The first time I saw Hornet’s cloak inflated around her flimsy figure online, I didn’t think it was real. Surely, I thought, this must be a silly fan rendition of Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s protagonist. It’s something in the same realm as Hornet with giant shoes, perhaps, or the game’s equivalent of, “you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like” type deal. Hornet, as an absolute unit.
Except no, it was totally real. I just hadn’t progressed far enough into the Metroidvania to unlock Hornet’s hover ability, so I hadn’t seen it in action yet. But the moment the game encouraged me to take flight around Far Fields, my mind was blown. I jumped over and over again just to watch Hornet become a balloon. Dozens of hours later, I still pop into an unnecessary gliding drift as a treat.
I know, I know, it’s such a small thing. The animation isn’t technically impressive compared to other smaller details, like the way ants in the background will start carrying away beads and the dead husks of enemies you leave behind. It’s not as flashy as when Hornet bursts into her healing phase, nor is it as awe-inspiring as the behemoth bosses the game routinely throws at you. It didn’t leave me with a lingering sense of dread, like when you first stepped into the Haunted Bellhart.
But the fact I immediately associated Hornet’s hover with a meme speaks to the design’s quintessential nature. It’s perfect in the same way that the image of a cat tucked into a loaf is perfect. It is an economical motif; a few lines that anyone could draw. Hornet: round. That lack of excess is what makes the design so outstanding, though. Here is a core Silksong verb, whittled down into its most basic essence until it becomes the Platonic ideal of the ability it represents.
In less nebulous terms, Hornet’s hover design brings some much-needed whimsy to a game that is otherwise full of cruelties. It is a small reprieve that can bring you joy in the middle of a hopeless runback, or a tediously lengthy pogo section. The design is a great reminder that, even as Team Cherry repeatedly shoves the player through a series of unreasonable gauntlets, every rage-inducing element has been considered just so. In a manner of speaking, that’s love.
The actual ability is useful, to be sure. I’ve lost count of the number of times mashing the hover button has saved my ass in a tricky section of the game, or made absurd levels a little more tolerable. But we also can’t discount that the design has in fact inspired some fantastic memes, too. Here are a few of my favorites for your viewing pleasure.
