Before we start I gotta say I have never been the biggest fan of “souls type games”. Yeah yeah I know, I can hear you all shouting GIT GOOD SCRUB. Honestly, it is simply the repetitive nature and the requirement for a level of patience that I just do not possess. That been said, I have actually been enjoying Mortal Shell.
I honestly couldn’t tell you why. It is more difficult, more repetitive and a lot more fun. It feels a lot darker and more supernatural than the Souls series of games. Combat seems more measured and intelligent. Mortal Souls makes you think more about when and how you attack rather than constant rolling till you find an opening in the enemies pattern.
This isn’t to say I am good at Mortal Souls, by Nimah I think I am actually worse at it than I am Demon Souls but yet I still enjoyed my time with it.
I am not going to go deep into the story and lore of Mortal Souls cos honestly I don’t have a clue. The NPC’s constantly speak in riddles and the animation makes no sense so trying to put together some cognisant story is almost impossible.
You start the game as a husk. A sort of humanoid life form that is killed really easily. After being eaten by a giant fish and then crawling out of a tunnel that is way too long to ever be justified you are in the game world and take over the body of a fallen warrior. A Mortal Shell if you like.
Once you have taken possession of your first Mortal Shell you then explore the oppressive jungle environment which is disorientating at first but don’t worry. Thanks to the endless backtracking of your footsteps you will (after a large length of time) come to know this first area extremely well.
Some deaths are a matter of learning. Some are ridiculous and should never happen. Like the time I was crawling out of a passage way and was killed mid animation. That was funny the first time not the next 6 in a row.
There are multiple Mortal Shells to discover throughout the game and each has its one skill tree which can be levelled up using tar and that you collect throughout the game.
Tar is for all intent and purposes a currency. It can be used to upgrade skills on a Mortal Shell or buy items. Glimpses, on the other hand, are specific to the Mortal Shell you are wearing when you collect it.
The moves that you can achieve through upgrades are actually quite impressive. The kick upgrade for your first Mortal Shell really turns the flow of combat and gives you an advantage. The parry system is brilliant when used well and harden is a fantastic game mechanic that quickly becomes the foundation of all your battle strategies.
Overall I found Mortal Shell to be extremley difficult but enjoyable. Repetative but rewarding. A few bugs that need irnoning out but Mortal Shell gets a solid 8/10 from me…If you happen to be a fan of the Souls games then Mortal Shell is an absolute must for your collection.
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