The second expansion for Shovel Knight REALLY changes things up as you now play a prequel to the main story as Specter Knight. He plays really differently, and Yatch Club Studios toted this as more of a brand new game compared to Plague of Shadows, and they weren't kidding.
Specter Knight once again controls quite differently from the other two playable characters. No pogo-hopping or bomb-exploding for him (and this is a prequel, so he also can't outright fly or teleport yet :P ). Instead, he can run short distances up walls and launch off of them, as well as use his scythe melee attack in the air to do angular dashes up or down at enemies or nodes nearby to go in for quick attacks or to get some quick altitude. To accommodate this radical new way of play, being that it's more Ninja Gaiden than Ducktales, all the levels have been radically redesigned from the original game, and even all of the bosses have been altered, sometimes very significantly, and it all plays and feels GREAT. Zooming around with the scythe dash feels awesome as you repeatedly try to slash through enemies to take down their health bars before they can smash at you back.
On top of the great new levels and playstyle, the new music is some of the best they've done. There was more than once that it just straight up grabbed my attention away from playing the actual game, and I'm almost never one to do that (especially in Tinker Knight's stage). The new story is a touch more serious than the other two, but it's not exactly a tear-jerker. It's more than serviceable though and never irritating, so there's no need to worry about that UwU.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. If you don't want something as similar to Treasure Trove as Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment is an absolutely fantastic use of your time. This game is like Shovel Knight's level design and gameplay crossed with Ninja Gaiden's, with a smattering of Casltevania's aesthetic thrown in for good measure (Specter's fashion armor is even a SOTN reference <3) and it was one I enjoyed the whole way through.
(And if you own any of the physical versions of Shovel Knight or bought the digital release back around when it came out, Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment are just totally free downloads :D )
Specter Knight once again controls quite differently from the other two playable characters. No pogo-hopping or bomb-exploding for him (and this is a prequel, so he also can't outright fly or teleport yet :P ). Instead, he can run short distances up walls and launch off of them, as well as use his scythe melee attack in the air to do angular dashes up or down at enemies or nodes nearby to go in for quick attacks or to get some quick altitude. To accommodate this radical new way of play, being that it's more Ninja Gaiden than Ducktales, all the levels have been radically redesigned from the original game, and even all of the bosses have been altered, sometimes very significantly, and it all plays and feels GREAT. Zooming around with the scythe dash feels awesome as you repeatedly try to slash through enemies to take down their health bars before they can smash at you back.
On top of the great new levels and playstyle, the new music is some of the best they've done. There was more than once that it just straight up grabbed my attention away from playing the actual game, and I'm almost never one to do that (especially in Tinker Knight's stage). The new story is a touch more serious than the other two, but it's not exactly a tear-jerker. It's more than serviceable though and never irritating, so there's no need to worry about that UwU.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. If you don't want something as similar to Treasure Trove as Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment is an absolutely fantastic use of your time. This game is like Shovel Knight's level design and gameplay crossed with Ninja Gaiden's, with a smattering of Casltevania's aesthetic thrown in for good measure (Specter's fashion armor is even a SOTN reference <3) and it was one I enjoyed the whole way through.
(And if you own any of the physical versions of Shovel Knight or bought the digital release back around when it came out, Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment are just totally free downloads :D )