Xbox reveals Hollow Knight Silksong demo, but you'll have to up your air miles

It's all 'Silksong this,' 'Silksong that' these days. You see it in every livestream comment section and every social media post, from The Game Awards to Summer Game Fest. 'Where's Silksong?' The chorus of gamers caw out like the Finding Nemo's seagulls, and for good reason. Team Cherry's scorchingly-anticipated follow up to indie darling Hollow Knight has had us questioning whether we've all been collectively experiencing the Mandella effect for years now. But, finally, an opportunity to actually get hands on with Hollow Knight Silksong is on the horizon - provided you're willing to take a trip to Germany.

Hollow Knight Silksong has had a long ol' development cycle, and it's more than merited. This is the sequel to one of the best Metroidvania games of all time we're talking about, and I can imagine Team Cherry is taking meticulous care to ensure Hornet's big Pharloom adventure lives up to the grandiose reputation it has burgeoned. Hollow Knight was a masterclass in design, a veritable trove of challenge and delight. It also has loads of cute bugs in it, which is a big green flag in my book.

Though a Silksong demo has already been confirmed for Game Worlds Australia this September, you can dodge a chance encounter with the local Nosks and still get hands-on. That is, if you can get yourself to Gamescom between August 20 - 24.

As confirmed by Xbox, Silksong will be at this year's event, playable both on PC and the recently-announced ROG Xbox Ally X. I've always been a bit scared of playing the best soulslike games on a handheld, not least because of my paper-thin mental. Nonetheless, I can see Silksong quickly carving out a place on our best Steam Deck games list, provided it plays just as nicely with Valve's older hardware as it (hopefully) will on the suped up Ally X.

Outside of Silksong, Microsoft's got a hefty 20-plus-strong demo line-up going on at Gamescom, including upcoming PC game Ninja Gaiden 4, and some of the publisher's bigger hitters like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. As The Outer Worlds 2 release date edges closer, there's an "exclusive theater presentation" on the cards, hopefully offering up some new details on Obsidian's upcoming RPG sequel.

For everything we know about Silksong so far, check out our Hollow Knight Silksong release date guide. Or for more bangers from smaller studios, peep our best indie games list.

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