What Specter of Torment is
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is the action-packed prequel to Shovel Knight, built as a 2D side-scrolling platformer with an 8-bit look and sound. You play Specter Knight, servant to the Enchantress, sent on a quest to recruit a cadre of knights and build the Order of No Quarter. Carry out those duties and he may get a shot at regaining his lost humanity and breaking his chains of servitude, though what the Enchantress has planned is another matter. The story is told with a light touch, with humor, levity and heart alongside the darker setup.
How Specter Knight plays
Movement is the whole game. With his scythe and preternatural agility, Specter Knight can glide across the ground, clamber up walls, leap over gaps, and dispatch enemies with the Dash Slash. The playstyle puts motion and action first, so levels reward momentum and precise timing. Along the way you collect and upgrade curios, which unlock new special attacks to mix into your kit. Feats and Challenge Stages put your scythe skills to the test with boss rematches, platforming challenges and more, and New Game+ lets you take on a new challenge and uncover the rest of the world's secrets. The difficulty is tagged as difficult, but the design is balanced to welcome newcomers while still giving experts something to chew on.
Playing it together
The Steam version supports Remote Play Together, so friends can join in from their own machines while you run the stages. The game itself is tagged as singleplayer, so the shared session works through that streaming feature rather than a built-in co-op mode. Jake "Virt" Kaufman's soundtrack runs through the whole thing, which is worth mentioning if you plan to sit in a call together — the music and audio are a big part of the experience.
Before you start
If you already own Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, you do not need to buy Specter of Torment separately; it is included with all versions of Treasure Trove. Expect tight platforming, wall climbing, boss fights and a steady stream of secrets to dig out across stages.