Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment Shown At Game Awards
By Curt Hutson 29 November 2016
Developer Yacht Club Games premieres the first trailer for Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment at The Game Awards, revealing it to be a prequel to the original game.
Yesterday, Yacht Club Games took to Twitter to tease an upcoming announcement at The Game Awards. The company asked if gamers wanted to “see the latest” on what its been cooking since its smash hit Shovel Knight made waves throughout the industry a couple years back. Tonight at the show, Yacht Club Games revealed its been working hard on a prequel, titled: Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment.
A teaser for Shover Knight: Specter of Torment was posted on the company’s official Twitter back in September, but up until now it was a mystery as to what it would be about. Many believed it would be another DLC like Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, but it appears that isn’t the case.
According to the game’s website, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment was built from the ground up, “so that it can be a completely unique standalone experience.”
As far as story goes, it looks like Specter Knight, one of the eight enemy knights from the original game, will be the star of this title. His mission is to recruit for the Order of No Quarter, which is the villainous group of knights, led by The Enchantress, from Shovel Knight. 
In the trailer, Specter Knight can be seen fighting through familiar terrain and battling recognizable foes. It also seems as if the title will work as an origin story for the new protagonist, as was hinted at by some sepia-toned flashbacks.
Yacht Club Games became a household name following the success of Shovel Knight. The 8-bit era throwback launched two years ago and it held its own against newer, next generation titles. What made the simplistic, yet ingenious, 2D sidescroller stand out was its quirky protagonist wielding the most untraditional of weapons – that, of course, being a shovel. Shovel Knight had a surprising amount of depth in its gameplay and, eventually, dug its way into the hearts of many gamers. The title’s popularity even scored the skilled spade-wielder his own Nintendo amiibo figure.
Its mass appeal was due in part to the quality of the game itself, but also because Shovel Knight paid homage to the games that came before it (i.e., the inclusion of eight bosses ala Mega Man). Additionally, it featured cameos of characters from other titles, with Shovel Knight being able to take on the Battletoads on the Xbox version of the game or face off against Kratos in the PlayStation version.
The title would go on to offer a brand new campaign in the form of DLC that would star one of the game’s original antagonists. Soon, Shovel Knight himself will even have his own cameo in the upcoming game Yooka-Laylee.
Yacht Club Games has a serious appreciation for video games, past and present, and it shows. If the trailer is any indication, the same thought and care that made Shovel Knight so beloved will find its way into the game’s prequel as well.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment will release sometime in Spring 2017.
