It’d be fair to say that since the release and rise of Dark Souls in 2011, the path it paved soon became overrun with its many imitators. Whilst the bag has been mixed, one that did stick out for me was Mortal Shell. Presumably, I’m not the only one as now we’re on to a sequel in Mortal Shell II.
On the surface, it looks similar, albeit with a new coat of darkgrim paint. But crack that familiar shell, and there’s actually a slew of new concepts and twists on what we know refer to as “the Soulslike genre”. If you didn’t play the first one, have a little refresher in my review here.
Is it a worthy sequel, or more a failed rehash off of the jumping point of the first one? Let’s go inhabit some serious looking suits of armour and find out…
Mether Mercy, Heed My Call
If you haven’t played the first game, do not worry. Mortal Shell II has done what Lords of the Fallen (2023) has done and essentially soft rebooted itself. Besides a few nods, Shells and world elements from the first, this is designed as a standalone title. So, what is going on in Fallgrim?
Well, it turns out the land is corrupted and there’s a few deities that have got… well, what’s a higher level of delusion after becoming a god? Anyway, the land has gone to pot, monsters run amok and the powers that be (the good ones) are losing their grasp on things.
We, the player character, are the Harbinger. A vessel, a template that is chosen to heed the call of the Mether, a force of apparent good that we all love and worship. Naturally, this being a grimdark ARPG, there’s probably something sinister going on, but I haven’t worked it out yet.
The player is tasked with cleansing the land of these unruly gods, returning the Mether’s rather large egg collection, and trying not to die in the process. Yes, it’s standard Soulslike formula, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Also yes, it is spelled “Mether”, as is someone calling the Harbinger “brev”. Must be an olde fashioned thing.
I know it sounds like I’m being dismissive and facetious (which is normally my style, admittedly) but it’s not the case this time. It’s just very hard to condense a plot when one is expected to put 50+ hours in to figure it out, with a week’s embargo time.
As You See Fit
What does unshackle Mortal Shell II from a boring narrative structure, however, is how open the game truly is. Not fully open world, which I’ll tap into later on, but open in its sense of exploration.
The land of Fallgrim is, as previously mentioned, corrupted. You, the Harbinger, must go forth and cleanse the land, by method of trial and error. Much like Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas and Breath of the Wild, Mortal Shell II has gone all minimal on us.
That is to say that you, the player, can tackle the world as one sees fit. There’s nothing stopping what order players tackle the differing biomes and dungeons. Well, except their own skill, but that’s the caveat.
In brief, the game will say, “Here are inhabitable Shells to find, here’s some legendary weapons to find, and here’s the corrupted gates that contain bosses”. Then it slaps your bum and sends you on the way.
So why is it not completely open world?
Deeper Underground
Funnily enough, when I mentioned Elden Ring earlier it wasn’t just for face value. It actually goes deeper… as do the dungeons in Mortal Shell II. See, the tenuous link here is that ER put a lot of content under the surface, in the little sense. Many underground areas and such.
Mortal Shell II does that, but in a more inter-connected transition way. It’s not as fluid as ER, but it is necessary for a lot of progression and finding of luxury items. What I mean is that you’ll be exploring decrepit villages and whatnot, then come across a mercury-like covered cave. This is an optional dungeon, but it pays to explore.
There’s the aforementioned legendary weapons to be found, sub-bosses to fight and potentially some of Mether’s missing ovum. Not always, mind. Some are just filled with crafting materials and/or some gold. But that’s half the joys of an action-adventure/ARPG: seeking out the unknown.
Even the save points (beacons in this instance) have mini dungeons in them to purify them of corruption. There’s depth upon depth in these depths.
Which means players will need a strong disposition and a sturdy demeanour to tackle them. Like some sort of shell, if you will.
Like A Gauntlet
As in the previous game, character builds in Mortal Shell II are not so much a player choice but a template. There’s a base level that can be upgraded for the Harbinger, but in terms of playstyle, that’s where the Shells come in. The first one given is Harros, a throwback to the first game. This teaches player the mechanics behind Shell skills and the basics of combat.
But the meat comes from finding new Shells, with offer specific skills that are locked to each one. The first one I found was Proxima, a fallen warrior that carries a lighting-based hookshot-like tool. I then found Tiel and Eredrim, the sneaky one and the stern knight from the first game, respectively.
Unlike the first game, in which four could be found, the sequel doubles it to eight. At time of writing, I have five Shells, and I will stress the importance of trying them out.
I used Proxima a lot, just by default as hers was the first I found. Yet as I progressed southbound to the Mammon area, it got hard. So, I switched to Eredrim and levelled his Shell, to have a sturdier tank, as it were. I’m not suggesting this is the correct way to play, just how I have when it comes to being conservative in combat.
I Can Go All Night
Which leads to the next positive point in this review: I love the combat in Mortal Shell II. Now I realise what I’m about to say is very subjective, but I am not a fan of stamina-based Souls combat. I like quick and nimble, which is why I prefer Sekiro and Bloodborne to roly-poly backstab. It’s also why I’m excited for the new Onimusha, by the way.
So upon discovering that Mortal Shell II has no stamina system, and there’s a parry mechanic, I am in my element. It’s not foolproof, and some fights do turn into the backtrack blitz in tighter rooms, but functionally, I enjoy how well Cold Symmetry have improved from the first game’s slower approach.
What does also change things up is the Shell retrieval system. When your Shell “dies”, we become the naked Harbinger again. In the first game, one just had to run back to its death point and merge. This time, however, that’s not necessary. Instead, a percentage counter needs to filled with melee attacks to “earn” the Shell back. Again, it works on that pro-attack system that I like.
The weapon choice is impressive too, for both main and sidearms. The former has big swords, an even bigger sword and axes for heavy hitters, or smaller hand weapon pairings for the swift and nimble. Same for the latter: a “shotgun” for the up close touch, crossbows for range. There’s even a handheld trebuchet too, that launches axes.
The beauty this time around is any weapon combination can be used with any Shell. From what I can see (and I haven’t found evidence otherwise) is there is no boon or burden for whatever Shell has what equipped. So, like always, experiment. See what works for you.
A Beauty World Of Destruction
It’s taken me this far to get to the presentation side of things, but that’s not a bad thing. Again, I think I was one of the few that enjoyed the aesthetic of the first one. Well, some parts of it, at least. The murky mires and dire brown dungeons I could take or leave.
This time around, Cold Symmetry have taken advantage of the sequel leap and really knocked it out of the park. Honestly, some of the visual setpieces and landscapes are, and I find this a bit cliché, breathtaking. When I’m not being murdered by sneaky, off-camera attacks, I’m stood taking in majestic vistas.
But it’s not just the flora, the fauna are pretty impressive too. All manner of knights, giant snails, fungal-infected creatures and more look great. They look even better when parts of them are cleaved off.
The Shells themselves have detail and depth, too. Eredrim’s armour, for instance, looks lived in. Like a hardened warrior who’s seen his fair share of battle. Tiel looks like a ravished Garrett of Thief fame, whilst Gragu looks like a weary warrior out for vengeance. There’s also a lore behind each one, intwined within each Shell’s skill tree. So to upgrade the Shell, we must learn of their background and inevitable that led them to become inhabitable corpses.
And the bosses? Equal parts gross and mesmerising, each all fleshed out with relevance to the plot, rather than just placeholders.
I’m Not Falling For It
In terms of technical issues, I didn’t really have any with Mortal Shell II. The occasional clip through a fence and get stuck, or unknowingly pushed through something off of a ledge, is all. But these are minor things, and given we get review code pre-release, I expect they’ll be patched in due time.
No, my experience overall was really enjoyable. There’s a few quality of life improvements that can be tweaked with too. Things like different camera options, for immersive close up or wider pans to spot incoming enemies. There’s even enemy attack indicators too, to save you from occasionally being blindsided.
That being said, I really wish Soulslike’s would stop that whole “There’s an obvious enemy in front of me so, yep, here’s another hiding around a corner”. Or by a ledge, or similar trap. It doesn’t make the game harder, just very annoying.
It is also very easy to get lost. As I say, without the interconnection between areas, it’s easy to die far away from a checkpoint and lose a lot of progress. But again, that’s more down to how the individual plays than a game issue, per se.
Other than that, no notes. It’s still got a strange item system, which relies on picking up more of the same item to learn about than through repetitive use. Seems strange, but these were the before times, or something. I just don’t understand why I need to pick up forty more bottles of moonshine to unlock its second “perk”, rather than keep drinking it.
A Shell Of A Time
In summary, because any more waffling about it would be a walkthrough, I absolutely love Mortal Shell II. I thought I was getting Soulslike fatigue, then this goes and brings me back. But again, I stood by the first one, so I had one foot in from the start.
That Cold Symmetry have invested in what we now must call a franchise has paid off. Whilst the first one could be considered a rough diamond, this is pure carat. From the gorgeous visuals to the revamped combat, I am in and I want to see this through. I want to find the Shells, explore their lore and match their legendary weapons up to the ones on the loading screens.
There’s a depth in here too, many loadouts to play around with and customise builds. Admittedly yes, I didn’t really touch on that but again, if you know your Souls you know what’s par for the course in upgrading equipment and such. I just didn’t want to bog you down with the intricate nuances when there’s so much more to be impressed with.
So yes, Mortal Shell II is a very strong recommendation from me. Don’t worry if you haven’t played the first one, or did and didn’t gel with it. This is a fresh new take, like the Lords of the Fallen remake was. It’s gotten me out of my Souls slump that Lies of P, Thymesia and WUCHANG couldn’t convince me to see through. So, in deference to them, it’s getting such a high score because it’s reminded me why I love these types of games.
Mortal Shell II is available from 20th August on PlayStation 5 (review platform), Xbox Series S|X and PC via Steam.
Developer: Cold Symmetry
Publisher: Playstack