Mortal Shell Reviews
Mortal Shell is an extremely loyal Dark Souls homage with just enough clever new ideas to make fighting through its gorgeous world feel like something more than a rehash.
Both its world and story are entertaining to investigate, with glimpses of brilliance hidden amidst its gloomy environments and obscure characters. Ultimately, Mortal Shell is not a Souls game, but it is the best not-Souls game I've played so far.
The best Dark Souls clone so far features a number of interesting new ideas and also offers an experience that is easier to acclimatise to for new players.
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.
At the end of those levels, I collect an object that I need to return to Fallgrim Tower — as the game drip feeds me information, I learn I need all three of them to escape. I fight my way back, deliver the item, and then start off again toward a new temple. The premise is concise and understandable — go here, collect this, come back, repeat two more times, win.
Mortal Shell’s scope ends up being a more significant net gain as it offers a brisk Soulslike experience without trying to overwhelm players with content for content’s sake.
Mortal Shell is a great debut for Cold Symmetry, but it's not a perfect game. It has awesome ideas with the shells, but it is also an opaque world with no clear story.
Review in Spanish | 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.
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.
Mortal Shell is a soulslike that knows how to create the right atmosphere. The combat system is interesting, innovative in some ways, but the game still suffers from some technical problems that can arbitrarily vary the difficulty of the game, from time to time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A great Souls-like with personality, new ideas, amazing battles but with problems in scenario design and world building.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
More attention to the story would have gone a long way, but Mortal Shell is an intriguing adventure, and an accomplished addition to the Soulslike genre.
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.
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.
Ultimately, Mortal Shell will make you want to headbutt your monitor out of sheer frustration. The puzzling nature of the map, the repetitive placement of enemies, the lack of options all coalesce into a big arm that holds the game back from being really good, to just good.
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.
While it's not perfect, Mortal Shell is nevertheless an impressive snack-sized Soulslike that's fun, polished, and unique, providing an experience that Souls fans will love.
Although as of this writing it is no longer a free download, The Virtuous Cycle is probably an easy to recommend purchase for fans of the base game. The new roguelike game mode is punishing fun (if that’s your thing) and the new Shell and weapon are a welcome addition to the arsenal. If you bounced off Mortal Shell due to its difficulty, this new DLC won’t change your mind, but it’s good news for most everyone who enjoys Cold Symmetry’s homage to Dark Souls.
Mortal Shell is built around a solid foundation with a fun and responsive combat engine propped up by strong visuals. While some obtuse design choices and an uninteresting world holds it back from escaping the moniker of being, “just yet another souls-like”, it’s guaranteed to scratch that itch, at least a little.