Mortal Shell II PS5 Review – The Soulslike genre has become the go-to for developers working on third-person action and action-RPGs. In fact, the genre has become oversaturated and crowded. So it’s always refreshing when a game like Mortal Shell II comes along and revitalizes my enthusiasm to go in and die dozens of times against an enemy until you finally get the win. Not only does Mortal Shell II deliver on that thrill, but it also does it with excellent mechanics and some laughs to boot.
Mortal Shell II PS5 Review
Vague But Intriguing Narrative
There is a story in Mortal Shell II, but like most Soulslike games, it’s a vague story that you really need to pay attention to every scene and every note you find to really grasp what’s really going on in this world.
You take on the role of the Harbinger, someone who can possess the corpses of long-dead warriors. Your goal is to find and return all the stolen children of the Undermother. The children are in a shell cocoon and haven’t hatched yet. As the Harbinger, you can possess the bodies of dead warriors and use their shells to achieve your goals.
As the Harbinger, you can find up to eight shells, and each one is its own class of abilities. One unique aspect of Mortal Shell II is that the game doesn’t really have an attribute system for you to build your character based on your stats.
Simplified Character Progression Is Welcoming
You still collect Gloom, which is used to level up the Harbinger, but it doesn’t increase your stats. Each level you go up increases your Hit Points, your Shells’ Hit Points, and you gain SP points to use to unlock and upgrade your Shells’ skills.
The game is all about skill and the items you can equip that give you an advantage. As you play through the game, you can find more Shells, weapons, and sub-weapons. You also find Tarstones along with other items that provide various effects that can help you build the character you want to play.
Each Shell can equip anything you want, from heavy axes to a faster-paced weapon like an axe and dagger combination. The Tarstones allow you to build your character to your preference.
You can equip one item that increases your max health with every enemy you defeat until your death. Others increase how much stagger damage you do to an enemy or cause burning damage with every strike. The combinations are limitless, and the more you use these items, the more they also increase in level, giving you even bigger bonuses.
A Shell For Every Playstyle
Each of the game’s eight Shells provides its own unique playstyle. Tiel is easily one of the best Shells you can get in the game and is available early on. Tiel allows you to go invisible and strike enemies from behind, doing massive damage to them. You can unlock new skills for Tiel that add poison damage to his hidden strike and then later detonate poison stacks on enemies, causing AOE damage.
Another Shell: Smert, the Apostate, can stop time, letting you go in and wail on an enemy with your fists as much as you can. Once time resumes, the enemy takes all the damage you threw at them at once. Genessa the Wayward allows her to summon spirits of enemies to fight for her like a Necromancer. Each Shell provides something for everyone, and each one is great for a specific playstyle.
The secondary weapons are also unique and range from devastating to downright laughable. Mostly because they don’t fit the world, or they take a perilous situation and turn it into something funny. You can find a Loute and play it like a bard. The Loute has a chance to confuse enemies and have them turn on their brethren and fight for you for a short time. You can even find a Gatling Gun; though weak in damage, it has great stopping power, keeping enemies at bay.
Fast-Paced And Relentless Combat
Combat is a blast in Mortal Shell II; what makes it stand apart from every other Soulslike is its lack of a stamina bar. You can swing your sword as much as you want and run around the map to your heart’s content without getting tired. It may seem like an advantage, but Cold Symmetry found a way to balance it.
The balance comes in the enemies’ relentlessness. Enemies barrage you with attacks as much as they possibly can, without giving you much time to breathe.
To survive, it’s not about just hacking and slashing; you must utilize your skills as much as possible. Skills not only break enemies’ stun bar but also allow you to close distances or attack from range. Skills consume Resolve, giving you a limited use of your weapon skills and Shell skills. Once used, you can regain Resolve from melee attacks.
Though you have plenty of tools at your disposal, the game is still just as hard as you can imagine. There are even times when it feels like the hardest Soulslike I’ve ever played.
Play And Build How You Want
As I mentioned earlier, the enemies are relentless, and there are a lot of them. You encounter plenty of mobs, and in this case, the numbers matter more than in other games. There are times I died more from normal enemy encounters than I died from boss battles. One enemy hits you so hard it can kill you in three hits, and it’s one of the earlier enemies you encounter.
You can play the game by dodging attacks and running around your enemies, but it’s so satisfying to parry their attacks. Enemies telegraph their attacks, so a lot of them are easy to spot. The developers also added some unique animations that trick you.
Some enemies look like they are going in for an attack but then stop mid-swing and change the direction of the attack instead. It’s annoying but also cool to see, as it adds another layer for you to consider when dodging or parrying attacks.
If you’re able to parry enough attacks and stun the enemy, you can perform a Riposte attack. These attacks are amazing and unique. They are so fun to watch because they’re not only incredibly brutal but also kind of funny.
One enemy with a giant sword as his head sees the Harbinger grab the sword and swing it into their crotch. Not only is it brutal, but to add insult to injury, you then kick the sword even harder and deeper into their crotch.
You essentially have two health bars to survive encounters. Once your Shell is defeated, the Harbinger is knocked out of the Shell and is in his flesh form. You lose your Shell’s abilities, but after doing enough melee damage, you can restore your Shell to your body with limited health.
Huge World With Plenty Of Secrets And Content To Consume
The map in Mortal Shell II is big, and it’s full of secrets, hidden locations, and bosses to find. The map is also full of dungeons you can enter to find a chest at the end. These are worth doing because this is where you can find new weapons, Tarstones, and even Shells.
Not all secrets and bosses can be found in the world as you know it. You can speak to an NPC and unlock Night Mode. Night Mode sends the world into nighttime. Enemies are more vicious, and some can’t even be killed unless your weapons are strong enough to hurt them. New locations unlock along with new bosses to face as well. It’s worth exploring the Night World, but it’s probably better to wait until you’re much further along in the game than when it becomes available.
Visually, the game is stunning and atmospheric. The world and monster designs are grotesque and unique. There is even a large variety of enemies you’ll encounter right from the get-go. Every location is full of unique details. A Graveyard with zombie warriors crawling out of the ground, a castle keep full of soldiers, and a village full of old grannies who dance to music and attack you with brooms.
The sound design is great here as well, with every attack and clash of swords against flesh feeling meaty. The soundtrack is a little lacking, though, and most of the time you’re running around with no music at all. In fact, everything else drowns it out, and really the only time I can remember any music playing is during boss fights.
There is a lot to love about Mortal Shell II. Though it’s as tough as any Soulslike, it’s also more appealing to someone like me who doesn’t want to deal with point attribution for stats or worrying about the gear I have equipped. The game is all about skill and the combination of skills you use. It’s fun as hell and has plenty of secrets and exploration.
Put simply, Mortal Shell II is some of the most fun I’ve had playing a Soulslike and a great upgrade from the first game. Instead of imitating others, Cold Symmetry has taken the best of the genre and put their own spin on it, and it’s for the better.
Mortal Shell II is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.
Review code kindly provided by PR