Twice now Hollow Knight: Silksong devs Team Cherry have put out a Simplified Chinese translation of the Metroidvania, only for Chinese players to point out some stuff it does weirdly. Well, in their third crack at providing said translation, Team Cherry look to have gone the tried and trusted route, introducing a fan-made one people already like with the latest update to patch 4’s ongoing Steam beta.
As a quick recap, the Simplified Chinese translation Silksong offered at launch was flagged as being a bit Shakespearey, leading to mixed reviews of the game in the region. Team Cherry were quick to introduce a second translation in an attempt to rectify the issue, but that one ended up earning thumbs downs from players due to how it translated some place and character names.
That brings us to attempt number three, the delivery of a Simplified Chinese fan translation by Team Cart Fix. “Team Cart Fix’s translation has been well received by the community,” Team Cherry wrote in the patch 4 beta update Steam post. “Their approach builds from elements of the original translation, retaining existing names for characters and places, except in instances where the original translation was incorrect, or inconsistent with Hollow Knight.”
Scrolling down to read some early feedback on the translation, which the devs stress will have “some small issues” due to the fact its implementation hasn’t been finalised, I can see one Chinese player claiming that “some errors that were previously corrected by new translators have been retained again”. They’ve highlighted ‘Last Judge’ and ‘Fay Mountains’ as perhaps having been translated a bit too literally, but we’ll have to wait for more verdicts to roll in to see for sure whether those are wider issues or more personal nitpicks.
As for the rest of patch 4, Team Cherry say it’s still in line for more fixes ahead of release. With this update, they’ve added fixes for the likes of issues with Rune Rage and Thread Storm damage, when using the harpoon to stun or kill certain bosses, and “instances of Hornet being able to push some enemy types through the floor”. Couriers should also no longer offer you exactly the same delivery immediately after you’ve completed it. Phew.
Hopefully this fan translation does the trick, or I fear patch 4 might be in the beta realm forever.
