It's also a difficult game where you fail a lot, but each failure is an invitation to roll the dice again and play as a new character. Consider by comparison how Rogue Legacy, another take on retro platformers, handled death. It's challenging, it's faithful to the era Shovel Knight is recreating, but I don't think it's good design. It introduced me to basic enemy patterns, the notion that the lights will go out, and flying enemies, but the only way to find out how the boss moves across the screen, when's the best time to attack, and the safe zones where his scythe can't get me is by first getting hit in the face with it a few times. Shovel Knight did a good job of preparing me for the the Specter Knight battle at the end of the Lich Yard level. Games have moved on, in terms of technology, of course, with our pixel shaders and virtual realities and other doodads, but in design as well. Unfortunately, Shovel Knight flirts with both tropes without irony or a new perspective. Actually, there are a lot of things about old games that suck, like their crippling reliance on pattern memorization, or the notion that difficulty somehow automatically generates value. In fact, I only have issues with it where it's referencing old games for references' sake. The new ideas are what's best about Shovel Knight, not the history its riffing on. Like many of the games it's referencing, I bought into Shovel Knight's world because such seemingly silly motifs make it feel like it extends before and after the events of the game. A nordic knight has a snow shovel while another knight has the armor and technique of a mole. All the bosses are other knights, some of which are devoted to other digging disciplines. I also love how much personality Shovel Knight creates while sticking to a retro aesthetic. If any of these things were even a single pixel off, Shovel Knight would feel like just another platformer preying on your nostalgia. The arc of the Knight's jump, the speed of his downward attack, the subtle way that his big cute head bobs as he walks. Sometimes the difficulty level may seem unforgiving, with the placement of enemies or obstacles appearing unfair.īut like with Dark Souls, another hard-as-nails game, repeated attempts will ensure you find a strategy to succeed.It's a testament to the importance of little details. It’s a very stylish ability and is extremely satisfying when you can chain multiple of these attacks to quickly travel through the air without touching the ground.Īs with previous games in the series, the level design is superb and often you need pinpoint platforming skills to get through it. He wields a scythe which allows him to perform a quick jump diagonally upwards or downwards.Īll Specter Knight needs to do is time his attack perfectly on an airborne enemy or on certain obstacles.
While Shovel Knight was able to use his shovel to jump on top of enemies and bounce off them, Specter Knight has a much more flamboyant weapon.
#8bit drummer shovel knight series
Like other games in the Shovel Knight series, you’ll have to tackle a series of castles filled with enemies and fiendish obstacles. He’s on a mission to recruit a powerful order of knights for the villain Enchantress – but he’ll have to defeat each one to sway them to the dark side.
In the Nintendo Switch launch title, you step into the shoes of Specter Knight – a boss from the first game. The latter Konami classic is what Specter of Torment, a prequel to the first Shovel Knight, pays service to most. The series is a homage to the unforgiving platformers of that era, clearly influenced by Ghosts n Goblins and Castlevania. SHOVEL Knight: Specter of Torment harks back to the glory days of hard-as-nails 8-Bit gaming.
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