Hornet's Cloak Removal in Silksong Sparks Player Curiosity

Yesterday, IGN announced that Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available for play at an Australian museum in September 2025, and they shared a sprite sheet from the eagerly awaited game. This revelation set the internet abuzz.

In a Reddit thread analyzing the exclusive sheet, one commenter posed the question, "In what situation [is] making a sprite of naked Hornet necessary?" The sprite sheet features numerous images of Silksong's protagonist, Hornet, in various poses, both combat-ready and relaxed. Notably, there's one sprite where Hornet is seen casually carrying her cloak under one arm. (See the close-up below, or view it on the right-hand side of the original sheet, just under the uppermost ring):

A close-up of the controversial sprite, located on the right-hand side of the original image."What kind of situation in-game calls for her to remove her cloak and hold it like she's an exhausted dad returning from work? This is cursed," remarked one Redditor.

"Is this real???? There’s no way this is a sprite that is going to be in Silksong. Is that just what she looks like????" questioned another, while a third exclaimed, "IN WHAT KIND OF SITUATION WOULD THEY EVEN NEED THIS SPRITE?"

The conversation soon took a playful turn.

"So, we don't have to bother making a mod," stated one user, while another suggested, "We're going straight to ESRB 18+ for this one."

"HORNET PUT YOUR CLOAK BACK ON THAT'S SO INDECENT WHAT THE HELL," demanded another thread's original poster, prompting responses like, "This looks so wrong," and "this is completely unnecessary."

"I do not like this," another user declared.

A possible explanation might be that players will have the option to upgrade or change Hornet's cloak, but until then, let your imaginations run wild, Hornet fans.

Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 Screenshots

View 5 ImagesTeam Cherry’s sequel is one of the most anticipated games globally, consistently topping Steam's wishlist charts for years. Silksong made a brief appearance at Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct last month, and soon after, Team Cherry confirmed the 2025 release window, much to the delight of its patient fanbase. With the game set to be playable at Australia's national museum of screen culture, ACMI, from September 18, speculation is rife that we might see a launch around August, though nothing has been officially confirmed yet.

Silksong will be part of a video game exhibition called Game Worlds at the Melbourne museum, which will also feature displays exploring the game’s design and artistic direction.