Silksong, One Indie Game Sequel Wait Is Way More Brutal

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Hollow Knight: Silksong has become synonymous with patience and waiting. It was announced on February 14, 2019, and since then, we’ve had a handful of updates, delays, and a lot of irate fans demanding they see it pop up in every Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox Direct. Of course, Team Cherry, the exceptionally talented folks developing it, have been extremely hard at work, and will release it when it is ready. After all, Silksong is never late; it arrives precisely when it means to. In other, non-LOTR-related words, a late game is better than a rushed one.

However, Silksong’s official release date, or at least, release window, has finally been revealed, meaning that the wait, as long as it has been, will soon be over. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for another indie game sequel, which fans have been waiting for even longer than Hollow Knight fans were waiting for Silksong. It may seem hard to believe, but with no release date in sight, this indie game sequel easily surpasses Silksong’s development time, and there are plenty of reasons as to why.

N1RV Ann-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action Has No Release Date

It Was Announced Back In 2018

N1RV Ann-A began production all the way back in 2017, which was over eight years ago. That’s a long time for any game to be in production, making it one of the longest game development periods ever, rivaling even the wait for GTA 6. It was meant to release back in 2020, with the exceptionally small team of just two people working tirelessly on it post the release of the incredibly successful VA-11 Hall A. However, in 2020, the developer, Sukeban Games, uploaded a blog post to its official website announcing that it would be delaying N1RV Ann-A.

Interestingly, N1RV Ann-A was delayed indefinitely, which worried fans. The game was given a WID (When It’s Done) release date rather than even a vague release window, and the developer has since remained silent on its development. According to the 2020 blog post, Sukeban Games’ manager, Fernando Damas, was “heavily burned out” by the game’s initial development period, due to “insisting on being the sole programmer.” As a result, development was slowed down until more team members were brought on board, at which point, at the start of 2020, “code for the game [had] to be rebuilt from scratch.“

There was also “an internal conflict on how the story should go,” which took a while to resolve, although it ultimately led to a “far better” version of the story. All of these development changes and problems, in addition to the team growing and learning, while dealing with personal issues, led to the game’s development continuing, but in the background, away from the public. The team also began working on additional projects, numerous shorter games that it released, and participated in game jams.

In 2023, Sukeban Games posted another blog post which gave very little detail about N1RV Ann-A’s development, beyond that it was still happening. Fans have since wondered just when they’ll see it finally come out, although their worries haven’t stopped it from being one of the most-anticipated indie games in recent memory. However, its lengthy delay has been a shame, not just because fans would have liked to have seen it released earlier, but because its predecessor, VA-11 Hall-A, was such a huge success and a critically acclaimed masterpiece.

A VA-11 Hall-A Sequel Should Have Been A Slam Dunk

The First Game Was Critically Acclaimed

The VA 11 HALL A Cyberpunk Bartender Action Key Art featuring Jill walking through a city.

VA-11 Hall-A, which was released in 2016, was a huge success for its developer, both commercially and critically. It currently sits with an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on Steam thanks to more than 31,000 reviews, 97% of which are positive. It got 83% on Metacritic, making it easily one of the best indie games of all time, and certainly within the 2010s. It has since garnered a huge following that has enjoyed its many spin-off titles, such as VA-11 Hall-A KIDS and VA-11 Hall-A: SAPPHIC PUSSY RHAPSODY.

Crucially, the game sold exceptionally well too. According to a 2017 blog post on the developer’s official website, VA-11 Hall-A had sold 150,000 copies a year after launch, which is amazing for an indie game of its size and budget. By 2020, according to VGChartz, the game had sold 600,000 copies. This was after the developer had set a sales target of just 6,000 copies. The commercial and critical success of VA-11 Hall-A propelled it through the charts, and built a lot of momentum around it and its developer.

N1RV Ann-A will arrive when it is ready, much like Hollow Knight: Silksong.

That’s why there was so much buzz around the sequel, N1RV Ann-A, and why many are disappointed that we’ve not heard much. However, one has to remember that Sukeban Games is a small development team dealing with its own problems. Indie game development is hard, even after a successful game, which is why it’s admirable that the team is still hard at work on it. It wants to make it the very best game it can so that it can rival the greatest modern indies. N1RV Ann-A will arrive when it is ready, much like Hollow Knight: Silksong.

It’s Been Long, But At Least Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Almost Here

It Is Meant To Release This Year

Hornet in Hollow Knight: Silksong fighting a white boss.

Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced all the way back in 2019 and quickly climbed to the top of everyone’s most-anticipated games list. It was coming off the back of the immensely successful and influential Hollow Knight, which, naturally, had everyone extremely excited. However, like N1RV Ann-A, it received numerous delays, pushing it back from its original release date of 2023. Silksong’s unfortunate delay was also somewhat indefinite, with Team Cherry not revealing a new release date, as well as remaining fairly tight-lipped about the project for quite some time.

That silence is likely what led to so much vitriol from a small subset of fans, as well as many demanding its appearance in practically every Nintendo Direct. Many had given up on Silksong ever releasing, which is not unlike how some N1RV Ann-A fans feel. However, again, Team Cherry was quietly working extremely hard in the background to get Silksong to a place where it was happy. Rushing a developer, especially smaller indie teams, is never a good idea and it’s always important to respect their process and decision-making, even if it results in a much longer development time.

Hollow knight silksong hornet poised to attack with a screenshot from the game behind her

Hollow Knight: Silksong DLC Is “Likely,” But Team Cherry’s Answer Is Complicated

Hollow Knight: Silksong still doesn’t have a set release date, but Team Cherry is already giving confusing teases and answers about post-launch DLC.

Fortunately, Team Cherry has announced that Hollow Knight: Silksong will release in 2025. Of course, N1RV Ann-A fans continue to wait, and likely will for a long time, but if there’s anything to learn from Silksong’s delays and eventual release date, it’s that good things come to those who wait. N1RV Ann-A will come when it’s ready, as the developers stated in 2020, and it will be the very best game that it can be, much like how Hollow Knight: Silksong will likely blow us away when it finally releases later this year.

Source: Sukeban Games (1), (2), (3), Steam, Metacritic, VGChartz