Team Cherry announced Silksong in 2019. Seven years later, the wishlist has grown taller than most people’s Steam libraries, and this week Polygon reported that a hand-drawn newcomer called Chronoscript: The Endless End is giving Silksong “serious competition” when it ships this fall. If you already 112%’d Hollow Knight and cannot face another year of dev silence, this is the list. Seven Hollow Knight: Silksong alternatives on PC that actually deliver the map-first, tight-combat, melancholy-lore loop the original nailed. Every pick runs on Windows, most on macOS and Linux, and each one is available on Steam today.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Steam price | Length | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blasphemous 2 | The closest thing to Hollow Knight’s vibe | ~$29.99 | 20-25h | Three swappable weapon classes, brutal art direction |
| Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Players who want beauty and momentum | ~$29.99 | 15-20h | Dash-and-glide movement, orchestral score |
| Nine Sols | Parry-heavy combat and Sekiro fans | ~$29.99 | 25-30h | Deflect system, Taoistpunk world |
| Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights | Quiet, moody exploration | ~$24.99 | 15-20h | Combat via summoned spirits, Mili soundtrack |
| Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | The biggest AAA map on the list | ~$49.99 | 25-30h | Memory Shards fast-travel, 60+ hours with DLC |
| Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus | Fresh 2024 indie pick | ~$24.99 | 12-15h | Pogo-jump combat rooted in yokai folklore |
| Death’s Door | Readers who want something not-quite-metroidvania | ~$19.99 | 10-12h | Isometric perspective, Zelda-adjacent structure |
Why you’re looking beyond Silksong right now
Team Cherry’s radio silence is the main reason people search for Hollow Knight: Silksong alternatives, and it is a fair reason. The sequel was announced in February 2019 as a full standalone follow-up. It has been delayed past every internal target the team hinted at, and public communications have narrowed to sporadic single-line posts. Threads on r/HollowKnight regularly ask whether the studio is still shipping anything at all, and no external publisher deadline exists to force a launch.
The second reason is that the genre has moved on without waiting. Since 2019 the metroidvania shelf has filled with games that borrow Hollow Knight’s tight controls, hand-drawn art, and lore-through-environment approach, then push in their own direction. Chronoscript: The Endless End, the fall 2026 release Polygon called out this week, is the latest example: hand-drawn 2D, exploration-first, and by all appearances aimed straight at the Silksong-shaped hole in the calendar. Waiting is optional now in a way it wasn’t three years ago.
The third reason is practical. Nothing on this list will replace Team Cherry’s specific sensibility, but the reasons people love Hollow Knight, dense interconnected maps, hard-earned upgrades, atmosphere you can taste, are all covered elsewhere. Below are the seven best places to spend the wait.
The alternatives
Blasphemous 2, best overall Hollow Knight replacement
Blasphemous 2 is the pick if what you miss most about Hollow Knight is the feel: precise 2D combat, a hostile world map you learn to read, and art that stops you at every screen transition. The Game Kitchen dropped the punishing execution of the first game and layered in three swappable weapon classes (rapier, censer flail, twin daggers), each with its own moveset and traversal ability. That single change turns backtracking into a puzzle instead of a chore.
Where it falls short: The story leans hard on Catholic-guilt imagery that some readers find heavy-handed, and the difficulty curve dips in the middle third once you have all three weapons. It is also less atmospheric than Hollow Knight, more baroque cathedral than empty ruin.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $29.99, frequent 50-75% Steam sales
- DLC: Mea Culpa expansion typically $9.99
- vs Silksong: Comparable price to what Silksong is expected to launch at, and Blasphemous 2 is finished and patched
Runs on: Windows, macOS, Linux via Proton (Steam Deck Verified).
Download: Steam | GOG | Epic Games Store
Bottom line: The single closest match on this list. If Hollow Knight vs Blasphemous 2 came down to combat feel alone, Blasphemous 2 wins on variety and Hollow Knight wins on responsiveness. Pick this first.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, best for movement and mood
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the metroidvania to install if you loved Hollow Knight’s exploration but bounced off its combat. Moon Studios built a game around momentum, dash-jump-glide chains that carry you across biomes without breaking rhythm, and a hand-painted world that runs at 60fps even on modest hardware. The Gareth Coker score does what Christopher Larkin’s Hollow Knight soundtrack did, sits under everything and elevates it.
Where it falls short: Combat is thinner than Hollow Knight’s. There are Shards to swap between fights, but the moveset never gets deep enough to satisfy players who came for the boss fights. Also, escape sequences interrupt the exploration pace.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $29.99, often under $10 on sale
- No DLC, everything shipped in the base game
- vs Silksong: Cheaper on sale and has been stable since launch
Runs on: Windows, Xbox app, and Steam Deck Verified. No native macOS or Linux build (Proton works reliably).
Download: Steam | Microsoft Store
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a taste split, one is a boss-fight game with exploration, the other is an exploration game with fights. Pick Ori if your favorite Hollow Knight memory is the first descent into Greenpath, not the Radiance.
Nine Sols, best for the parry-and-punish crowd
Nine Sols is what happens when Red Candle Games watches Sekiro and Hollow Knight back to back and builds a Taoistpunk 2D world out of the result. The deflect system is the star, most bosses are functionally unbeatable until parry timing clicks, and once it does the fights turn into rhythm games with life bars. The world is smaller than Hollow Knight’s Hallownest but more densely packed, and the Chinese mythology skin is unlike anything else in the genre.
Where it falls short: The parry-or-die design will lock out players who cannot get the timing. There is an easier “Story mode” now, but it papers over the design rather than adapting it. Some late-game platforming is punishing in ways that feel padded.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $29.99, occasional 20-30% Steam sales
- No DLC yet
- vs Silksong: Similar length, more challenging on default difficulty
Runs on: Windows, macOS, Steam Deck Verified. Playable on Linux via Proton.
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Nine Sols is a combat-philosophy split, roll away or stand and parry. Pick Nine Sols if the Grimm fight was your favorite part of Hollow Knight.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, best for the melancholy players
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is the pick when what you actually miss is Hollow Knight’s mood, empty halls, sad music, lore fragments in item descriptions. You play a young priestess who cannot attack directly, so combat routes through summoned spirits of fallen knights. The Mili soundtrack is the emotional spine of the game and reason enough to install it. The kingdom is compact but every area has an idea.
Where it falls short: Combat variety is limited compared to Hollow Knight’s charm system, and the game is shorter than most of this list. Boss patterns are simpler once you learn them.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $24.99, regularly on sale at 50-70% off
- Bonus DLC content and a sequel (Ender Magnolia) exist as separate purchases
- vs Silksong: Cheaper, shorter, and finished
Runs on: Windows and Steam Deck Verified. Playable on macOS/Linux via Proton.
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Ender Lilies is not really a comparison of scope, it is a comparison of tone. Pick Ender Lilies if the vessels crying in the Abyss hit you harder than the boss fights did.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, best AAA scale
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the largest metroidvania on this list by a wide margin. Ubisoft Montpellier shipped a full AAA production budget at a genre usually reserved for indies, and it shows: fully animated cutscenes, voice acting in multiple languages, and a map that opens up for 30+ hours before the DLC even kicks in. The Memory Shards system lets you screenshot any wall and pin it to fast-travel, which sounds small until you realize how much genre backtracking it removes.
Where it falls short: The story is generic Prince of Persia fare and Ubisoft-shaped, meaning you get accessibility options and quality-of-life polish but also a slight over-explanation of everything. Some readers find it lacks the personality of the indie picks on this list.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $49.99, discounted to $19-25 on regular Steam sales
- Mask of Darkness DLC: around $19.99, roughly 8 hours of additional content
- vs Silksong: Significantly larger scope but at roughly 2x the launch price
Runs on: Windows and Steam Deck Verified. No macOS/Linux native, and Ubisoft Connect is required.
Download: Steam | Epic Games Store | Ubisoft Store
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a scale split, small handcrafted world against a large produced one. Pick this if you want 60 hours in one game and do not mind Ubisoft Connect.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, best fresh pick
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is the 2024 indie that reads as if the team studied Hollow Knight’s combat and Ori’s movement, then rebuilt them around a pogo-jump. Every enemy, hazard, and lantern in the world can be bounced off with the parasol, which turns combat sequences into juggling. The visual style is hand-painted and steeped in Japanese yokai folklore, and boss encounters lean hard on rhythm.
Where it falls short: Shorter than the rest of the list (roughly 12-15 hours for the main story) and some late areas rely too heavily on pogo skills that will filter out casual players. The story is thinner than the world design suggests it should be.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $24.99, occasional 20-30% Steam sales
- No DLC currently
- vs Silksong: Roughly two thirds the expected Silksong length at a slightly lower price
Runs on: Windows, macOS, and Steam Deck Verified. Linux via Proton.
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is a movement-mechanic split, one is a dash game with jumps, the other is a bounce game with slashes. Pick Bo if you want something you have not seen before.
Death’s Door, best “not a metroidvania” alternative
Death’s Door is on this list as the wildcard, and it earns the spot for a specific reason: it scratches the Hollow Knight itch better than most 2D metroidvanias despite being an isometric action game. Acid Nerve built a compact, interconnected world where a crow employed by a corporate reaping agency collects souls, and the level design borrows Metroidvania sensibilities, unlockable abilities gate old areas, shortcuts loop back on themselves, boss fights punctuate zones.
Where it falls short: No 2D combat, so if what you actually want is precise horizontal platforming, this is not it. Combat is Zelda-adjacent rather than Souls-adjacent, which some Hollow Knight fans will find shallow.
Pricing:
- Base game: around $19.99, frequently under $10 on sale
- No DLC
- vs Silksong: Cheaper, shorter, and structurally different
Runs on: Windows, macOS, and Steam Deck Verified. Linux via Proton.
Download: Steam | GOG | Epic Games Store
Bottom line: Hollow Knight vs Death’s Door is a perspective split, side-on vs isometric. Pick Death’s Door if you want the exploration-and-atmosphere half of Hollow Knight without the punishing platforming.
How to choose
Pick Blasphemous 2 if you want the pick that comes closest to Hollow Knight in tone, art, and combat feel. It is the safest bet on the list.
Pick Ori and the Will of the Wisps if the reason you loved Hollow Knight was the exploration and the moment-to-moment movement, not the boss fights.
Pick Nine Sols if you crushed Path of Pain and want a game that puts parries at the center of every fight.
Pick Ender Lilies if you keep re-listening to the Hollow Knight OST and just want to sit in that mood again for 15 hours.
Pick Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown if you want the largest amount of content, do not mind an extra launcher, and would appreciate proper accessibility options.
Pick Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus if you have played the top three on this list and want something visually and mechanically fresh.
Pick Death’s Door if you are willing to swap perspective for a tight 10-hour experience that plays like Hollow Knight if Zelda designed it.
Wait for Silksong itself only if you have all the patience of a Hallownest bench, no interest in the rest of the genre, and are content with no release date. For everyone else, Chronoscript: The Endless End is the next major hand-drawn metroidvania on the calendar (Fall 2026 on Steam), and one of the seven picks above is already sitting in your library queue.
FAQ
Is Hollow Knight: Silksong out yet on PC?
As of July 2026, Silksong has no confirmed release date. Team Cherry has not committed publicly to a launch window, and the Steam store page still lists it as “Coming Soon”. The game will release on Steam, GOG, and the Microsoft Store simultaneously when it does ship.
What is the closest game to Hollow Knight on Steam?
Blasphemous 2 is the closest match on combat feel, art density, and world design. Nine Sols is the closest on difficulty. Ender Lilies is the closest on tone. All three are on Steam today for under $30.
Can you play Hollow Knight: Silksong alternatives on Steam Deck?
Yes. Every game on this list has either a Steam Deck Verified badge or has been confirmed Playable via Proton. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Blasphemous 2, Nine Sols, Ender Lilies, and Death’s Door all run natively at 60fps on the Deck.
Is there a free Hollow Knight alternative on PC?
No fully free metroidvania on Steam matches Hollow Knight’s scope, but Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Blasphemous 2 both offer free demos that cover 1-2 hours of gameplay. Death’s Door and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are frequently under $10 on sale.
What game is competing with Silksong in 2026?
Chronoscript: The Endless End, launching on Steam in Fall 2026, is the highest-profile hand-drawn 2D metroidvania in direct competition with Silksong. Polygon’s preview flagged it specifically as challenging Silksong for the same audience. It joins Blasphemous 2, Nine Sols, and Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus as the modern generation of games filling the gap.
How long is Hollow Knight compared to these alternatives?
Hollow Knight runs about 30 hours for the main story and 60+ hours for full completion including Godhome. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the only game on this list that matches full-completion Hollow Knight for content volume. Ender Lilies, Bo, and Death’s Door are all in the 10-15 hour range for the main story.
