Mortal Shell

Mortal Shell shines brightly as an example of the Souls formula done well. Anyone who is a fan of the challenging gameplay the genre is known for will be happy with this title.

Far from being a pretender, Mortal Shell is a sometimes exceptional entry to the genre. Its stumbles are noticeable only because there is so much to enjoy.

Developer Cold Symmetry's budget action-RPG is a love letter to From Software's work, but Mortal Shell's take on similar ideas feels aimed at those who struggle to get through Soulsborne games.

A budget Soulslike that still packs a punch.

Mortal Shell is a faithful homage to the games that came before it. It doesn't shy away from this and instead uses the genre's history to push players into new situations. Combat is fluid and makes use of the dodges, parries and melee attacks that veterans are used to. It's also easy enough to pick up for newer players wishing to get into the genre. Mortal Shell's gameplay style is what makes it so accessible, as new combat mechanics like shell abilities and harden give players breathing room until they learn. The title is a harsh teacher, however, as death will likely occur. Enemy designs are...

Mortal Shell is an excellent first game from Cold Symmetry and although light on content, I cannot wait to see more of Mortal Shell down the line.

Mortal Shell has a lot of things that allow it to be notable in its own right, but it makes it hard to forget that it’s taking from a giant whose shadow it never truly escapes.

Mortal Shell boasts responsive combat and gorgeous visuals, but it's let down by rote level design, poor storytelling, and a general unfinished feel.

Mortal Shell definitely has some interesting ideas and considering how small the team is at Cold Symmetry, it's actually quite impressive what the studio has been able to put together on its first outing. From a purely mechanical perspective, Mortal Shell will absolutely scratch any Soulslike itch that you might be having in 2020. Still, when the game is so unabashedly trying to draw comparisons to Dark Souls, it's going to be quite a tall task to match up in all areas. Mortal Shell nicely sets the groundwork for a future installment from Cold Symmetry, but any potential sequels definitely nee...

Dark Souls has cast a long shadow over the gaming world. Ever since its release in 2011, players and developers alike have been chasing that blissful high. Now, in this cursed year of 2020, I posit that we’re allowed to move on. No one’s making us re-skin and re-ship this game anymore! The guns are back in their holsters, the hostages have been released. That’s not to say that Mortal Shell is a bad game, exactly. This is a faithful, detailed love letter to a titan in the industry, a literal game-changer. This is Dark Souls right down to the wallpaper glue. But do we need this breed of beast an...

There’s some good to be found in Mortal Shell; its world is interesting and generally well designed, it looks lovely, and some of its boss fights really are exhilarating. But there are just so many aspects of it that will leave you frustrated, underwhelmed or disappointed. It’s a shorter, more focused Souls-like experience that demands you go toe-to-toe with your aggressors, but its combat and surrounding systems just aren’t good enough for you to feel wholly fulfilled by it all. It’ll no doubt have its fans, but Mortal Shell could have been so much better with more polish and some tweaks here...

A moody action RPG deeply inspired by Dark Souls that offers plenty of interesting ideas, but they struggle to outweigh its flaws.