Though not quite as clear-cut as the original game structurally, there are still a few different Hollow Knight: Silksong endings you can get—and potentially some which haven’t been discovered yet, such as in Steel Soul Mode.
Silksong is a game of three acts, and while you can get a few different endings in Act 2 depending on your actions, the “true” ending is only available in Act 3. There’s also an optional epilogue you can unlock if you complete a certain quest in said final act.
Obviously, this guide will contain spoilers for all of Silksong’s endings, so leave now if you want to avoid that. Otherwise, I’ll run through each of the endings Hornet can achieve in Pharloom, plus the requirements for each.
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Silksong ending: Weaver Queen
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
- Requirements: Defeat Grand Mother Silk at the end of Act 2.
This is your bog-standard Silksong ending if you complete Act 2 and defeat the final boss, but don’t unlock or complete the Silk and Soul quest to gain access to Act 3. In this ending, Hornet binds Grand Mother Silk, taking all of her silk and essentially replacing her as Pharloom’s god overlord. The last we see of Hornet is her cocooned in a web of silk, evolving into a higher being. It’s important to note that you can continue playing after this ending and work towards unlocking Act 3 if you want.
Silksong ending: Twisted Child
You can remove the Twisted Bud through the Infestation Operation quest to disable this ending (Image credit: Team Cherry)
- Requirements: Defeat Grand Mother Silk at the end of Act 2 while infected with the Twisted Bud.
This ending is one of the darker ones, as you infect Grand Mother Silk with the Twisted Bud, and it consumes both of you, presumably fulfilling Greyroot’s sinister plan. Hornet mentions when you first meet Greyroot that the creature isn’t a bug at all, and is something entirely “other” and alien. In this ending, the last thing we see is a petrified wooden Hornet and Grand Mother Silk alongside a cocoon (presumably the Twisted Bud’s next form).
Actually getting this ending requires you to beat Grand Mother Silk while infected with the Twisted Bud, which means no healing, tool use, and limited silk. To infect yourself, you’ll have to find the Twisted Bud in Bilewater, complete the Rite of the Pollip quest for Greyroot in Shellwood, and then bring it to her (for full details, see the guide linked in the “requirements” section above.
Of course, you could always unlock the final boss and then infect yourself, meaning the only thing you have to do is defeat Grand Mother Silk versus playing the entire game with the debuffs. Once you remove the Twisted Bud via the Infestation Operation quest, you’ll get the Witch Crest, but you will no longer be able to get this ending. You can also still get infected in Act 3 for the crest, but the Twisted Child ending won’t be available anymore.
Silksong ending: Snared Silk
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You’ll have to unlock and complete the Silk and Soul quest through the Caretaker(Image credit: Team Cherry)Play your Needolin instead of binding when you defeat Grand Mother Silk(Image credit: Team Cherry)
- Requirements: Fulfil the requirements to unlock the Silk and Soul quest, complete it, and defeat Grand Mother Silk to enter Act 3.
This is the Act 2 conclusion that lets you progress into Act 3 and towards Silksong’s “true” ending. For this one, you complete a variety of steps in Pharloom (detailed in my “Act 3” guide above), essentially consisting of most Wish Wall quests for each town. Once done, you’ll unlock the Silk and Soul quest in which The Caretaker of Songclave devises a trap with which you can remove Grand Mother Silk from power instead of replacing her.
He’ll set up in the boss room, and once you defeat Grand Mother Silk, you’ll get the option to play your Needolin instead of binding her. Turns out, though, that the Caretaker is actually a snail shaman and the trap opens a portal to the void. Grand Mother Silk tries to drag you in, but Lace intervenes and cuts off her mother’s arm, falling into the abyss with her.
Act 3 unlocks extra bosses and quests, but also changes the world state of Pharloom to something far darker, as you try to reach Lace and Grand Mother Silk in the Abyss before she destroys the kingdom.
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Silksong ending: Sister of the Void
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
- Requirements: Complete Act 3 by defeating Lost Lace in the Abyss.
This is the true ending to Silksong, which sees you completing The Dark Below and The Old Hearts quests to gain access to the Abyss in Act 3, and then defeating Lost Lace as the final boss. When Grand Mother Silk fell into the Abyss with Lace, she created a giant cocoon to protect her child, but this infected all of her silk strands running throughout Pharloom with void, which is why you start seeing void-corrupted enemies in Act 3. You can also hear her occasional screams shaking the kingdom as the void eats away at her.
In the Lost Lace boss fight, you’re essentially fighting to free Lace from the void stuck to her. At the end of the battle, Grand Mother Silk gives you the last of her strength so you can escape the void with Lace, but there’s a fun part afterwards that I won’t spoil. Needless to say, if you’ve reached Act 3, this is the ending you’re going to get when you complete the game.
Silksong epilogue: Passing of the Age
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
This is a little epilogue you can get after your Act 3 ending if you complete the Passing of the Age quest and find Mister Mushroom in all seven locations. It essentially picks up where the quest left off and shows him flying through the sky above the Nameless Town towards the next kingdom about to undergo great change.
As in the first game’s version of this epilogue, the words “To be continued” appear on the screen, confirming either that Silksong is unlikely to be the last game in the series, or maybe hinting at more significant DLC in the future set in another kingdom entirely.