Mortal Shell Reviews
Check out Mortal Shell Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 33 reviews on CriticDB, Mortal Shell has a score of:
If you’re willing to devote a weekend to its mood of windbitten despondency (it’s only fifteen or so hours long), you will not emerge from Mortal Shell unrewarded.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
In the cottage industry of Souls clones, developer Cold Symmetry is throwing its hat in the ring. How does a budget-sized Souls-styled RPG stack up?
Read Full Review
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...
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell embraces the Souls-like moniker with open arms. They welcomed comparisons, and, for the most part, delivered. What's more impressive is that a team of only 15 people created it. Mortal Shell will make you to rethink your ideas around patience and frustration. You will love this game for all the same reasons that you hate it.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell is an action RPG that uses the sleeve of the soulslike genre to create something unique enough to stand on its own two feet. Though its campaign is short and predictable, the beautiful world, interesting body-swapping mechanics, and strong technical performance more than make up for how liberally it borrows from other games.
Read Full Review
Overall, Mortal Shell feels like a Souls game. It’s difficult, the enemies are punishing, and the combat mechanics are familiar. Mortal Shell is undoubtedly a love letter to Dark Souls, but Cold Symmetry has added enough novel mechanics and intriguing landscapes to make a game that stands out from the crowd.
Read Full Review
FromSoftware's much-celebrated Souls franchise has left such a permanent mark on gaming that developers can't seem to stop trying to emulate its magic. With that in mind; here's my review of the intriguing Mortal Shell.
Read Full Review
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...
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell is a new Action RPG in the style of Dark Souls, whilst there are many games within this Souls-like genre now, does Mortal Shell have enough to shine its soul into your life? Mortal Shell is developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack, being Cold Symmetry’s first title.
Read Full Review
Back in the day Dark Souls (or Demon Souls if you're truly old school) made a big mark on the gaming community with its punishing gameplay. The game mechanics should be hard to master but ultimately work for you - not against. Enter Mortal Shell.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell is just an incredibly satisfying experience. It’ll punish you constantly, but if you can master the mechanics it lays out in front of you then you’ll have an incredible time of things. The lore is a little more obvious that in other soulslikes, and the story it tells and the world it puts you in are both rather enthralling. This is definitely a game that fans of dying a lot will enjoy, but it’s probably not for everyone.
Read Full Review
MORTAL SHELL REVIEW FOR PS4, PC, XBOX ONE. While Soulslikes have been struggling to keep up with From’s genre-topping efforts over the past decade, gaming as a whole has been confusing “bigger” for “better” in that same time frame. They’re two separate issues but are both ones that Mortal Shell simultaneously confronts head-on with a flaming mace in hand. Shamelessly Soulsian in its overall style, it doesn’t attempt to beat From at its own game. Instead, it thoughtfully borrows from that established formula, using a keen sense of intuition to know exactly when to scale back and push ahead.
Read Full Review
Wonderfully captures the atmosphere and combat of Souls games, but without enough tools to experiment with and an AI that’s easy to abuse, Mortal Shell lacks meat on its bones.
Read Full Review
You learn about the humane struggles of these dead people you inhabit in as you discover more about your own otherworldly nature. The campaign is open-ended and non-linear. Early clues hint at landmarks you can seek out where you might find new Shells or weapons and weapon upgrades, and every new milestone truly feels like a triumph
Read Full Review
For a debut title by a newly founded studio, making an action RPG inspired by Dark Souls doesn't always seem like the first choice. Nevertheless, Cold Symmetry has set out upon the current generation of consoles with a title that was first revealed as Dungeonhaven two years ago. Rebranded as Mortal Shell, this upcoming role-playing title has certainly hardened up in a lot of ways but does it still have enough soul to match?
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell boasts refreshing mechanics that eschew the Souls-like subgenre's tried-and-tested methods. Though a bit on the short side, it oozes bone-crunching, stylish combat, and its performance is superbly optimized. Simply put, Mortal Shell manages to exceed all expectations.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell offers an experience that longtime Dark Souls fans will likely cling to. Its early hours can be painfully slow, and there are a smattering of issues with the world design, but it's not enough to ruin the experience. Once players find their groove with the right loadout, Mortal Shell's biggest problems evaporate, and its offering of new additions to the Souls-like formula makes it stand out in an increasingly crowded genre.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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...
Read Full Review
A moody action RPG deeply inspired by Dark Souls that offers plenty of interesting ideas, but they struggle to outweigh its flaws.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
A budget Soulslike that still packs a punch.
Read Full Review
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...
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell isn't merely "like Dark Souls"; it's a love-letter to From Software's juggernaut series that successfully captures what makes those games special while carving out an identity all its own. It isn't without fault, yet as a freshman effort Mortal Shell is a worthy addition to the Soulslike pantheon.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell boasts responsive combat and gorgeous visuals, but it's let down by rote level design, poor storytelling, and a general unfinished feel.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell is a valiant attempt at the Souls-like genre. Its dark and brooding aesthetic are unnerving, while the unique mechanics, like the shells and Resolve, offer fresh takes on the tried-and-true combat. These slight changes from the formula create a challenging experience that will have those intimately familiar with the Souls-like genre relearning the basics. Unfortunately, while Mortal Shell has a heart of gold, there are mechanics and core decisions that prevent it from being a truly great entry into these hallowed halls.
Read Full Review
With a haunting and beautiful world as a backdrop to a solid “Souls-like” RPG, Mortal Shell is a much better game than it has any right to be. The magnificent presentation, mixed with the unique take on character progression, steals the show here and despite dying dozens upon dozens of times, I was hooked from the moment that combat started making sense to me.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
Mortal Shell isn't as rich and complex as post-Souls games like Bloodborne or Sekiro, but it does make you work for victories and learn from your mistakes. It's a beautifully dark adventure, and thanks to its clever body-swapping mechanic it delivers much of the playstyle diversity and exploration of the best in this genre, but in a tidy and comparatively short package with a couple of attractive surprises of its own.
Read Full Review