Video games rarely have a chance to refine what worked in a first entry. Even then, some sequels might take the wrong lessons, missing the focus of what made their identity special. Not in Mortal Shell II’s case. In fact, it feels like a wholly new kind of game. Yes, it takes cues from its predecessor in the case of the worldbuilding and its innovative shell mechanic, but it feels fresh. Brutally, bloody, and pulse-poundingly fresh.
Soulslikes as a genre have been heavily constrained by the title in its portmanteau: Dark Souls. There are several rules that define what they are. From the bonfires that serve as checkpoints to the endless mobs and punishing boss fights, it’s a recognizable mold. In a time when we have too much of everything, it takes audacity to break away from said mold to create something truly unique. Mortal Shell II applies significant changes to the soulslike formula for the better, becoming one wild ride that will satisfy thrill-seekers.
Heed The Call
Taking on the role of the Harbinger, the narrative lays it on the table. Long ago, a meteor carrying the vessel of a god and her unborn children fell to an unsuspecting land. Corrupted people took her eggs while a cult stayed near the crash site. Believing in the chosen one who will arrive to save the dying land, that’s where the Harbinger comes in. You hear the voice of the aforementioned god, the UnderMether, calling on you to collect her Ovums (oval-shaped eggs) lost across the fiendishly medieval territory. And so, you do.
Once you surface from a trial by fire tutorial, obliterated by a boss at the end as expected, the camera pulls back to reveal the title card. One detail that gets picked up early is how Mortal Shell II exudes black metal energy. Dripping with dark atmosphere, every place you visit would fit the album cover of that genre. As the Harbinger arrives at the base of operations, the Marrow Keep, cultists worship the floor he walks on. Brief utterances by the zealots remind you of the goal to recover the lost eggs from the six main biomes and countless dungeons.
Prometheus
Although a straightforward narrative is never a soulslike’s strongest suit, there is a solid attempt here. For example, one of the main mechanics in Mortal Shell II is embodying the different shells of beings who lived their own lives at one point. Growing their bond by using a special currency, five shell memories are unlocked over time. Learning about what personalities they had, the people they knew, and how they met their untimely demise is surprisingly touching.
Of course, contextual clues while exploring and learning more about the main bosses make piecing together the lore much easier. While always cryptic, there is a possessed crow carcass called Ruk who follows your deadly path. Think a macabre version of Kaepora Gaebora from Ocarina of Time. As is customary in the genre, item descriptions aid in grasping the context of this cutthroat world.
Tabula Rasa
The shell mechanic is one that upends the usual soulslike gameplay style. All eight of them have a unique ability for different playstyles. For instance, Proxima the Broodseeker uses a lightning-based special attack that stuns the enemy. On the other hand, Tiel the Acolyte is more of a rogue-type character, using stealth to their advantage. Because the game wants you to mix and match without the worry of committing to one shell, every skill point you invest in a shell can be instantly refunded should you find another one that fits your playstyle better.
This goes for weapons as well. Starting with a base longsword and a shotgun, they can be improved at a forge to cause much more damage. Naturally, plenty of resources are consumed, from gold to specific scarce items in the overworld, to tweak them. Should the axatana call you instead, your previous weapon can be instantly melded to try a new build. Because every weapon and shell needs to be found first, this lenient decision allows picking them up and using them at any moment once recovered.
To add a sense of excitement to the shell usage, the Harbinger’s core body that possesses them is quite fragile. This makes it a glass cannon type of build that does more damage but withers away in two hits at most. When the chosen shell breaks, there is a second chance to bring it back with its unclad physique by collecting blood from attacking enemies.
Ride The Lightning
Arguably its most defining feature, Mortal Shell II does not have a stamina bar. This staple of the genre is completely removed in favor of high-octane action. The lack of a recovery time is reflected everywhere in the game. Mobs will chase you incessantly and assault you at every corner. Bosses, while not fighting nonstop, do have incredibly active movesets that will have you moving hurriedly throughout the encounter. The result is a breath of fresh air in the genre.
For players that feel FromSoftware games are too slow, this will be their jam. Barely a moment of respite in between fights, one of the game’s greatest strengths is the need to have constant spatial awareness. Certain combos move extremely fast, and the window to retaliate, or parry, is small. Enemies’ attack animations usually establish a rhythm and then perform a fake move to make you flinch. It’s clear the game knows that committing to attacks also means being unable to cancel moves or spam any buttons.
Because of the no-stamina element itself, every fight moves quick overall. This means that more than ever, one wrong move and it is over. Beyond the devastating, special enemy attacks that can’t be parried, getting strung up like a rag doll in a five-move combo will put your foolish ambitions to rest. While this may likely put some prospective players off, others will read this and their blood will begin to flow.
In The Nightside Eclipse
Mortal Shell II’s world is not particularly large, but it is dense, interconnected, and full of secrets. Dozens of dungeons around the world each hold valuable key items, like improving your health potion’s effectiveness. Illusory walls, interactable puzzles, and invisible floors are part of the game’s repertoire. A particularly distinct feature is that the beacons (or bonfires) are corrupt, and you must enter to purify them. It is a thrilling coin toss to either find a couple of weaklings to maim or an extremely tough sub-boss.
Much like there is no stamina, there are no stairs to climb. There are portals that teleport you from one place to the next instead. The vertical level design is laid out in such a way that the minimal fall damage allows you to drop to the ground instead of waiting around for a platform to come up. As there are an abundance of traps and irritating enemy placements, staying frosty is essential. Every design choice is consciously made to keep you in the action at all times. In the combat and exploration alike, there are no breaks.
Tales Of Othertime
This is not your standard medieval affair. Each of the six main bosses are so wildly one-of-a-kind, they force you to demonstrate everything you have learned to that point. In every case, there are two ways to go about it: beating yourself against a wall or finding their weakness. This may be an elemental weakness like fire or filling the riposte bar with various moves to cause catastrophic damage. Discovering what they are weak to is half the fun; the other is learning their unpredictable moveset.
For the daredevils, Mortal Shell II uses a unique approach to difficulty. If you want it harder, there is an item that forces the sun go through a perpetual eclipse. This pitch-dark world increases enemy hostility and damage, but it also gives more rewards and opens up exclusive locations. For the less inclined, the Slayer Seal basically simplifies the game by breaking any enemy’s stance when shot with the sidearm, leaving them open to a riposte in retaliation. This also disables achievements, so beware.
To avoid confusion, it must be said that there is no asynchronous multiplayer or online co-op to help in dicey situations. This is strictly a single-player experience. However, NPCs can be summoned for certain bosses.
Everything That Rises
As much as Mortal Shell II takes a fair stab, not everything lands. There is an overreliance on mobs in open areas. This means that even when progress in each area is made, moving through them is painfully slow as hellish cherubs, sentient tree trunks, and explosive corpses find their way to you. It’s understandable to infest these zones with a variety of enemies and traps to not breeze through, but it feels like overkill at times. The worst part is that they offer a marginal amount of experience, so it is not even rewarding to dispatch them often.
A smaller complaint, and this should be addressed in a future patch, is the bugs. Some enemies got stuck in place, while others continued their normal attack animation as they were already engaged in a special move. It seems that sometimes the game moves too fast for its own good. My character lost its experience points once after falling in an unreachable area and it spawning there after he died. And finally, my avatar also got stuck after falling close to a rocky formation that again caused me to forfeit my experience.
Reign In Blood
As soulslikes go, Mortal Shell II is brutal, punishing, and will ask everything of you. But that’s why it works. Removing the stamina bar, a staple of the genre, could have been a risky move. What it ends up being is one of the more original games out there, and one that has no breaks at all. Refining the shell mechanic and streamlining most gameplay elements to entirely focus on the action make it a no-holds-barred gorefest.
Knowing what makes Souls players tick, exploring its every corner will reward them in unexpected ways. It could be a useful item, but it might as well be a challenging fight. As they say, it’s the journey, not the destination, and in this black metal-infused adventure, it is one that achieves a high bar to clear. Taking all the right lessons, Mortal Shell II is a relentless soulslike and an unrecognizably better sequel.
Sincere thanks to Playstack and our PR partners for providing review access for Mortal Shell II. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
