Dummied Out / Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight had numerous things that sadly didn't make it into the actual game itself, but are still present somewhere in the game's files. To reiterate, this is a list of cut content that are still present in the files in one form or another, but are only known to the user by inspecting the files or source codes themselves. For a list of stuff that were changed mid-development, or examples that differ from the final product but do not have any "residue" in the game files, see What Could Have Been.

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• Several entities have no official names, nor have their names displayed in-game, but have their files or in-game code revealing said names, presumably a placeholder:
  • The Ancient Nailsmith is named after the text file containing its dream nail dialogue.
  • Shade Beast's and Green Beast's names come from their sprite art files.
  • The unnamed moth guarding the Shrine of Believers. The in-game files however, label it as "Moth" or "Believe Moth" (the latter could just be a shorter placeholder for "Believer Moth").
  • The Void Entity's actual name is either ambiguous or that it has no official name apart from the multiple titles given to it, but a line from the game's code calls it "Shade Lord".
  • In relation to the Void Entity stated above, there is a strange Mighty Roar sound effect heard just after the Absolute Radiance's scream in the Pantheon of Hallownest. It could be an easy-to-miss detail and left ambiguous in the game, but that file is labeled in the codes to be of the Void Entity's.
• The variables named after "Lobster Lancer", the initial concept for the God Tamer, are still present in the game files.
• Quirrel's weapon that he left in the Blue Lake is named "quirrel_death_nail" in the sprite art files. This fuels the fan theories or interpretations about his Ambiguous Situation, with the main implication that he died, either by committing suicide by the nail, or by drowning himself. The latter was seen as the most probably cause, since there's no body left behind afterwards.
• The in-game labels of "giant_hatcher_corpse" and "HATCHLING_QUEEN_CORPSE" reveal that the large Aspid Mother where the Glowing Womb is obtained... is really dead.
• You could have the ability to backdash, as there is a value called "canBackDash" probably associated to a movement upgrade that the Knight can collect. It has a default value of "0" but changing it to "1" does nothing.
• There's a Sprite Sheet of an unused bug with yellow wings.
• There's an unused sprite of a winged Lifeseed.
• A beta version of the Crystal Crawler can still be found in the game files.
• Kingsmoulds are what's left of the initially-planned "Dusk Knight" bosses. In fact, in the game files, Kingsmoulds are referred to as "dusk_knight".
• A user under the name "kcghost" released a mod in July 2018 that allowed players to access unused rooms that were still in the game's files. These were purged with the Hidden Dreams update, rendering the mod useless. Players were still able to capture some screenshots or record some footage:
  • A room with spools of silk threads and balls of yarn. It's labeled as the "Abyss 07" room in a code, and also contained a functional bench for some reason.
  • There were extensions or additional rooms set in the Crystal Peaks judging by the background image of some unusued rooms, but the platforms in these are untextured (they are all black boxes).
  • A secret area in the mines has a visible shortcut or breakable wall, but it's not fully functional as you can simply pass through.
  • A larger Resting Grounds with more moth statues. There's also a very tiny ledge in the upper-left part of a wall where the Knight can stand. Interestingly, this ledge is positioned just near the head of a moth statue.
  • An underground maze layout room that looked very similar to the "underwater diving" section teased in the A Weird and Wonderful World trailer. Fans speculated that this was designed to be traversed with the swimming ability, a movement feature which was completely cut. The leftover content in the game makes it a very large fungus labyrinth that bears a resemblance to the room where Unn is found. There are actually exits in the maze though, but going through them will crash the game with a black screen.
  • There's another fungus labyrinth-maze similar to the above, but this time, it's fully lit. An exit also causes the game to crash with a black screen and make it unresponsive to input, but you could hear Cornifer's humming for some reason.
  • You could encounter an unknown bug in their physical form in the Dream World but cannot interact with it. Its face also looks like a Dreamer's mask (Monomon's to be specific), as shown here. The room is labeled "Dream Guardian" and interestingly enough, if the player were to jump off the platform to exit the dream sequence, they'll be transported near the corpse of the Lost Kin.
  • There's an exit tunnel that leads to the room in Ancient Basin where the Kingsmould corpse is located. However, one could only notice this detail by looking at the similar designs on the walls and background, since this tunnel has no actual connecting path as a result of placing the Knight in a wall, making it stuck.
• There's an icon and a full image of an uninfected Weaver for the Hunter's Journal. In-game, a Weaver flees from you in the Den and you can't kill it. This was hinted to be an enemy type called "Spider Mage".
• There are multiple unused assets of some items, such as a waterways key, a blue lantern, an early version of the Elegent Key, a map icon with an elegant seal, an unknown black egg-like item, and an "Odd Key" which was supposed to open the Menderbug's house (the Menderbug's house opens automatically in-game after you kill him, not like the usual method of opening doors using keys, while the Odd Key is named "Mender_Key" in the left-over code and a prompt is named "MENDER_DOOR" in the early dev notes).
• There are sprites suggesting that the earlier version of Soul Vessels only consisted of two Vessel Fragments each.
  • In the final game, Sly claims to have a full set of Vessel Fragments despite only having 2, this seems to be the result of the developers forgetting to update his dialogue.
• A lot of unused dialogue lines are still left in the game's code, but fans have managed to locate and compile them in other resource sites / wikis. Writing all of them here would result to a Wall of Text for quotes, but here are just a few of the crucial cut lines that are heavily tied to the story and progression:
  • There is a scripted dialogue in the code which would've made the Elderbug clue you in to proceed to Greenpath after you've acquired the Vengeful Spirit. However due to a naming error, that doesn't pop out in the game, and he will immediately hint you to go to the Fungal Wastes instead. Here's the dialogue in question:
    I used to think the kingdom below was all dead cold rock, but I've since been told different. Travellers speak of startling variety in Hallownest's caverns. Even just besides those Crossroads there's meant to be an area full with leafy greenery.
    I told those same travellers about the wonderful grasses that grow around the town. They didn't seem impressed.
  • The Grey Mourner has a new dialogue line after you obtain the King's Brand. Unfortunately, this does not trigger in-game:
    Le'mer, takes that heavy mantle...Che' wouldn't wish it upon one. Having served that brand at its great height, che' knows well what suffering it brings. Enough to turn nym'King to flee or fair Knights to mourning.
  • These cut dream nail dialogue lines for The Hollow Knight:
    ..Kill...
    ...Shall blaze free...
    ...This Vessel, broken...fails...
    ...Dawn...Shall break...
    ...No mind, the usurper...Only strength...
    ...Kill the usurper...Our light it would suffocate...
    ...Father?...
  • The "Elegy for Hallownest" Epigraph by Monomon only had the first four lines to remain in the base game as shown in the prologue. There's actually an entire poem of it found in the game's text under the label of "RANDOM_POEM_STUFF":
    "In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret,
    For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met,
    Under palest watch, you taught, you changed. Base instincts were redeemed,
    A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed.
    - Excerpt from Ode to Hallownest by Monomon the Teacher
    Our cherished dreams you granted and delivered more,
    But in dismay you found too late our desires had no end,
    What cost to tame our savagery? You gave your all and then gave more.
    Yet still desires lay unquenched, more dreams remained, your energies spent.
    Amongst it sprang a dreadful scourge,
    that forced return our aggressive urge,
    and turned us back to beasts or husks,
    Our souls consumed by light above.
    Within your corpse can still be heard the plaintive cries of one,
    Who took our pain, and loss, and dreams inside itself to...
    Through it's pain we found a truth that must now be confessed,
    For nothing can contain such things but perfect emptiness."
  • The Dreamers have more paragraphs of dialogue that were cut, each of the three have their own monologues, and they have a shared dialogue referring to their loyalty to the Pale King. To summarize: Monomon argues that the Knight should be allowed to break the seals, while Lurien argues in keeping them intact. Herrah doesn't care about this debate in the slightest...
  • Then we have this speech by the Moss Prophet. Notice the grammatical errors here that seemingly turn the speech into a rambling:
    "To change ones form is a blasphemy against the light! To steal the soul of weaker creatures is a blasphemy against the light! And most of all... most of all! To DIE is a blasphemy against the light! Live forever, brother and sisters, or be cursed for all eternity!"
    "(someone else says this)For a God, there is only one crime: To die. (OR) For a God, there is only one crime: To die. Emptiness is a hateful thing! A vile thing! Kill the empty ones! Tear them to pieces! Suffer them not to bask in the light of this world!"
  • Gorb has cut lines of dialogue that make him sound more serious compared to his Cloudcuckoolander persona in the final game:
    Greetings pale thing. Do you seek my knowledge? That I cannot give. Only an end.
    Would you accept the end I offer?
    Alas. It destroys...
• There are two specific lines of dialogue that were in the game's texts at one point, but were removed sometime after launch. Notably, these lines are spoken by two plot-important Higher Beings, so it begs the question why Team Cherry decided to purge them:
  • A line from the White Lady:
    "Two halves of a whole. You found your way... back to me? We were so unfair, weren’t we? To cast you out. Please, you must not hate him. He did what he thought was right. The Kingdom had to live..."
  • A line from the Pale King. When one compares the variable names, fans speculate that this used to be the older version of the "No Cost Too Great" line in the final game:
    "False one… you can not… reach me… here"

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