Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment Reviews
For those who yearn for the days of platforming yore, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is a dream come true.
Put simply, Specter of Torment is absolutely brilliant. It’s a slice of classic platforming action that puts a smile on your face from beginning to end.
Specter of Torment puts cool new twists on Shovel Knight's action platformer gameplay and has a fascinating story to boot. It's challenging but very fair, and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game. Those who already have Shovel Knight should look forward to this excellent free expansion, and those who don't have the base game needn't think twice about spending $9.99 for this masterfully crafted experience.
If you bought Shovel Knight when it came out and loved every minute of it, Specter of Torment is a fantastic reason to return to this world and its characters. Sharp gameplay, taut worldbuilding, and brimming with personality, this is a trip to the dark side that is worth taking.
For my tastes, Specter himself features the least compelling of the three games’ platforming styles, but it’s not due to a mechanical or half-baked implementation: I just love the original Shovel Knight. As a timed Switch exclusive on a console with what is currently a modest number of games, there’s little reason not to play Specter of Torment unless you’re revisiting Shovel Knight proper via Treasure Trove first (which includes them all). My recommendation? Go for that. These games are worth it.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is exceptional. It's always incredible to see what new ways Yacht Club Games is able to reimagine the same universe, and without fail, it does it in a way that makes the experience feel completely fresh. While the setting may be similar, Specter of Torment is so completely unlike the previous two games, both in setting and gameplay. Everything about it is absolutely addictive and impossible to put down, making it a perfect launch title for the Nintendo Switch.
It occurs to me after playing the game that although each version of the game was different, they each dealt with the concepts of love and loss. While Shovel Knight focused on his hunt to save Shield Knight and Plague of Shadows dealt with Plague Knight’s secret feelings for a certain someone, Specter of Torment’s story is not about romantic passion, but camaraderie. However, even then, there is a romance in the campaign between the skeleton Red and his lady love, Scarlet. More than anything though, Specter of Torment is a game about duty and the price of holding on to our humanity. I truly enjoyed my time with it, and spent a little more than 4 hours beating the game, with 85% item completion. The Nintendo Switch is truly fortunate to have Specter of Torment as an exclusive, and for those of you waiting, rest easy knowing it will be truly worth the wait. Specter Knight’s tale is a dark and epic one, and it makes me all the more excited for the next DLC Yacht Club Games has up their voluminous sleeves.
That is really my only criticism. You’ll be doing things in Specter of Torment that literally make you say “wow” out loud. It’s a smooth, expertly-crafted platformer filled with heart. Again, it’s a free update to your Wii U and 3DS versions so there’s no reason not to play it. For Switch users, it’s absolutely worth experiencing, as is the rest of the Treasure Trove.
Specter of Torment is the latest in a fantastic series of games; it further cements Yacht Club Games's reputation as a developer capable of crafting experiences that are not only on par with, but often surpass the efforts of some of the largest studios in the world.The game's excellent level design, charming art style and top-notch soundtrack hold up as well in 2017 as they did three years ago in the original Shovel Knight. If you haven't played a Shovel Knight game before, we would highly recommend you pick up Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove for your Switch instead of this, as it contains Specter of Torment as well, but if you'd rather save some cash you can't go wrong with Specter of Torment.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is worth picking up on its own, but you should really just get the total package and play through all three campaigns. They each offer something unique like a Vegas buffet, and coincidentally enough the new price point of the Treasure Trove edition matches up.
Ultimately, there is very little bad to say about SoT. It's an excellent 2D action platformer with some good RPG elements, and its balanced difficulty lets genre hacks like me struggle through while more seasoned players can still expect a good, but not overly difficult challenge.