of going up against Silksong on September 4 is the Switch release of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree. Notably, Mandragora is another Soulslike/Metroidvania hybrid that arguably owes a debt of gratitude to the original Hollow Knight, and its release on the Nintendo Switch has been highly anticipated by genre fans thanks to its place as one of the year’s better games in the genre. The main determining factor for Mandragora‘s success on Switch is arguably its price. If Silksong releases for less than Mandragora‘s $39.99 MSRP, expect Mandragora‘s Switch launch to potentially arrive dead in the water.

• Developer — Pixel Reign
• Publisher — Super Rare Originals
• Genre — FPS, Roguelike
• Platforms — PC

Before the reveal that Silksong would finally launch on September 4, Moros Protocol was one of my most anticipated releases for that week. A first-person shooter roguelike with an old-school aesthetic and some System Shock-adjacent atmosphere, Moros Protocol has a lot going on for it that should appeal to fans of either genre, and its excellent Steam Next Fest demo proved that it had the gameplay chops to back up its strong art direction and aesthetic. Thankfully, the “quick fix” nature of Moros Protocol‘s gameplay loop means it could still find an audience even with its release on the same day as Hollow Knight: Silksong — maybe even as a great palate cleanser between sessions.

• Developer — Massive Entertainment
• Publisher — Ubisoft
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Platforms — Switch 2

Both the Switch and the Switch 2 have the potential to be two of the biggest platforms for Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s September 4 launch, aside from PC, which makes the Switch 2 launch of Star Wars Outlaws on the same day unfortunate. Star Wars Outlaws already had a bit of a mixed reception during its original launch, and now it seems like bad luck lightning has struck twice with its Switch 2 version going up against Silksong. That said, there could very well be some Switch 2-owning Star Wars fans that are eagerly anticipating Outlaws‘ release that have zero interest in Silksong, so there’s hope yet for this newest AAA port to Nintendo’s new console.

• Developer — Ankake Spa
• Publisher — Phoenixx
• Genre — Action RPG
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch

Another former PC exclusive title launching on Switch the same day as Silksong is Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity. As you might expect given the game’s name, Scarlet Curiosity is another game in the bullet hell Touhou series, only it swaps traditional scrolling shooter gameplay for something more akin to an action RPG. The Touhou games have a dedicated fan base that is almost surely excited to finally be able to pick the game up on Switch, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope for Scarlet Curiosity making much of a splash outside its niche.

• Developer — Hutlihut Games
• Publisher — Focus Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Co-Op, Shooter
• Platforms — PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

The final big release for September 4 that’s going to be competing against Hollow Knight: Silksong is Void Crew, which is making its home console debut on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Void Crew has continued to maintain a strong community of players on PC, and its console launch would only see that community grow thanks to the game’s implementation of crossplay and emphasis on co-op. Unfortunately, Silksong‘s release is a multiplatform one, with the highly anticipated game reportedly arriving for just about every console under the sun on launch day. It will be interesting to see if Void Crew is able to make a splash on console outside the die-hard co-op shooter fans when it arrives next Thursday.