

Similarly, the Slash Dash is used to reach areas and also for attacking.

This is useful in many ways, from reaching new visible areas to discovering hidden areas to a ‘retreat and attack’ strategy for bosses. Simply jump right at a wall and Specter Knight will stick to it, allowing you to walk up a few steps before hopping off. For wall-climbing, I quickly realized the key is trust and patience, and not to rush jumping. In-game mechanics vary some from Shovel Knight in that Specter Knight is well, more ninja-like, in as far as he can briefly walk up the sides of most walls and also has the Slash Dash maneuver.

Controls are simple and accessible press Y to attack, B to jump, A for your Curio (special attack) abilities, it’s straight-forward as you would expect. Fortunately, I have had no issues at all in that respect. For a 2D platform, especially a tough one like the Knight series, the controls have to be responsive. I played SoT with the Switch docked almost the entire time, playing with the bundled joycon controllers. Difficulty is stout, that’s for sure, but it’s fair and more forgiving than most games from years gone by. The graphics look old school, the music and sounds are old school, even the gameplay is, but, with some modern refinements. Anyway, the Knight series is appealing to young and old gamers alike, thanks in no small part to the modern, progressive 8 bit design. I felt the same way when I finally played Axiom Verge when it came to Wii U. SoT is actually my first foray into Yacht Club Games’ popular series and I could pretty instantly see the appeal to the game and quietly kicked myself for not playing it sooner. Specter of Torment ( SoT) is available as a standalone release for $10, and it’s only available on Switch right now (with a release on many other platforms next month). The series is seeing two releases on Switch at launch, one being the $25 Treasure Trove which is the most complete version of Shovel Knight available as it includes the original game and Specter of Torment (and more). Kidding aside, Shovel Knight was a revered game and for good reason. Control the agile Specter Knight in a prequel to 2014’s popular indie hit Shovel Knight, that was released on about as many platforms as the original Doom.
