The Metroidvania community has developed Stockholm syndrome at this point. Six years of waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong has turned rational gamers into conspiracy theorists who analyze every pixel of Team Cherry’s social media posts for hidden clues.
This week’s gaming showcases promised hope but delivered heartbreak instead. Sony’s State of Play came and went without a whisper of Hornet’s adventure, while Summer Game Fest actively trolled fans with what might be the cruelest joke in gaming history.
The patience of an entire community hangs by a thin “silk” thread.
When trolling becomes an art form at Summer Game Fest
Wednesday’s PlayStation State of Play already crushed dreams by focusing on everything except the one game fans actually wanted to see. But Geoff Keighley decided that wasn’t enough emotional damage for one week.
During yesterday’s Summer Game Fest, Keighley received a bright red note that mentioned “skip that Silk Song trailer” before pivoting to a VR Deadpool game instead. The crowd’s audible disappointment was palpable as thousands of viewers realized they’d been baited harder than in a fishing tournament:
The cruel bait-and-switch might have been forgivable if Team Cherry had actually shown up with a trailer afterward.
Instead, fans got How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris voicing Deadpool in virtual reality, which is admittedly very Deadpool-y but also very niche. VR games have this unfortunate habit of existing primarily in YouTube clips for most people. But we digress.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Silksong’s Steam database has been unusually active recently, feeding the community’s hope that something was finally happening. Instead, they got trolled by a fake production note while chat exploded with disappointed “SILKSONG” spam.
Team Cherry’s communication strategy has become legendary for all the wrong reasons. Six years of radio silence, punctuated by occasional cryptic tweets, has turned their fan base into digital archaeologists desperately searching for meaning in every social media interaction.
Tomorrow’s Xbox showcase might end the suffering
Hope springs eternal in the Metroidvania community, and tomorrow’s Xbox Games Showcase has become the latest target for desperate optimism. Microsoft’s event carries extra weight after this week’s disappointments left fans questioning whether Hollow Knight: Silksong actually exists.
The rumor mill suggests Xbox might finally deliver what Sony and Summer Game Fest couldn’t. Recent industry whispers point to possible appearances, though fans have learned to temper expectations after years of false hope and cruel pranks.
Xbox’s relationship with indie developers has been notably strong, making them a logical venue for Team Cherry to finally break their silence. The timing would also make sense from a marketing perspective, giving Silksong a clear stage after competitors fumbled their opportunities.
But here’s the reality check: expecting Silksong at this point feels like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Lucy always pulls it away at the last second, leaving fans flat on their backs wondering why they believed this time would be different.
The community deserves better than cryptic tweets and cruel jokes, Team Cherry! Six years of development should produce something more substantial than database updates and fake production notes that mock the very people who made the original game successful.
What’s your breaking point for Silksong news? Are you still holding out hope for tomorrow’s Xbox showcase, or has the wait finally broken your spirit? Let us know in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
