More than just a Souls-like game?
Mortal Shell is a deep action-RPG that tests your sanity and resilience in a shattered world. Your adversaries spare no mercy, with survival demanding superior awareness and precision. Possess lost warriors, discover hidden sanctums, and face formidable foes.
Mortal Shell is a love letter to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, which are arguably the toughest games known to man with its enemies that can kill you with just a hit or two. The game feels more like FromSoftware’s more recent hit Sekiro though, which itself isn’t too derived from the Souls experience.
You have to applaud this debut from Cold Symmetry, a studio of just 15 people have produced this homage to the Souls games. Combat is as you would expect, although it does have a bit of a twist as you can possess warriors you find and if you are defeated, you revert to your other self to either find another host or to fight and hope to beat your foe before moving on to trying to find a new body. It takes some getting used to and while FromSoftware’s series has the upper hand, Mortal Shell does just enough to satisfy those looking for a new Souls-like experience.
Visually, Mortal Shell is a stunning game and runs smoothly. Characters and locations are designed beautifully and while the areas aren’t as expansive as its inspiration, they are still decently sized. The soundtrack is also impressive with some great atmospheric tracks.
The Verdict
Mortal Shell may live in the shadow of the Souls games, but it does just enough to be better than a bad version of the Souls-like experience. It’s incredibly reasonable at £25 and a must-have for any fan of FromSoftware’s games. A great debut from a very small team.