Ultra's Reviews: Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment
So, Here we are the Last Shovel Knight Campaign till King of Cards comes out.
Also I would like to Apologize for not posting Yesterday but Things happen.
Anyway, the Road to Specter of Torment was a fun one, This Campaign Released as a Launch Title for the Switch with the Campaign releasing on the other Platforms a Month Later.
Oh yea, Spoilers, this is my Personal Favorite of the Campaigns so far so Expect me to Praise this Campaign.
So lets Look at the Adventure of our Favorite Edgelord, Specter Knight.
PLOT
Specter of Torment is a Little Different from Plague of Shadows, While Plague was a Sorta "What if" thing, Specter of Torment is a Straight Prequel to the Main Campaign.
Our Story Begins with Specter Knight, Servant to the Enchantress is Ordered to Recruit 8 Knights to Form an Invincible Order. After Each Knight is Recruited a Locket in Specter's Possession grows in power, when it has enough Power Specter will Regain his Lost Humanity.
After the first boss fight with Black Knight we Learn that Specter was a Person Called "Donovan" and that he Apparently was Claimed by the Tower of Fate. Seeing Donovan here gives Black Knight hope for the person he Seeks.
After a Few more Stages we Learn a bit more in Specter Knight's Past, he was an Apparent Ninja Partnered with a Man Named Luan, we Learn that the Two are at the Tower to Search for a Relic that Protect Luan's Son, and Donovan being a Close Friend to Luan decides to Tag Along.
After this Flashback Level and a few more Stages we find that a Guy named Reize(Who appeared in the other Campaigns as a Field Boss fight) Busts into the Tower, The Enchantress, seeing an Opportunity to Gain a new Servant Turns Reize into some Evil Person. A boss Fight Endures and the Enchantress then Recruits Reize.
After a Few more Levels we get another Flashback, showing that Luan and Donovan Found an Amulet, just as Donovan is about to take the Amulet he is stopped by Shield Knight. Shield Tells the two Thieves to Leave, as the amulet is Cursed, Luan Agrees that they should Leave, but Donovan is not buying Shield Knight's Claim and Fights her.
After the fight Luan Tries to Stop Donovan, but he Strikes Luan down, and just as he is about to Strike down Shield Knight, the Floor breaks below him, Presumably Killing Donovan.
Few more Levels and we learn that Donovan was Given new Life by the Enchantress and was Reborn as Specter Knight, and the Locket that Donovan had gains the power to give Specter his Life back but only when he completes his Task.
I will not Spoil what happens next, because I don't want to Spoil the best part of the Story.
The Story is really Good, that's all I will say, and while Specter Knight is an Edgy character, I kinda like that as he has a reason to be Edgy, as he is Literally a Walking Corpse.
But that's that, now. Onto Gameplay
GAMEPLAY
Specter Knight's Controls and Moveset are smooth.
He can Run, Jump, Slash with his Scythe, Run up Walls for a few seconds, Jump off of Walls, and he can do a "Dash Slash" that allows him to Gain more Airtime. How it works is Specter can Dash and Slash Airborn enemies, this will also send Specter flying Diagonally.
It feels so Great to Control Specter.
There is no World map this time around, instead its just a standard Stage select in a hub area, which I think fits with how Specter of Torment is set up.
In the hub area there are some shops where you can Upgrade your Side Weapons(Called Curios), Buy new Armor sets, and Buy new Curios.
The Primary Collectible Besides Money are Red Skulls, Which can be Traded for new Curios. Collecting all 100 Red Skulls are not Required to get all Curios but do Reward you.
Next there are Wisp Chest, Wisps Expand your max health and Max Darkness, Darkness is your magic meter which allows you to use Curios
Finally there are Grind Rails which you can Grind on.
That's about it for Gameplay.
PRESENTATION
It's Shovel Knight, Pixel Art Graphics, 16-bit music. It's Inspired by NES and SNES Games.
However one thing I will Praise this game for is the Music, Every Single Level has a new Piece of Music...Ok they are Remixes but they all are awesome, and more then Double the amount of new music in Plague of shadows.
THE BAD
Ok, the Plot goes in a Predictable Direction, and Despite of how smooth Specter Feels Dash Slashing is how you solve most of the puzzles and it's easy to get good at it, Making the game Feel easy.
Also the game is just Pretty easy on it's own.
OVERALL
The Predictable Plot, and the Difficulty are Very Minor Complaints, Personally THIS is how you a Campaign, and when Compared to Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment Feels like it's own Game.
Yacht Club games could have EASILY Sold this as a Separate game and Nobody would Complain, I Would Pay for this Campaign, its so good.
5/5
A Near Perfect Game with Very Little Major Problems.
With how good Specter of Torment is, it makes me Hyped for King of Cards coming Later this year.
I'm Ultra and this is a Great Campaign, if you have not Bought Shovel Knight yet, buy it. Specter of Torment is Great, and that is Bundled with the Treasure Trove Pack.
It's good. Play it if you haven't yet.