The long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong finally arrived on September 4, 2025, bringing with it immense excitement and overwhelmingly positive buzz. Yet, a crucial misstep quickly cast a shadow over its launch. The game’s Simplified Chinese translation turned out surprisingly poor, falling short of the high standards set by the first Hollow Knight adventure.
This language blunder did not go unnoticed. Within days of release, Chinese players flocked to the Steam store page. They launched a massive “review bomb,” flooding the game with negative comments. This was a clear message about their dissatisfaction with the quality of the translation. The issue was big enough to grab the attention of Team Cherry, the game’s creators.
Matthew Griffin, who handles marketing and publishing for Team Cherry, quickly addressed the problem. He acknowledged the team’s mistake and promised a swift fix. Griffin shared his commitment to the community on social media, assuring fans that improvements were on the way.
To our Chinese speaking fans:
We appreciate you letting us know about quality issues with the current Simplified Chinese translation of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
We’ll be working to improve the translation over the coming weeks.
Thanks for your feedback and support.
— Matthew Griffin (@griffinmatta) September 5, 2025
“To our Chinese speaking fans: We appreciate you letting us know about quality issues with the current Simplified Chinese translation of Hollow Knight: Silksong,” Griffin said in his tweet on September 5, 2025. “We’ll be working to improve the translation over the coming weeks. Thanks for your feedback and support.” He later shared this same message, confirming the team’s dedication to improving the experience for their players.
Experts weighed in on the translation quality, offering a more detailed view. Loek Van Kooten, a translation specialist, looked closely at the Simplified Chinese text. He described it as feeling “like a high school Elizabethan drama club’s improvisation.” Van Kooten pointed out that the translation was full of overly old-fashioned words that felt fake. Worse, conversations with characters that should have offered helpful clues instead became confusing word puzzles.
Even with this launch hiccup, Hollow Knight: Silksong is ready to play. You can find it on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 1&2, and PC right now. Hopefully, the promised translation fixes arrive soon, letting all players enjoy the game as it was meant to be.
