Mortal Shell - Review @ Gameffine

Mortal Shell Review (PC) :: Excommunicationis

By creating Demon's Souls, Hidetaka Miyazaki went against the conventional tropes of modern game design by making something original and pathbreaking. Thus, it's ironic to see 'Soulslike' being pushed as a genre of its own while the whole point of Demon's/Dark Souls was to be a unique one-off experience (Thanks Bandai Namco). Regardless, this is not an ideal world and as long as the game in question is fun and does enough to make it stand out, I'm happy. Mortal Shell, developed and published by Cold Symmetry, is the latest game in-line to take a stab at the Soulslike 'genre'. As usual, I'm here to tell you the good and bad aspects of the game so that you can decide for yourself whether to play it or not. Here is our Mortal Shell review.

Abstract Storytelling

Mortal Shell wears its inspirations on its bare chest and isn't afraid to reveal it every chance it gets. This applies to the story as well. Similar to the Souls games, Mortal Shell opts for an abstract storytelling method, where you're only told the bare minimum upfront while the rest of the story is told through the environment and item descriptions. You awaken in a strange land as an 'empty vessel' and do the bidding of the Dark Father, an ominous monstrosity, by tracking down sacred glands to...save humanity, I guess? Does it sound too familiar? That's because it is. The game basically retells every Souls series storyline - albeit in its own dark fashion.

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Verdict

For a game made by a small team of 15 people, Mortal Shell is a focused and polished experience. The core gameplay loop is satisfying and it does enough to distinguish itself from the cesspool that is 'Soulslikes'. The first half of the game has a lot of generic and boring sections and some of the new mechanics don't translate well enough into gameplay. But, all things considered, Mortal Shell is a solid 15-20 hour experience that's worth the regional price of $16.70.

Score: 7.5/10

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yemeth said:

Just wish the level design was better

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Gwendo said:

I liked Dark Souls' level design. A seamless world, everything interconnected. DS2 and 3 hub system didn't appeal to me. I'm going to try this one.

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the core gameplay loop of kill-gather experience-die-recollect experience-repeat is untouched

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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.

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joxer said:

Ontopic:


What kind of design is this? Don't tell me. I don't want to do this.

Offtopic:
@yemeth;, please, suggestions needed on something suspenseful and as good as Ratsasan and 16 extremes. All my attempts to find another gem failed, either got something boring or overrated.

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