Knight Shovel makes itself hybrid
The original Shovel of Hope campaign and the additional Plague of Shadowscampaign make their appearance on Switch without any modifi
cation from what has already been seen on other consoles. The only significant differences concern the control system. Knight Shovel: Treasure Trove can be played with only one Joycon and two, and it also supports the Controller Pro. Since the game requires a few keys, each mode is comfortable, thus adapting to the needs of the playe
r with no problems.
This is even more important when considering that the first campaign (but not subsequent expansion) is now fully playable in local co-operati
ve (Wii U’s exclusive version of the past, which with this update will also come on other versions, excluding those Vita and 3DS ). So you can f
ace the adventure together with a friend using a Joycon head-to-head guessing to avoid additional expense for a second controller, without affecting the gaming experience.
For the rest, there is li
ttle to add to what has already been said at the time: both Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows are fun now as when they were released, proposing a successful jump in the past with a sliding platform to 8-bit that recalls the golden age of this genre . The nostalgic effect is assured for anyone who has lived at that time as their videogame childhood, while the youngest will discover this fantastic world.
So if there is no doubt about the quality of the first two campaigns, already analyzed on these pages time, it remains to be seen whether the new add-on content will be up to what has already been done well by the guys at Yacht Club Games.
History of a spectrum
Specter of Torment represents a prequel of the story told in Shovel of Hope . In this chapter, we are going to impersonate Specter Knight, the ranger charged by the devilish Enchantress to recruit powerful sgherri to put at his service. These are just the bosses already faced in the original campaign, and we will now meet under another garment seeking their al
liance rather than falling. Obviously, none of them will be easily convinced to join the Enchantress, and it will be the task of the prolific Specter to convince them of mocking. Specter of Torment, therefore ,it goes beyond what has already been told by its predece
ssors, offering us an interesting backdrop, but never becoming overly prolific . This attention to the plot astonishes in a positive way, demonstrating how the developers care for their creature, and it is inevitable to be involved with the fairytale and fuzzy narrative plot.
From the visual and sound point of view, Specter of Torment remains in line with what has already been seen, using the same exquisite 8-bit style, now familiar to anyone who has tried the title at least once. Nothing to excuse, therefore: the inte
ntion to recreate the atmospheres of once in a modern context can still be as the first, without losing anything in the freshness.
From the peal to the sickle
Like Plague of Shadows before him, Specter of Torment does not propose new settings or new levels, except for a few small portions of them. The campaign is, in fact, in the same scenarios as Shovel of Hope , whose design has
been revised and revised according to the new protagonist.If on paper this may seem a little bit to make an adventure already appetizing again, just try a level with the pad to the hand to realize how much experience is renewed thanks to the change of character. If some rooms are replicated similarly to what was seen in the past, giving a sense of familiarity to the players, others have been completely altered. This does not stop feeling the lack of really new levels
, which is, however, made more digestible, complimented by the truly impeccable design level, which once more demonstrates how the guys at Yacht Club Games are profoundly lovers of that kind.
Specter is very different from Shovel: it can climb for a short time on the walls, can jump from the walls, but above all it has a sickle. This
, when the rider is in the vicinity of an enemy or particular object, allows him to spin a diagonal attack that allows him to cross the ravines or reach places otherwise unattainable. The levels are now drawn around these abilities, and as far as the scenery is concerned, the challenge they have formed has changed. Even the bosses have been modified, offering a different battle than we remembered.
