Mortal Shell 2 Review

I am not normally one to pick up a soulslike game, and it isn’t because I don’t enjoy the gameplay or the story, it is simply because I am terrible at them. They are a style of game I have yet to master, and I wish I could say that Mortal Shell 2 was different for me, but I am here to report that I was equally as bad at it as I have been with similar games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd7xpEfZ_88

Now, I began my journey playing this game on a dark and rainy night, and it was a perfect addition to the atmosphere that this game creates and the power it commands over you from when you first pick up the controller (or mouse and keyboard, I haven’t forgotten you non-console gamers). The game begins by giving an overview, as you’d expect, and some context as to what you are being tasked to do. It is, however, one of the most eerie vocal deliveries I have experienced in a game in a long time. Mether feels dark and evil and scary from her voice alone, and has you questioning from the start what other evils will be lying ahead as you do her bidding. The atmosphere this develops will chill you to your bones, and sets the scene perfectly for the rest of the game. The visuals are also stunning, and as a fan of very dark, corrupted-looking art in video games, this definitely hit the spot.

Once you step out of the beginning cutscene, it is a little disorienting, and I personally felt I was running around blind for the first ten minutes. However, I definitely think this is a skill issue given I am not an avid player of this genre. After some stumbling and bumbling, I found the intended path, spoke with the one commanding me, and found the first shell.

After inhabiting your first shell, and destroying the cult worshippers around you in doing so, you set off on your adventure. Having not played the first in the series, I have been told that this game is a little less compact and offers more of an environment for you to move around in compared to its predecessor. Does this mean I was frequently somewhat lost? Yes. Does it mean I spent countless hours just running into mini-bosses, small dungeons and finding random bits and bobs? Also yes. Was it a lot of fun? Most definitely. Despite the amount of times I found myself dying as I learned the mechanics of combat. While overall not as expansive as other soulslike games, there is a lot of space for you to explore and move through each section through multiple different avenues.

There are 9 different shells that you can collect and connect with throughout the game. One within the prologue, and eight which can be found in various locations throughout the game. Each comes with its own unique cutscene, unfinished business and abilities/playstyle. As you grow a greater connection with your shell, the more abilities you unlock in the ability tree. I personally ended up playing as Tiel for a majority of the game once unlocked. There are plenty of resources online that discuss the best way to maximise builds for each of the shells, if you are aiming to play the game like that. Personally, I just went with the flow to find what worked best and so hadn’t put too much stock into seeing the extent of what the other shells could do.

The combat itself felt pretty easy to get a hang of in terms of mechanics, and while I still died a lot, it didn’t feel like it was because it was an impossible thing for me to get a hand of, I am sometimes just terrible at timing. I quite enjoyed parrying over guarding, and the biggest change I noted was a lack of stamina bar. This meant it was one less thing for me to think about when approaching any combat, and made it easier for me than some of the other soulslike games. You need to track a resolve meter that allows for the use of your shell abilities, and a posture meter that will leave you staggered if overfilled. The beacons, which act as your respawn points, can be few and far between. So while overall I found this game to be easier than say Elden Ring when it came to the boss fights, it was a game where I had to consciously ration healing items and be very aware that I could be running over a large expanse of space and encountering many mobs before reaching the next beacon. My advice for this is to pace yourself where you can, and only heal when absolutely necessary to avoid death (I learned this the hard way, trust me).

Overall, as someone who is not big on games like this, I found Mortal Shell 2 to be a very enjoyable experience. I definitely found it difficult in some spots, and it took me a good 35 hours to get through the game, but some of that can be put down to a skill issue. I definitely recommend Mortal Shell 2 for anyone who is interested in soulslikes.