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Team Cherry's Silksong continues the signature narrative style from the original title, scattering historical fragments and character growth throughout the world. When you piece it all together, the transformation from a apparently straightforward start to a profoundly important ending is striking. Similar to the rest of the game, the plot is grander in scope and more refined than its predecessor, centered around a strong central idea and a significant revelation.

However, the word "Almost" is crucial. There is a central flaw: the creators seem unable to decide about whether the main character is the heroine or the person controlling her.

Editor's Note: The following discussion contains heavy spoilers for both the regular and secret conclusions of Silksong.

Hornet's Journey

The quest begins with Hornet captured and caged. The Weavers of Pharloom captured her on the bidding of Grand Mother Silk, from whom she is partly descended. After escaping, she joins a band of travelers and begins her ascent. Her path takes her from the hellish depths filled with remains of the fallen up towards the fortress, home to Pharloom's corrupt religious caste. Along the way, she witnesses the cruelty and suffering inflicted upon the oppressed populace in the name of faith—laborers who sacrifice their lives, dissenters jailed for daring to question, and more.

Lace and the Central Conflict

Lace, also born from Grand Mother Silk's essence, is also making her way to the stronghold. Her plan is to revive the deity, seek vengeance on the corrupt clergy, and seize control. The protagonist's interference changes everything. In the regular conclusion, she takes over from the deity. In the secret finale, Hornet locks away Mother Silk, battles the Void, frees Lace, and sees Mother Silk give herself up so both can escape.

Thematic Foundations

Silksong is, at its heart, a tale of journey. It is modeled after medieval pilgrimages and allegorical dramas, with a critical look at institutional faith. Hornet's journey—descending into darkness, navigating a purgatorial layer, and rising toward revelation—directly parallels Dante's The Divine Comedy. That literary work follows a fictional Dante through the afterlife on a journey of enlightenment, which is the essence of Silksong.

One can even draw connections to the Christian ritual, albeit rearranged. The heroine is arrested and stripped, faces judgment, endures a tortuous ascent, and is briefly imprisoned in the abyss. In essence, the game encourages reflection on faith, the soul, and change, all of which are vital for grasping the ending.

Backstory of the Weavers

Delving into the lore of the ancient race reveals that the religion and way of life once championed by Mother Silk has become corrupt. Her children abandoned her teachings, and a group of power-hungry clergy took over the temple, perverting the faith for their personal benefit.

Hornet, as a part-Weaver descendant of Grand Mother Silk, was pre-ordained to follow her will, whether she wanted to or not. Thanks to her true mother, Herrah, Hornet was kept away from the internal conflicts and taught to live for herself, which is why Mother Silk imprisons her at the beginning—to force her to fulfill her Weaver responsibilities.

Endings and Meanings

If Hornet defeats Mother Silk in the regular finale, she absorbs her spirit and ascends to divinity. The fact that this is not the good outcome indicates that the kingdom's problems would continue—Hornet would have simply swapped one fallen god for another. By solving everyone's problems, players unlock Act 3 and the ideal conclusion.

Like any meaningful pilgrimage, this one ends with revelation. Hornet's discovery is that she can now exist independently of the hereditary burden in her blood and choose her own path. Her rival, reminded of love's power, liberated from her single-mindedness, will likely rebuild Pharloom as a fairer society. In the true ending, faith is abolished, and all can live autonomously.

As a end of the journey, it is an brilliant narrative device that perfectly aligns with the traditions it references. It communicates players that the sole path to a better society is to show compassion. Few games use interactivity to convey this theme so effectively, and the developers deserve praise for this innovative approach.

The Protagonist Problem

Despite the power of its conclusion, the development team struggled to support this theme consistently and, more importantly, to connect it to the main character: the heroine.

The moral might be for the player, but the narrative is about her. When a story features a protagonist with her own agency, she must be the primary subject, and her actions and growth should communicate the ideas. Even in allegorical works, the main character's purpose are usually clearly defined to ensure understanding.

Yet, she does not learn or change on her journey. Her sole purpose is to return home. The conflict between free will and fate only surfaces in the climactic battle and some hidden lore. If players tick every box to unlock Act 3, an NPC character remarks about her kindness, but he is talking to you, not her.

Missing Growth

This approach would have worked in the first Hollow Knight, where the player and the Knight are one. She, however, is her own person, a focused warrior with a set objective. If she is forced to perform actions against her nature—such as aiding the helpless—there should be some friction. One would expect her to complain, act gruff, or at least respond. A simple grumble when initially assisting, later showing hope that her aid might help, would work.

When initially requested to help the oppressed citizens, Hornet responds with indifference, treating it as a minor task. Even if the user decides to assist, Hornet forms no bond with any of them. There is no change, no shift in perspective. It is notable that the player would show such care, but not the heroine. The game provides no reason to think she would.

Wasted Character Potential

The protagonist's dialogues with figures such as the Caretaker were the ideal chance to develop her personality and strengthen the message without heavy-handed exposition. Most of these end up being merely ornamental, just padding the runtime. This problem stems from both the characterization of the heroine and the random placement of the other characters.

One character is essentially a charming but irrelevant figure—there for flavor but having no real impact. Others, like the certain NPCs, represent different ideologies contrary to the establishment, a concept that aligns with the message but is never developed.

Aside from Lace and Sherma, one of the only characters with a story spanning all three acts is a specific character, thanks to a tale of lost love. While emotionally powerful, it relies too much on a troubling trope and feels disconnected from the central plot. Taking it out would have little impact on the protagonist's arc or the primary theme.

Hornet as a Passenger

The apparently arbitrary distribution of focus makes subplots feel incomplete and tacked on. The largest error, however, is that the heroine is portrayed as a passive participant in almost every situation. The few times she speaks up, her remarks are uninspiring, such as offering clichéd advice to another character. Even blunter commentary on the core themes would have linked her more closely to the game's concepts. Instead, she is just along for the ride—in the passenger seat of her own story.

Acknowledging the Achievement

Despite these problems in storytelling, there is still much to respect for what the team accomplished. Few games synthesize so many influences into a set of themes so powerful and complex that they are built directly into the environment itself. If the future game from the studio is even bigger and better, one can only hope that those improvements include the fundamentals of storytelling as well.