This is possible because after each successful hit, he will bounce back into the air, ready to strike again. Indeed, whilst the levels are more challenging to navigate than previously, I was disappointed that on occasion Specter is able to chain dash attack after dash attack together to dispatch even tough bosses with relative ease. The inclusion of wall jumping and the flying dash attack (which is often used to chain multiple jumps together) results in a game that is perhaps a bit harder overall than the original, but Specter makes up for that with his more direct offensive abilities when it comes to fighting bosses. Nonetheless, the player is enlisted to help him drag a number of other equally unwilling characters into helping the nefarious Enchantress, who seems to hold sway over him somehow. Specter Knights proves to be less deplorable than you might at first think, and it turns out that he may not be a bad guy by choice after all.

This shift in movement and weapon type ensures a reasonable amount of variety in comparison to the previous outings, but the art style and challenging gameplay will be eminently familiar. Unlike Shovel Knight, Specter doesn’t bounce around on a shovel and instead, is armed with a scythe, a flying dash attack and a dexterous wall jump as well as a range of purchasable items revealed throughout the game. With its classic, no-nonsense approach to rock hard platforming fun, Specter of Torment is every bit the follow-up to Shovel Knight and its first add-on that fans are probably looking for. Specter of Torment is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch for a month following release, and like the first expansion (Plague of Shadows) this prequel focuses exclusively on a bad guy from the original game, in this case, Specter Knight.

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