30-minutes until the live reveal of the latest Hollow Knight: Silksong trailer, the Hollow Knight: Silksong Daily News Discord server is packed. Almost a hundred people are sitting in a single voice channel, chatting away, cracking jokes. In less than an hour, they’ll blow out my earphones.
Prior to the release date trailer, the regular gags are thrown out perhaps for the final time. The game will be announcing a delay, one person meekly chirps. Another boisterous and proud, declares that Team Cherry had tweeted something, lying as easily as he breathed.
“Why are there so many people on this call?” one user asks. “How many are in the official Silksong Discord?” unaware that the official Hollow Knight Discord had locked its voice channels, making Silksong Daily News the go-to spot for live reactions.
In the few minutes leading to the reveal, shock reactions at 160,000, then 200,000 people flocking to the YouTube trailer stream flow constant and jubilant through the voices of eager fans. Discord user Kelton closes down the Itch.io Silksong fan game, and settles in to watch. Everyone quickly mutes themselves as the YouTube timer nears zero, others are told to shut up.
The timer hits zero, only for another three minute timer to appear. Everyone unmutes again. Some claps, an “oh my god”, scattered laughter. Someone notices that 260,000 people are now watching live, and renewed cries for muted mics are made by leaders of the pack. Discord user Schmalamph states: “after so many years it’s finally time”, before shifting up with a “Silksong 2034” gag to the chat’s amusement.
Then, the trailer starts, and it’s beautiful. Gasps and meek cheers pop out between cuts. The map is shown and people start to get riled up, “holy shits” get thrown out as Hornet flips around platforms and enemies alike. The volume rises steadily with each new line in the trailer, over 200 enemies, over 40 bosses. At this point, I should have turned the volume down.
Then, the trailer fades to black, and September 4 creeps into frame. Everyone unmutes at once and screams. They cheer and yell and one guy does what sounds like a war cry. Some European fella starts singing September by Earth, Wind, & Fire. Then, very few leave. They stick around and celebrate while pouring through the trailer frame-by-frame. As the dissection of every detail, every nugget of information continues, I take my leave with sore eardrums.
This experience, hanging out in a Hollow Knight: Silksong Discord and listening in to the jokes, the joy, and the post-trailer merriment is to me what video game fandom is all about. It’s hearing people who have been starved of information for years finally learn that not only is the wait almost over, it’s over in two weeks. It’s knowing that some stranger across the world now has to phone their boss and try to get time off work for a video game, and knowing you’re tempted to do the same.
So here’s to the Hollow Knight fans, whose wait is almost over. All that’s left is to hope the game isn’t bad. God, could you imagine?