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Team Cherry's Silksong upholds the signature narrative style from the first game, scattering historical fragments and character growth throughout the world. As you assemble the full picture, the evolution from a seemingly simple start to a deeply significant ending is remarkable. Much like the rest of the game, the story is more ambitious and better executed than its predecessor, centered around a strong central idea and a remarkable twist.

However, the word "Nearly" is crucial. There is one major issue: the development team seem unable to decide about whether the main character is the heroine or the person controlling her.

Heads Up: This analysis contains heavy spoilers for both the regular and secret conclusions of Silksong.

The Pilgrimage of Hornet

The adventure begins with Hornet captured and caged. A group known as the Weavers captured her on the bidding of Grand Mother Silk, from whom she is partially born. After escaping, she encounters a group of pilgrims and begins her ascent. Her path takes her from the hellish depths filled with remains of the fallen up towards the fortress, home to Pharloom's corrupt religious caste. Along the way, she observes the hardship and pain endured by the oppressed populace in the name of religion—laborers who toil unto death, free-thinkers jailed for daring to question, and more.

Lace and the Central Conflict

Another Weaver, also created by Grand Mother Silk's essence, is also making her way to the Citadel. Her goal is to revive the deity, exact revenge on the ministers who imprisoned her, and take over. Hornet's arrival complicates matters. In the regular conclusion, she takes over from the deity. In the secret finale, Hornet imprisons the deity, confronts the dark entity, rescues her rival, and witnesses a sacrifice so they may go free.

Thematic Foundations

Silksong is, at its heart, a pilgrimage story. It is modeled after medieval pilgrimages and allegorical dramas, with a critical look at organized religion. Hornet's journey—through hell, navigating a purgatorial layer, and ascending to enlightenment—directly parallels Dante's The Divine Comedy. That Renaissance masterpiece follows a fictional Dante through hell, purgatory, and heaven on a journey of enlightenment, which perfectly encapsulates Silksong.

One can even see parallels to the Christian ritual, albeit out of order. Hornet is arrested and stripped, faces judgment, suffers a grueling climb, and is temporarily entombed in the void. In other words, the game invites contemplation on faith, the soul, and change, all of which are vital for understanding the finale.

The Weaver Lore

Delving into the mythology of the ancient race reveals that the belief system and culture previously upheld by Mother Silk has turned toxic. Her children forsook her path, and a group of power-hungry clergy seized control 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 compel her to accept her Weaver responsibilities.

Conclusions and Interpretations

If Hornet overcomes the deity in the regular finale, she takes her power and ascends to divinity. The fact that this is not the true ending indicates that the kingdom's problems would continue—she would have merely replaced one fallen god for another. By solving everyone's problems, players unlock Act 3 and the ideal conclusion.

Like any meaningful pilgrimage, this one ends with revelation. The protagonist's realization is that she can now live free of the hereditary burden in her blood and choose her own path. Lace, recalling that love triumphs, liberated from her single-mindedness, will likely restore the kingdom as a fairer society. In the true ending, faith is abolished, and everyone is free.

As a conclusion to the pilgrimage, it is an exceptional piece of meta-storytelling that perfectly aligns with the inspirations it draws upon. It communicates players that the only way to improve the world is to care for others. Rarely do titles use player agency to deliver such a message so effectively, and the creators deserve praise for this thoughtful use of the medium.

A Central Dilemma

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

The moral might be for the player, but the narrative is about her. When a narrative features a main character who speaks and thinks independently, she must be the primary subject, and her actions and growth should convey the themes. Even in symbolic stories, the protagonist's identity and role are usually explicitly stated to ensure understanding.

Yet, she does not grow or evolve on her journey. Her sole purpose is to return home. The conflict between free will and fate only surfaces in the Act 2 boss fight and some hidden lore. If players complete all requirements to unlock Act 3, an supporting figure remarks about Hornet's compassion, but he is talking to you, not her.

Lack of Character Development

This approach would have been fine in the original game, where the protagonist is a blank slate. Hornet, however, is her own person, a focused warrior with a clear purpose. If she is forced to perform uncharacteristic deeds—such as helping weak bugs—there should be some resistance. One would anticipate her to grumble, act gruff, or at least react. A brief complaint when initially assisting, later expressing concern that her aid might help, would suffice.

When first asked to assist the weak bugs of Pharloom, she responds with apathy, treating it as a minor task. Even if the player chooses to help, Hornet forms no bond with any of them. There is no change, no evolution of viewpoint. It is remarkable that the user would demonstrate compassion, but not Hornet. The game provides no reason to think she would.

Underutilized Supporting Cast

The protagonist's dialogues with characters like the Caretaker were the ideal chance to develop her personality and reinforce the themes without heavy-handed exposition. Most of these end up being merely ornamental, just filling space. This problem stems from both the writing of Hornet and the random placement of the other characters.

Garmond is essentially a charming but irrelevant figure—present for atmosphere but playing no crucial part. Others, like the certain NPCs, represent different ideologies outside the Citadel's norms, a concept that aligns with the message but is never developed.

Aside from key figures, one of the few NPCs 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 problematic cliché and feels separate from the central plot. Removing it would have little impact on the protagonist's arc or the primary theme.

A Passive Protagonist

The seemingly random distribution of focus makes side stories feel incomplete and tacked on. The largest error, however, is that the heroine is portrayed as a passive participant in almost every situation. The few times she speaks up, her observations are uninspiring, such as stating the obvious to another character. Even blunter commentary on oppression and free will would have linked her more closely to the game's ideas. Instead, she is merely a passenger—in the passenger seat of her own story.

Respect Amid Critique

Despite these issues with thematic execution, there is still much to respect for what the team accomplished. Few games blend so many inspirations into a collection of ideas so powerful and complex that they are literally embedded into the environment itself. If the next project from the developers is even bigger and better, one can only wish that those improvements include the fundamentals of storytelling as well.