Instead of the typical fruit or plate of chicken to refill health, you eat chicken bones and rotten apple cores. It does absolutely nothing but you sure do feel a little villainous.Įven the health power ups are of evil design. When she finally gives up, you unlock the cold shoulder idle stance. Curios refuses over and over as she continues to waste her energy. As an evil knight you want nothing to do with an NPC who wants to dance with you. You’ll have a smile on your face reading some of the silly dialog.
It’s the little details that add up to make an enjoyable experience. Simple screenshotted cutscenes tell the story, making everything you remember from older 2D platformers present in this beautifully crafted game. You are treated to pixel perfect graphics with jamming tunes you’ll want to listen to outside of the game. Yacht Club Games recreates that nostalgic feel that hasn’t really been around in modern games.
The selection screen does a nice job letting you know what collectibles you’ve missed, so if you miss a health or magic upgrade you can simply purchase it with gold after you completed the level.Īny fan of the 8-bit era will enjoy Specter Of Torment from start to finish. You will never feel like you’re doing the same thing on repetition. Level select is available right after you complete the introductory stage.
You will never be forced to play the same level over and over forcing you to quit out of frustration. Each NPC has their own silly way of interacting with you while offering you goodies such as gold, powers and upgrades.
The hub world offers you plenty of laughs and surprises in between levels.
The shopkeeper puts you in situations that teach you how to use each power to its full potential.
One of the most interesting features is having a trial dungeon for each power you buy. You can purchase armor that allows you to sacrifice your health and magic every time you fall instead of dying. Perhaps you are falling into pits too often and are getting annoyed by starting over at the same checkpoint.
If you feel like you’re having a hard time of avoiding them, you can purchase armor that allows you to surf on your scythe to negate damage. For example, any touch of the spikes is an instant death. Remember playing older games and being frustrated by the unfair difficulty? Specter of Torment’s equipment system allows you to adjust to your play style.Įvery piece of armor allows you to change the rules of gameplay. The Dash Slash ability can soar you into the air or make the perfect landing onto a moving platform, and you can utilize this skill to jump across large chasms and reach your goals. The scythe allows you to kill enemies while also using it as a crutch to jump off of. Hone your scythe skills as you tread towards completing your mission.Ĭurios is a Specter Knight who uses his scythe to defeat enemies and reach high places. You play as Curios who must convince the other knights to join the Enchantress’ Army. Specter Of Torment is a prequel and second expansion to Shovel Knight. The new Shovel Knight expansion is one with a lot of value and charm, and people with a nostalgic itch for a classic platformer on modern consoles will have that itch scratched by Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. The Shovel Knight series illustrates one of the few successful projects, and we’ve seen nothing but good stuff from their studio since then. Yacht Club Games has come a long way since their Kickstarter.