Hornet's Cloak Removal in Silksong Sparks Player Curiosity

Yesterday, IGN revealed that Hollow Knight: Silksong will be playable at an Australian museum in September 2025 and shared a sprite sheet from the eagerly awaited game. The internet, as it often does, had a field day with the news.

"In what situation [is] making a sprite of naked Hornet necessary?" asked a commenter on a Reddit thread analyzing the exclusive sheet. Among the many images of Silksong's protagonist, Hornet, depicted in various combat and relaxed poses, there was one image that particularly caught the community's attention. It showed Hornet casually carrying her cloak under one arm. (You can see a close-up below, but the original image on the right-hand side, immediately under the uppermost ring, also features this sprite):

A close-up of the controversial sprite, found 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," one redditor opined. Another user posited, "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????" while another shouted: "IN WHAT KIND OF SITUATION WOULD THEY EVEN NEED THIS SPRITE?"

The conversation took a playful turn with comments like, "So, we don't have to bother making a mod," from one respondent, and another said, "We're going straight to ESRB 18+ for this one." A thread OP chastized, "HORNET PUT YOUR CLOAK BACK ON THAT'S SO INDECENT WHAT THE HELL," to which someone replied, "This looks so wrong," and another stated, "this is completely unnecessary." Another user announced, "I do not like this."

A more plausible explanation might be that players will be able to upgrade or change Hornet's cloak, but for now, fans are free to let their imaginations run wild.

Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025 Screenshots

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Team Cherry's sequel is one of the most highly anticipated games worldwide, consistently topping Steam's wishlist charts. Silksong made a brief appearance at Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct last month, and soon after, Team Cherry confirmed a 2025 release window, much to the relief of its patient fanbase. With the news that the game will be playable at Australia’s national museum of screen culture, ACMI, starting September 18, speculation is rife that a launch could be imminent, perhaps around August, though nothing is 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.