Mortal Shell 2 enters the market six years after the first part, and it comes at a time when we have soulslikes popping up everywhere. Standing out in such a saturated genre is no easy task today, and my own expectations of Playstack are also high following the earlier open beta.
But a beta/demo is a different story entirely from full launch. Let’s find out how the game fares in key areas for the full version. I’ve put in about 12 hours, and here are my impressions of the game so far.
Table of contents
Mortal Shell 2 takes no time to put you in the action
While Mortal Shell 2 is a sequel, it is a standalone title. You don’t have to play the first game to enjoy it. You’ll just understand the combat and mechanics a bit better, but you can do just as well without the prior experience.
Mortal Shell 2 doesn’t hold your hand in an hours-long tutorial, which I love. You do get several lengthy cutscenes at the start of the game, though, which you can thankfully skip. It still takes a while before the game sets you free on the world, however.
Once you find your way around the village (which takes a couple of minutes), you are introduced to the basics of combat in the shattered world. The basic premise is simple: you play the role of Harbinger. Your job is to slay the enemies that guard the Undermether’s stolen egg.
There are no twisted branch lines or multiple story routes for you to follow. I do like branching stories in other games, but in Mortal Shell 2, I enjoy the basic premise. It allowed me to focus entirely on the gameplay and slaying enemies with utmost prejudice.
The Gameplay and the highs
In Soulslikes, I have always focused on the gameplay before all else. I still love a decent story where you play a meaningful role, but a soulslike can’t be good if the gameplay is dull.
If I had to assess all key areas of Mortal Shell 2, gameplay is arguably the strongest department. All the staples of a good soulslike are there. You have a heavy attack, a light attack, and you can block using stamina, or you can dodge if you trust your timing.
While the core gameplay is simple, there are plenty of combos. For example, your light attack will result in different combos depending on whether you’re standing still or sprinting. Different weapons also offer different combos.
There are no great or bad weapons so far, but those you use will greatly determine your core playstyle. Some tend to be more offensive, while others offer better defense.
Combat is not easy, naturally, or it wouldn’t be a soulslike. Spamming your attack buttons will simply result in death. You will need to use the lock-on feature when you’re dealing with multiple enemies, since things can get a bit chaotic at times.
You also have shells to rely on during tougher fights, which are external skeletons or armors that you find throughout the game. Each shell has unique skills that add to its purpose. Some shells are great for offense, while some give you extra attack mobility. Just like weapons, the effectiveness of a specific shell will also depend on how you play.
For example, I love to have a bit of mobility in my builds to avoid getting caught by enemies. You might want something different, and Mortal Shell 2 has plenty of options once you get past the initial stages.
Like any good soulslike, the game features both fun and frustrating combat. A couple of mistimed attacks, and you’re dead. There are no difficulty modifiers, so you will have to adapt to the enemy you face. Every kill feels extremely rewarding, and every hit feels meaty — partly due to the well-timed controller vibrations.
Similarly, you’ll need to remember every mechanic when facing one of the bosses. You cannot simply rush in and expect to get the kill. Instead, you will have to observe their patterns and land your dodges and blocks to stay alive. Once the window appears, flash in with your attacks and combos. This beautiful system of attack and defense that Mortal Shell 2 creates forces you to not only use your brain, but it also helps you improve in the genre as a whole as well.
I also like how the game adds a few quality-of-life measures without sacrificing the core of a soulslike. For example, there is a map you can use to find different locations, but there are no objective markers. You have to create your own waypoints.
Similarly, the game will tell you the location of a shell or a weapon, but it does not pinpoint where you have to go or what kind of enemies you’ll face. This keeps the suspense and challenge alive because greed will get you killed. For example, I tried to collect a specific shell and ended up dying to a brutal mini-boss.
Mortal Shell 2 isn’t without blemishes
You’re in for a solid outing, and the game kept me hooked for plenty of hours, but it is not without its small share of negatives.
For starters, the save system can be frustrating when you hit a really tough boss at the end of a run. When you die, you respawn at the nearest beacon, which can be a ways back. The route that you might have cleared will once again be filled with smaller enemies, and you will again need to clear them. While you do keep your materials after death, I wish we had some more checkpoints.
Performance-wise, Mortal Shell 2 is not a train wreck, but I did encounter stutters. Most of it went away after I made a few tweaks in the in-game settings, but the overall performance could be better. I am also expecting a few post-launch patches to smooth out the issues that arose on my end.
You can still enjoy Mortal Shell 2 as long as your system meets the recommended specifications. But the sudden drops in frame rate can be a problem when engaged in a boss fight.
Mortal Shell 2 has been an enjoyable journey. It offers a great gameplay loop, good map design, and the combat feels fun. Every death and failure feels meaningful, and you can’t just blame your bad luck. Every death also serves as a lesson, as you get to know more about the enemy and what kind of attacks they have. This makes each kill extremely rewarding, and the general progression system is also neat.
It can make every death feel necessary, as long as you are getting the resources and unlockables. These will help you power up and eventually clear the level that caused you headaches.
In terms of soulslikes, Mortal Shell 2 does not reinvent the wheel, and it does not have to. It polishes the formula that has worked for other games like Elden Ring. The addition of key QoL features is neat in my books. The slight blemishes that I have mentioned above should disappear as the developers keep working on the game post-launch, except for maybe the additional checkpoints (that’s not a game flaw, but a personal desire).
If you are new to soulslikes, I reckon you will enjoy what the game has to offer. If you are a veteran, you will feel right at home with Mortal Shell 2.
