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Team Cherry's Silksong upholds the unique narrative style from the first game, tucking away bits of lore and character growth throughout the world. As you assemble the full picture, the evolution from a seemingly simple beginning to a deeply significant ending is striking. Similar to the rest of the game, the story is grander in scope and more refined than its forerunner, built upon a powerful core concept and a remarkable twist.

However, the word "Nearly" is key. There is a significant problem: the creators seem unsure about whether the main character is the heroine or the person controlling her.

Heads Up: This analysis contains major plot reveals for both the regular and secret conclusions of Silksong.

Hornet's Journey

The quest starts with Hornet captured and caged. The Weavers of Pharloom captured her on orders from Grand Mother Silk, from whom Hornet is partly descended. After breaking free, she encounters a band of travelers and begins her ascent. Her route takes her from the dark underworld filled with remains of the fallen up towards the Citadel, home to Pharloom's decadent priesthood. Along the way, she observes the hardship and pain endured by the oppressed populace in the name of religion—laborers who sacrifice their lives, free-thinkers imprisoned for their beliefs, and more.

The Rival Weaver Lace

Lace, also created by Grand Mother Silk's essence, is likewise ascending to the Citadel. Her plan is to awaken her mother, exact revenge on the ministers who imprisoned her, and take over. Hornet's arrival changes everything. In the standard ending, Hornet usurps Mother Silk. In the secret finale, she locks away Mother Silk, battles the Void, rescues her rival, and witnesses a sacrifice so they may go free.

A Deeper Allegory

Silksong is, at its core, a pilgrimage story. It is inspired by medieval pilgrimages and morality plays, with a Reformation-style critique at organized religion. The protagonist's path—through hell, navigating a purgatorial layer, and rising toward revelation—directly parallels Dante's The Divine Comedy. That Renaissance masterpiece follows a fictional Dante through the afterlife on a quest for spiritual transformation, which perfectly encapsulates Silksong.

One can even see parallels to the Christian ritual, albeit out of order. Hornet is arrested and stripped, stands trial, suffers a grueling climb, and is briefly imprisoned in the void. In essence, the game encourages reflection on religion, spirituality, and transformation, all of which are essential for understanding the finale.

The Weaver Lore

Delving into the mythology of the ancient race reveals that the belief system and culture once championed by the deity has turned toxic. Her children forsook her path, and a group of power-hungry clergy took over the temple, perverting the faith for their personal benefit.

Hornet, as a part-Weaver descendant of the deity, was pre-ordained to follow her will, willingly or not. Thanks to her upbringing by Herrah, she was kept away from the Weaver drama and encouraged to be independent, which is why Mother Silk captures her at the start—to force her to fulfill her inherited duties.

Endings and Meanings

If Hornet defeats Mother Silk in the regular finale, she takes her power and ascends to divinity. The fact that this is not the good outcome indicates that the kingdom's problems would continue—Hornet would have merely replaced one corrupt deity for another. By resolving all conflicts, players unlock Act 3 and the ideal conclusion.

Like any meaningful pilgrimage, this one ends with revelation. Hornet's discovery is that she can now live free of the hereditary burden in her lineage and choose her own path. Lace, recalling that love triumphs, freed from selfishness, will presumably restore the kingdom in a better image. In the finale, faith is abolished, and everyone is free.

As a conclusion to the pilgrimage, it is an brilliant narrative device that perfectly aligns with the traditions it references. It communicates players that the sole path to a better society is to show compassion. Rarely do titles use player agency to convey this theme so effectively, and the creators deserve credit for this innovative approach.

A Central Dilemma

Despite the strength of its final message, the development team had difficulty reinforcing this message consistently and, crucially, to connect it to the adventure's heart: Hornet.

The message might be for the audience, but the story is about Hornet. When a narrative features a protagonist with her own agency, she must be the central focus, and her actions and growth should communicate the ideas. Even in allegorical works, the main character's purpose are usually explicitly stated to avoid confusion.

Yet, she does not learn or change on her journey. Her sole purpose is to return home. The conflict between free will and fate only appears in the climactic battle and some obscure backstory. If players tick every box to unlock Act 3, an NPC character comments on her kindness, but he is addressing the player, not her.

Lack of Character Development

This approach would have worked in the original game, where the player and the Knight are one. She, however, is her own person, a driven hunter with a set objective. If she is forced to perform uncharacteristic deeds—such as helping weak bugs—there should be some friction. One would anticipate her to complain, act gruff, or at least respond. A simple grumble when initially assisting, later showing hope that her aid might help, would suffice.

When initially requested to help the weak bugs of Pharloom, Hornet responds with indifference, treating it as a minor task. Even if the player chooses to help, she forms no bond with any of them. There is no transformation, no shift in perspective. It is remarkable that the player would demonstrate compassion, but not the heroine. The game provides little justification to think she would.

Underutilized Supporting Cast

The protagonist's dialogues with characters like the Caretaker were the ideal chance to flesh out her character and strengthen the message without heavy-handed exposition. However, many end up being merely ornamental, just padding the runtime. This problem stems from both the characterization of the heroine and the random placement of the supporting cast.

Garmond is essentially a lovable, doddering old fool—present for flavor but having no real impact. Others, like the certain NPCs, embody alternative beliefs outside the Citadel's norms, a concept that fits the themes but is never developed.

Aside from key figures, one of the only characters with a thread through the entire game is The Green Prince, thanks to a tale of lost love. While emotionally powerful, it relies too much on a troubling trope and feels disconnected from the main narrative. Removing it would have no effect on the protagonist's arc or the primary theme.

Hornet as a Passenger

The apparently arbitrary allocation of attention makes side stories feel incomplete and tacked on. The biggest misstep, however, is that Hornet is portrayed as a passive participant in almost every situation. The few times she speaks up, her observations are terribly bland, such as stating the obvious to another character. Even blunter commentary on the core themes would have tied her better to the game's ideas. Instead, she is merely a passenger—in the passenger seat of her own story.

Respect Amid Critique

Despite these problems in storytelling, there is still great admiration for what the developers accomplished. Rare titles blend so many inspirations into a collection of ideas so powerful and complex that they are built directly into the environment itself. If the future game from the studio is larger and improved, one can only wish that those enhancements include the fundamentals of storytelling as well.