Mortal Shell 2 Review (PC): An Extremely Frustrating and Fun Time

Mortal Shell 2 is a major step up from the original, replacing clunky movements, slow actions, and a bleak atmosphere with fluid combat, dynamic attacks, and a gorgeous dark fantasy landscape. The sequel makes a comeback in a huge way, giving the feeling of God of War mixed with Dark Souls. Unfortunately, this is also coupled with some massive drawbacks that show the series still has a little ways to go before it can rival other great games in the soulslike action RPG genre. After initially writing off the first game, Mortal Shell 2 has made me excited for future installments.

Brutal Combat With Options

What sets Mortal Shell 2 apart from other soulslikes is, one: the ability to jump into different Shells, and two: the brutality exhibited in the combat. Shells act as the main part of your build, with there being several in the game, and each having its own stats and abilities. For instance, Tiel is a stealth-focused Shell that gives you the ability to enter an invisible stealth mode, while Proxima allows you to grapple enemies, dealing lightning damage. These Shells make the build aspect of Mortal Shell 2 more engaging and can be combined with different items such as Tarstones to alter your abilities. Something I enjoyed is the large number of Tarstones found throughout the game, with each of them offering different unique upgrades for your character, giving your character a ton of build potential.

There is a limited number of weapons in Mortal Shell 2, giving you less to choose from than in a normal soulslike title, but each weapon feels more refined, with each of the movesets being unique and standing out, versus normal soulslikes that have multiple weapons with the same attack pattern. That said, some of the sidearms need noticeable tweaks. One of the biggest issues I ran into during my playthrough was that the lute kept forcing me into a position where I would be playing it, leaving me open in combat, and causing me to die more often when I had the weapon equipped. When it wasn’t causing this annoying glitch, it felt far overpowered, as it turned enemies against each other, trivializing some bosses, and breaking others, causing them to stand still so I could hit them with zero consequences.

Mortal Shell 2 offers a more close-up and involved version of the soulslike combat, where the over-the-shoulder view is something more akin to God of War. While at first I questioned the camera choice, I quickly grew to love it, as it offered a more close-up view of the action, and the combat is extremely brutal, with attacks that feel like they carry serious weight. Enemies will go flying from your strikes, parrying feels precise, and when you break an enemy’s stance, you are rewarded with a powerful riposte that is more brutal than anything I have seen in a soulslike title.

Beautiful Dark Fantasy

The hallmark of almost any soulslike game is the world you are placed in, as it often determines whether you will enjoy your experience or not. Too many traps, awkwardly placed enemies, and crowded environments all make these games feel like a slog when handled poorly. Mortal Shell 2 falls slightly into the trap of a congested world that tries too hard to punish you. During the early hours, enemies constantly one-shot me, forcing me to “git gud” and rely heavily on the parry system. Along with this, constant traps and enemies that were tucked away in awkward places frustrated me, and I play these games to relax, so it definitely threw me off guard. 

Of course, after I got a few levels, everything was smooth sailing, and the traps thinned out in most places, making traversal much more enjoyable. Still, awkwardly placed enemies were an annoyance, but they became much more manageable with time. Along with this, I commend the developer, Cold Symmetry, for making great use of the three-dimensional space with the inclusion of numerous pathways that cross over each other, making the world more enjoyable to explore as it wasn’t all on the same plane.

However, through the creation of all these pathways, the developer created glitchy landscapes that made traversal a chore. On several occasions, I fought an enemy close to a ledge, only to be thrown off the ledge and plummet to my death. Along with this, I fell through the map in multiple areas. While some of these ended fine, like when I clipped through a tower in a large keep and landed on a grassy plateau down below, losing only a little health, most of the time it resulted in another death that was out of my control and very frustrating.

Despite the annoyances, Mortal Shell 2 has a beautiful dark fantasy setting that quickly became one of my favorites. The enemy designs are fantastic, and the method of defeating the enemies differs, as some are more vulnerable to heavy attacks and others require a well-timed parry/riposte. The design of the world deserves to be commended, as the way each area intertwines made discovering new areas a blast. I want to put extra emphasis on the poison swamp area and snowfields, as they are some of the best locations in the game, and some of the best I have played in a soulslike game. Most of these games introduce a poison swamp and make you feel like a victim. You often suffer at the hands of inescapable poison, but the swamp in Mortal Shell 2 gives you a strong fighting chance, with poison that quickly dissipates and enemies that don’t rely on it as their only means of attack. I often hate snowy environments, but the one in Mortal Shell 2 left me wanting more, as the enemies fit perfectly, the environment was engaging – with hidden areas that opened up with a unique item that was locked away – and effects added an amazing extra touch.

You Got a Problem There, Boss

I want to talk specifically about the boss fights in Mortal Shell 2, as boss fights are one of the most important aspects of any good soulslike. I am not here to complain about the bosses, as I know I won’t enjoy every boss that is thrown my way. I will, however, state the facts that I experienced some of the most broken boss fights of any game I have ever played.

One of the main bosses in the game, The Lost Child, is an intimidating beast. Nevertheless, I charged in to take it on, and every time, it ended with my death because of something out of my control. One time, it launched itself into the air and out of the map at half health. It then proceeded to land back in the arena with full health. Another time, it hit me and I flew out of the map and nearly back to the beacon that I last rested at. Numerous times, the boss missed me with an attack, and my character teleported backwards to get hit. This isn’t the only boss that this happened with either, as there were multiple main bosses that glitched out in horrendous ways.

Along with this, I want to point out that the key to defeating some of these bosses ended up being the lute weapon, which ultimately froze them in place, allowing me to wail on them; something I unintentionally discovered when fighting The Lost Child, and then proceeded to exploit in another major boss fight that I was probably underleveled for. With all of this being said, I never had an issue with any of the optional bosses, and I found a majority of them to be well-balanced and enjoyable.

One aspect of the boss fights that I will commend is their design. There are tons of unique bosses, and while some are repeated, they have different variants that set them apart, and each one was well designed – my personal favorite being the sheep herder boss that fought using a bunch of mind-controlled sheep. It was hilarious, caught me off guard, and I loved everything about it. Cold Symmetry shines when it comes to design, which is something that many developers struggle with. Even though I had my frustrations, I never left a boss fight feeling unsatisfied, as each one exceeded my expectations to the point where I loudly exclaimed “holy shit” nearly every time I saw one.

The Verdict

Mortal Shell 2 is a great step forward from the original; one that takes extra brutality, a more scenic world, and magnificently designed enemies and puts them in the forefront. The world is full of life, and every inch of it is worth exploring – from the poisoned swamp to the snowy alcoves. The brutal gameplay, combined with a plethora of items to create a build makes this one of the best soulslike titles I have played. Unfortunately, it still has a little ways to go when it comes to the mechanical aspects, as glitchy bosses, a world you can and will fall through, and broken weapons make it difficult to fully love the title. If you can get past that, it is a game that is worth coming back to.

Mortal Shell 2 was reviewed on PC with a code provided by Cold Symmetry.

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