Hollow Knightis one of the most well-known crowdfunding successes, joining other titles likeShovel Knight, Darkest Dungeon, andDivinity: Original Sinin the annals of gaming history. For its debut game, Team Cherry had an expansive list of stretch goals on itsHollow KnightKickstarter campaign, and few can argue with the legacy it set - especially when the upcoming sequelHollow Knight: Silksongis highly anticipated.
As with any game development process, content is bound to be cut, whether it’s to cull unfitting ideas or save time. For games that start life being crowdfunded, cut content gets trickier as there’s an added level of content that might not make it to development if stretch goals aren’t reached. In spite of its popularity,Hollow Knightwas no stranger to this, with many areas Team Cherry intended to let the player explore never making it into the final product.WithHollow Knight: Silksongon the way, fans could see content they missed out on the first time around salvaged for the sequel.
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Snail Village
Snails played an important role inHollow Knight,as the Snail Shamans provide players with many ofthe spells The Knight usesthroughout the game, some of which are integral to accessing certain areas. It stands to reason that there might have been an area dedicated to the snails of Hallownest, which is confirmed to have once existed in early development - dubbed “Snail Village.” Gameplay footage from one trailer reveals a large snail NPC that the player could interact with, but according to Team Cherry this area was cut due to it not fitting in with the game’s overall design.
The Abyss
While the Abyss did make its way into the final version ofHollow Knight, one of the game’s original stretch goals was going to expand this area. The goal was never met, meaning content planned for the area never saw the light of day. From what’s known about the lore of the Abyss that Team Cherry has divulged, it seems the expansion would have taken players deeper into the void lake, with additional quests andfour new bosses to encounter.
Certain parts of the Abyss carry leftover ideas that indicate how the expansion might have been implemented, such as lighting the lighthouse overlooking the black lake being an actual quest or potentially triggering a boss encounter. This expansion could have also played a significant role in elucidatingthe backstory behind the Pale Kingand the Hollow Knight’s creation. It could even have provided more insight into the obscure ancient civilization theorized to have come before Hallownest. Without sufficient backing, the Abyss remained vacant, merely serving as a location for abilities like the Abyssal Shriek or the Shade Cloak.
The Forest of Bones
Perhaps the most interesting area to be cut, the Forest of Bones had a complicated history. Initially planned to be positioned in the northeast portion of the map, the Forest of Bones was going to have a significant role - possibly housing the ending boss fight. It was an ambitious design, including over 50 unique enemies and various subsections, and would have been one of the game’s biggest areas. Ultimately, it was moved down the map due to the unrealistic nature of lava appearing closer to the surface, before being altogether scrapped due to its size impacting otherareas ofHollow Knight’s map.
However, keen-eyed players were quick to point out its similarity to an area inHollow Knight: Silksong’strailer. These areas share the aesthetic of subterranean caverns filled with lava and bones, leading many players to theorize that whatever had been cut fromHollow Knightis being reused - or at the very least reimagined - forSilksong.Though this might be the case, players are unsure how bigthis environment inSilksongwill be, and how much it will factor into the game’s story.
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Holy Grounds
One subsection of the Forest of Bones was the “Holy Grounds,” a place of worship according to Team Cherry, which was overrun with enemies following the infection. This area seems to be where one of the three Dreamers had initially resided. Due to the Forest of Bones' apparent connection with Deepnest,this Dreamer likely would have been Herrah. Further, it was indicated that an actual temple had been planned as a dungeon to house Herrah.
It seems a significant portion of both the Forest of Bones and the Holy Grounds were later reused to form the basis of Deepnest, as the lack of dungeon for Herrah in the final version ofHollow Knightaligns with the idea it had been scrapped in early development. Between what was cut and what remained in the final game, the lore behind Deepnest and Herrah could have been markedly different. Were it not for these substantiative changes in lore,Silksongmight never have seenHornet take the role as protagonist, as story-wise she exists to explain Herrah’s allegiance to the Pale King.
Many of the areas that were either cut or simplified forHollow Knightwere done to address the growing scope of the game. While it may be a natural part of game design to ensure a final, polished product is ready for launch, players will always wonder what could have been. For instance, the unfunded Abyss expansion didn’t make it intoTeam Cherry’s final vision of the game, but fans remain hopeful that some aspects will be revived forSilksong.
Hollow Knightis available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
