Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is an extra content pack released in 2017 for the 2014 platform game Shovel Knight. It was created and published by Yacht Club Games. In this expansion, players control Specter Knight, an undead warrior who must gather a group of knights for the Enchantress, the main villain of Shovel Knight. Specter Knight can run up walls, jump off them, and use his scythe to slash enemies and objects, allowing him to move through the air. The gameplay is similar to Shovel Knight, but it includes new levels and redesigned boss battles.
Yacht Club Games made Specter of Torment after completing the previous DLC, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows. They designed new levels based on the original Shovel Knight stages and spent four months reviewing and adjusting each completed level. The team created Specter Knight to be easier to control after receiving feedback that the movement of Plague Knight, the main character of Plague of Shadows, was too complicated. When it was released, Specter of Torment received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the platforming gameplay, story, level design, and Specter Knight’s abilities. However, some people thought the game was too short.
Gameplay
Specter of Torment is a 2D side-scrolling platform game, similar to Shovel Knight. Players control Specter Knight, an undead warrior who serves the Enchantress. Specter Knight has a different set of abilities compared to Shovel Knight. He can run up walls, jump off them, and attack enemies with his scythe. When he slashes enemies or objects with his scythe, he can move forward, up, or down through the air.
The game includes redesigned boss battles and new levels inspired by those in Shovel Knight. These levels are accessed from a central hub world instead of a large map. Like Shovel Knight, players can destroy checkpoints to earn rewards. However, if they die before reaching the next checkpoint, they cannot respawn at that location.
Red skulls are hidden in levels and can be traded at a vendor in the hub world for special weapons and abilities called Curios. Curios function similarly to Relics in Shovel Knight and are powered by a resource called darkness, which is gained by defeating enemies. Examples of Curios include the "Green Skull" for restoring health, "Judgment Rush" for teleporting through walls, and "Hover Plume" for temporarily floating in mid-air. As players progress through the game, they learn about Specter Knight's true identity and how he came to serve the Enchantress.
Plot
Specter of Torment is a story that comes before Shovel Knight. At the Tower of Fate, the Enchantress, who is the main villain in Shovel Knight, tells her undead helper, Specter Knight, to defeat eight knights and make them join her group called the Order of No Quarter. Specter Knight has a magic locket that becomes stronger as he defeats the knights. When all eight knights are defeated, the locket’s power will bring Specter Knight back to life as a living being. As Specter Knight fights the knights and makes them serve the Enchantress, he remembers his past life. Before dying, he was an adventurer named Donovan who traveled with his partner, Luan. Together, they climbed the Tower of Fate to find a magical amulet for Luan’s son. At the top, they met Shield Knight, who warned them the amulet was cursed. Donovan fought Shield Knight against Luan’s wishes, causing the floor to collapse and killing Luan. Shield Knight, who had become the Enchantress because of the amulet’s curse, offered to save Donovan’s life if he agreed to serve her. Not knowing Shield Knight was the Enchantress, Donovan accepted and was turned into Specter Knight.
After Specter Knight defeats four knights, a boy named Reize enters the Tower of Fate to fight the evil there. The Enchantress sees Reize’s potential and fills him with dark energy, making him evil despite Specter Knight’s objections. When seven knights are recruited, Specter Knight’s friend, Black Knight, arrives and reveals the Enchantress is actually Shield Knight. Angry that he was helping his enemy, Specter Knight chases the Enchantress to her secret room. There, the Enchantress gives Reize more dark energy, turning him into a powerful monster. Specter Knight defeats Reize, and the Enchantress agrees to give the locket its final power. When the Enchantress says she will make Reize the eighth knight, Specter Knight quickly offers to take Reize’s place, uses the locket to heal the boy, and sends him back to his village. Now forever bound to the Enchantress, Specter Knight tells Black Knight that the Order of No Quarter is unstoppable. In a post-credits scene, Specter Knight looks at the locket, which was a gift from Luan. In a final memory, Luan asks Donovan to protect his son, Reize.
Development
In 2013, during the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games added stretch goals—extra features that would be included if the campaign reached certain funding targets. One of these goals was the creation of downloadable content (DLC) expansions based on three boss characters from Shovel Knight. The developers held a vote to decide which bosses would get their own campaigns, and Specter Knight was chosen as one of the winners.
Development of Specter of Torment began after Yacht Club Games completed Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, a previous DLC. The team aimed to create a more ambitious expansion than Plague of Shadows, which had unique movement but reused the same levels as the original game. While the movement in Plague of Shadows made the original levels fun to replay, the developers worried that repeating the same levels in a third expansion might become boring. To solve this, they redesigned all the levels, using the original ones as a guide. The final product combined both new and reused content, but ended up featuring mostly new elements. As the third campaign in the series, the team wanted to improve on the mechanics from the first two games.
Yacht Club Games wanted to tell a darker story about Specter Knight, a boss from the original game described as "tragic but awesome." They changed Specter Knight's movement based on feedback from players who found Plague of Shadows's protagonist, Plague Knight, too hard to control. The developers removed the flying movement Specter Knight used in his boss battle in the original game because it did not work well with platforming.
The wall-jumping ability was inspired by 3D action games like Prince of Persia, while the slashing movement was influenced by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Ninja Gaiden Black. The developers wanted Specter Knight to feel like a "grim reaper ninja" and initially included shurikens in his attacks. To help players learn how to use the slashing movement, the team added visual cues on objects that could be slashed, showing whether attacking them would move the player upward or downward. They also made Specter Knight fall slower to give players more time to react.
The Curios—special items in the game—were originally earned by defeating enemies and could only be used one at a time, being lost upon death. However, the developers changed this system to make Curios feel more like permanent abilities, similar to the original Shovel Knight. Some Curios were based on Specter Knight's boss abilities, while others were designed to help players overcome specific challenges, such as fighting invulnerable enemies or navigating difficult platforming sections.
Creating the levels for Specter of Torment took nearly a year. The developers believed Specter Knight's increased mobility required new level layouts. They added more spacing and walls in the stages to ensure players could move properly. This spacing was a major challenge, as the team often had to adjust designs based on how players might move through the levels. They noted that "10 percent of our design process involves creating fun scenarios, and about 90 percent involves solving spacing problems."
The team planned for each level to have about 26 rooms and 6 secret areas, using a design formula inspired by the Mega Man franchise. They aimed for a balance between platforming, combat, and exploration, sometimes designing rooms around specific themes, such as puzzles or platforming. Rooms and enemies were often revised or rearranged, and the team sometimes abandoned complex plans to focus on simpler sections. Each stage started with basic challenges and became more difficult before returning to an earlier level of difficulty. The developers believed that introducing, expanding, and revisiting gameplay concepts would challenge players.
After testing the game extensively, the developers found it too difficult and adjusted the levels to make them more balanced before release. Because players could access all stages in Specter of Torment freely, unlike the previous games, the team redesigned the easier levels of Shovel Knight and Plague of Shadows to be harder, while making the more challenging levels less difficult.
The game includes enemies and objects from earlier ideas that were not used in previous games. The developers wanted Specter of Torment to look different from Shovel Knight and Plague of Shadows, so they created new tiles for the game's art. Background art was used to explain gameplay mechanics, show secret rooms, and support the story. The Nintendo 3DS version features backgrounds with more depth and includes art not visible in other versions of the game.
The soundtrack was composed by Jake Kaufman, who created most of it while streaming on Twitch. It includes remixes of music from earlier games in the series, as well as new songs.
Release and reception
Specter of Torment was announced on December 1, 2016, at The Game Awards, and was released for Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017, as a launch title. The downloadable content (DLC) was sold separately for Nintendo Switch but was also offered as a free update to players who had bought Shovel Knight. The game was later released for Linux, macOS, and Windows on April 5, 2017. A version for the Wii U was released on April 21, and ports for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Xbox One were released on April 25.
According to Metacritic, the Nintendo Switch version of Specter of Torment received "generally favorable reviews." Critics said it was a strong addition to the Shovel Knight series and improved upon the original game. GameSpot noted that the game used the same mechanics that made Shovel Knight successful, while USgamer said it was similar in quality to earlier games in the series. Shacknews described it as more appealing than Shovel Knight and called it a "modernized version of classic platforming games."
Reviewers praised the character's abilities. GameRevolution compared the moveset to a Super Smash Bros. character, saying it was fun and helped make the game unique. USgamer said the controls and moveset created a distinct and aggressive style of gameplay. GameSpot said the simple controls made the character feel powerful and enjoyable.
The platforming challenges were also praised. Nintendo Life said the game's jumping and running mechanics were comparable to earlier games and felt "satisfying." GameSpot said the challenges were difficult but rewarding, requiring players to use multiple moves together. GameRevolution said the platforming was hard to understand because of complex movement and felt less impressive than the original Shovel Knight. Reviewers liked the level design, noting that the stages were similar to the original game but included new content and adapted well to the character's abilities. Nintendo World Report said the game offered a fresh experience by changing old mechanics, and GameSpot called the new levels familiar but memorable.
The story was a highlight of the game. Nintendo World Report said the narrative was "surprisingly tragic," and Shacknews said it made the character more complex. Destructoid called it the best story in the series, even though it was short. GameRevolution said the story was more impactful than Plague of Shadows but had writing that ranged from strong to humorous. Critics noted that the redesigned bosses were an "enjoyable surprise," though some were too similar. USgamer said the bosses were easier than in previous games, while Nintendo World Report said some early fights were frustrating. Some reviewers said the game was too short, with Shacknews saying some players might not enjoy the focus on platforming, and Nintendo Life calling it "short but sweet." Nintendo Life also said the game was as excellent as the original Shovel Knight.