Mortal Shell

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 207 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 120 out of 207
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 207
  3. Negative: 47 out of 207
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  1. srf5132
    Sep 3, 2021
    7
    Overall, Mortal Shell is a very mediocre game. It controls well, better than most other souls-like games, and the graphic quality is relatively high, with all the shininess and particle effects we've come to expect from unreal engine. Additionally, mortal shell brings a couple of interesting mechanics to the table with a very interesting "harden" mechanic as well as offering a nicelyOverall, Mortal Shell is a very mediocre game. It controls well, better than most other souls-like games, and the graphic quality is relatively high, with all the shininess and particle effects we've come to expect from unreal engine. Additionally, mortal shell brings a couple of interesting mechanics to the table with a very interesting "harden" mechanic as well as offering a nicely flexible class system. The systems in the game are also very simple, which might be a welcome change of pace for some people that aren't into the deep rpg elements of the souls games.

    However, for all the good the game brings to the table, it is also very bland and many of the areas and enemies aren't very interesting. One of the things that's so great about the souls games is how vibrant and detailed all of the components of the game. Every area of the games ooze with lore and heavily customized architecture that gives a sense of wonder and mystery, and every boss feels unique and interesting. By contrast, areas in mortal shell seem like randomly arranged sets of themed environment components and the rooms in any given area have a tendency to blend together to the point of easily getting lost. The bosses in mortal shell are also nothing to write home about, as they are primarily just humanoid enemies with a random weapon, except for the last boss, who was a welcome change of pace (though he still wasn't a very good boss in my opinion). Also note that the game is incredibly short, being completable in about a weekend.

    With all that said, I do think this game is worth playing. It does a lot good, and it is probably the most well-done souls like game besides maybe nioh 2, so if you are a fan of the genre and need something to hold you over before elden ring this will fill an afternoon or so for you. If you aren't a fan of the souls games this probably won't be the one to win you ever, and if you've never played a souls game -- well, just play dark souls or Bloodborne and come back to this if you get addicted.    … Expand
  2. LordOMO
    Feb 21, 2022
    6
    There are many highs and many lows in Mortal Shell. Overall the game has a solid foundation with regards to its look and gameplay but also some major shortcomings with balancing and level design.

    The art is beautiful, the graphics are serviceable and most importantly the core combat loop works well: attacks feel good and are weighty, "shells" are an interesting twist to add more    There are many highs and many lows in Mortal Shell. Overall the game has a solid foundation with regards to its look and gameplay but also some major shortcomings with balancing and level design.

    The art is beautiful, the graphics are serviceable and most importantly the core combat loop works well: attacks feel good and are weighty, "shells" are an interesting twist to add more personality to your character build and hardening is a unique blocking mechanic that negates damage at the cost of freezing you in place. This stuff is cool and elevates the core combat on a similar tier as other popular Soulslikes.

    However, there is also a lot to criticise. The game world and map layout can be incredibly frustrating for two reasons.
    For one the overworld is hard to navigate. A new player will definitely get lost and be confused. This is on a completely different level than for example a Dark Souls game because there are so few landmarks to help you figure out where the hell you even are.
    Secondly the difficulty curve. The game is very non-linear. You can basically go everywhere at any time and as a result difficulty balancing is all over the place, resulting in a tough as nails early game whereas the late game is almost trivial.
    Another issue I have is with items and healing. The rate at which you obtain these items is not well balanced in my opinion. Again, the early game will be brutal with barely any healing or helpful items being available whereas in the late game you can get an overabundance of healing and other items when you really don't need it anymore anyways.
    Finally there is one dungeon that I really disliked. The other ones are fine but that one in particular just feels like an overly long and tedious gank fest.    … Expand
  3. 70Ravenz
    Aug 22, 2020
    7
    Absolutely nails Dark Souls / Demon’s Souls atmosphere, story exposition, and overall game play “feel”, introduces some very fresh mechanics, yet feels dated, especially in the poor textures and muddy graphics. HDR setting is in menus and does not work. Hoping for patch. Frame rates seem low.

    I’ve been in several areas of the game and feels very copy/paste in look and feel and lacks    Absolutely nails Dark Souls / Demon’s Souls atmosphere, story exposition, and overall game play “feel”, introduces some very fresh mechanics, yet feels dated, especially in the poor textures and muddy graphics. HDR setting is in menus and does not work. Hoping for patch. Frame rates seem low.

    I’ve been in several areas of the game and feels very copy/paste in look and feel and lacks variety. Enemy placement is static with a few moving in small routines back and forth, but it feels setup and not organic in any way with designers placing choke points and traps in not so much surprising ways, but expected ways.

    Bosses at first seem very hard, but once you determine pattern and best way to attack, it becomes a boring fight as many are just damage sponges. Second fight with one boss was a no hit battle, but still took several minutes.    … Expand
  4. 18Xq8Rtutehc
    Oct 13, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is amazing for an indie studio of 15 people. You can feel the passion put in the game.
    The game unapologetically takes inspiration from Dark Souls, with similar combat, atmosphere, world traversing.
    However, the game is really short and has low replaybility value. There are only 4 bosses in the game, which require you to be patient and repetitive. You don't die easily but also can't easily kill the bosses.
    Overall, I recommend this game when you have absolutely nothing else to play. Replaying DS3 was more fun than playing this game.    … Expand
  5. Awanka
    Dec 21, 2021
    5
    Serviceable Souls-like game. Everything about it doesn't really rise above satisfactory. It's missing the spark of inspiration of games like Hollow Knight or Dark Souls. It's fairly short. The Shell mechanic is different and interesting. I came to quite like the "hardening" ability, which is like a super block.

    Nothing really wrong with it. It's just that the Souls elements are ok    Serviceable Souls-like game. Everything about it doesn't really rise above satisfactory. It's missing the spark of inspiration of games like Hollow Knight or Dark Souls. It's fairly short. The Shell mechanic is different and interesting. I came to quite like the "hardening" ability, which is like a super block.

    Nothing really wrong with it. It's just that the Souls elements are ok to bad. Souls games use snippets of text to aid its world-building, and the vague dialogue and nebulous flavor text here is awful. It's like if a 12 year old with a dictionary were asked to create Souls-like writing.    … Expand
  6. StoneCold_ET_
    May 10, 2022
    7
    Recommended for people who like the Souls series of games. I really enjoyed the aesthetic this game provides. Soundtrack by Atrium Carceri and is an absolute masterpiece of dark ambient. Overall, the game lacked the polish and customization necessary to give it a higher rating. 7/10
  7. RomulusReviews
    Aug 19, 2020
    7
    A 6.7 from me just rounding to 7. I have never been a fan of the souls games. I attempted Bloodborn as well as Shadows Die Twice but could not keep my patience with either of them. I am having the same problem with Mortal Shell. I really tried to give this game a chance and get over the learning curve but in my personal opinion it's world and lore just isn't interesting enough. I got boredA 6.7 from me just rounding to 7. I have never been a fan of the souls games. I attempted Bloodborn as well as Shadows Die Twice but could not keep my patience with either of them. I am having the same problem with Mortal Shell. I really tried to give this game a chance and get over the learning curve but in my personal opinion it's world and lore just isn't interesting enough. I got bored rather quickly by not only dying over and over again but also of the world the game takes place in. It's not a bad game, but certainly not for me.… Expand
  8. bcdserra
    Aug 22, 2020
    7
    So I myself, hate the game. But it's not a bad game and I'm not one of those **** giving a zero because I'm salty and ragey, a small team of 15 passionate people made this which is amazing.
    What demotivated me the most is the healing and the lack of checkpoints, which made it tedious to recuperate your lost "souls" after dying 10 kilometers from a checkpoint in a tight corridor filled    So I myself, hate the game. But it's not a bad game and I'm not one of those **** giving a zero because I'm salty and ragey, a small team of 15 passionate people made this which is amazing.
    What demotivated me the most is the healing and the lack of checkpoints, which made it tedious to recuperate your lost "souls" after dying 10 kilometers from a checkpoint in a tight corridor filled with enemies. It just didn't push me to continue when I finally got my stuff back only to realise I also needed a second currency to level up my shell. I was then forced to take my "souls" with me, which I really really disliked. So I stopped playing. If you read this and think you might also feel like that, buy Hellpoint. If you read this and think you're up for the challenge, godspeed and have fun !    … Expand
  9. Crysouls
    Dec 31, 2021
    7
    Prós:
    - Jogabilidade
    - Direção de arte - Dificuldade Contras: - Level design - Trilha sonora (nada muito memorável) - exagero de inimigos gerando alguns travamentos Conclusão: Um jogo mediano inspirado em Dark Souls com uma mecaninca de combate muito interessante que acaba deixando o jogo mais facil porém divertido, recomendo a fãns da franquia Souls ou a novatos que querem um    Prós:
    - Jogabilidade
    - Direção de arte
    - Dificuldade

    Contras:
    - Level design
    - Trilha sonora (nada muito memorável)
    - exagero de inimigos gerando alguns travamentos

    Conclusão: Um jogo mediano inspirado em Dark Souls com uma mecaninca de combate muito interessante que acaba deixando o jogo mais facil porém divertido, recomendo a fãns da franquia Souls ou a novatos que querem um gostinho de Ds de modo mais facil, duração do game em torno de 10 hrs.    … Expand
  10. GCassels
    Aug 20, 2020
    7
    Great debut from an indie studio. The controls do take quite a while to get used to but overall, it feels pretty solid. The game is short (I beat it in under 8 hours playtime) but the price is right for the challenge and game world.
  11. MetaRogue
    Jun 12, 2021
    6
    Mortal Shell is another example of a promising game that is afraid to step outside the shadow of it's obvious inspirations. In nearly every aspect, Mortal Shell follows the Dark Souls textbook to a fault, but the original elements it introduces to the Souls-like genre do nothing but worsen the overall experience. For one thing, you can't block attacks or wield shields in Mortal Shell, theMortal Shell is another example of a promising game that is afraid to step outside the shadow of it's obvious inspirations. In nearly every aspect, Mortal Shell follows the Dark Souls textbook to a fault, but the original elements it introduces to the Souls-like genre do nothing but worsen the overall experience. For one thing, you can't block attacks or wield shields in Mortal Shell, the alternative to doing so is a defensive move where you 'harden' your 'shell'. This is by far one of the worst forms of defence given the fact that it fully restricts your movement and your ability to harden is limited by a timer. Another aspect that Mortal Shell gets fundamentally wrong is its dodging mechanic which is clunky and requires a double tap to actually roll away from incoming attacks.

    Furthermore, Mortal Shell requires two separate forms of currency - Tar and Glimpses - to upgrade your different Shells. The only problem is that these can both be difficult to obtain and be easily lost through carelessness - I foolishly used a special mask that returned me to the respawn point only to discover afterwards that doing so sacrificed all my accumulated Tar and Glimpses. For the developers to brazenly implement such an insulting feature that further compounds an immensely challenging/frustrating experience adds to the growing list of things that are a detriment to Mortal Shell.

    Damage scaling and hitbox detection are other issues that contribute to Mortal Shell's underwhelming and unfair combat. Common enemies do WAY too much damage - and this is just in the game's starting area(!). Hitbox detection and overall perception of depth is another thing the game gets wrong: I encountered a large monster called Grisha very early in the game and I had a lot of trouble gauging the 'reach' of its attacks because it would suddenly close the distance - without warning - due to the unpredictable nature of its attack animations. This was one of the things that contributed to my decision to stop playing the game - and I had only been playing for roughly 3 hours.

    Healing in Mortal Shell is another fundamental thing the game fails to do adequately. To heal, you either consume food (that has a painfully low amount of regen per item consumed) or absorb damage from incoming attacks when you harden (which actually seemed negligible despite the game's assurances that it works). Considering that maintaining your health meter in a Souls-like is an essential component of the core experience, this is yet another detracting factor to Mortal Shell.

    Being true to Dark Souls' example, Mortal Shell is predictably light in terms of narrative direction, but is even more ridiculously obscure than its source of inspiration. I virtually had no clue as to what the game's story was or what I was doing or where I was going or even what the main character's purpose was. It was just a vague 'go here, unlock new Shells, fight enemies, progress forward, fight bosses, rinse, repeat, and reach game's ending - Hurrah! You finished Mortal Shell!'. This is simply appallingly underwhelming and lazy because you shouldn't need to read a Wiki page on what the story is or why the world is the way it is, nor should it be a simple case of the developer saying (but not actually saying) "Well, you've played a Dark Souls game, so you know the gist".

    In the end, Mortal Shell just feels like a waste of time and a 'hollow' (Dark Souls reference) imitation of the game it tries to emulate. But by simply being frustrating for the sake of being frustrating doesn't add much to the experience or make it 'better because it's harder'. Regardless of its length or talented developers what ultimately undermines Mortal Shell is its determination to be unnecessarily difficult.    … Expand
  12. mbestvina
    Sep 3, 2020
    7
    Mortal Shell isn't an homage to Dark Souls, it's an homage to Demon's Souls. A few hours in, I remembered an interview with the devs saying that they really love Demon's Souls and that's when it clicked for me. And really, that's where Mortal Shell is going to sink or swim for you. I recommend this game for Demon's Souls fans... and only Demon's Souls fans. Mortal Shell contains the mainMortal Shell isn't an homage to Dark Souls, it's an homage to Demon's Souls. A few hours in, I remembered an interview with the devs saying that they really love Demon's Souls and that's when it clicked for me. And really, that's where Mortal Shell is going to sink or swim for you. I recommend this game for Demon's Souls fans... and only Demon's Souls fans. Mortal Shell contains the main problems I've always had with Demon's Souls (henceforth "DeS") but its extremely poor balancing only exacerbates those problems.

    If you've never played it, DeS is extremely open ended. After the tutorial level, you're able to play its levels in any order. Mortal Shell works the same way and suffers for it. There's no enemy scaling so your first level will be your hardest and your last will be your easiest, the opposite of how a difficulty curve should work. The other problem this game shares with DeS is healing. There is no Estus Flask, only single-use healing items. You can buy 99 healing items but they struck me as particularly expensive in this game and you can't warp to the shop until the end of the game so healing items feel like a finite resource. Mushrooms and other items respawn after a certain amount of time but it's not enough. You simply can't count on healing items. Mortal Shell attempts to throw you a bone in that parrying can heal you but this mechanic just sucks. It's far too difficult to land successfully, it rewards too little health, does too little damage, and I ultimately ignored the mechanic entirely. TLDR, you basically can't heal in this game! Combine that with the long, linear, enemy-gauntlet level design of Dark Souls 2 and you've got a recipe for disaster.

    I was intrigued and enjoying myself enough at first, but I hit a wall of frustration in my first dungeon where I almost stopped playing. I ultimately ran through the dungeon ignoring enemies because I was so frustrated, something I usually frown on doing in Souls games. I just felt like I was missing something about its mechanics. Then, I absolutely destroyed the dungeon's boss realized that no, I'm not awful at this game, it's just poorly balanced. After that, I got enough upgrades to turn the tide and found the remaining shells which broke the game.

    You can switch between four classes (shells) but you have to find them in the world and you level them up separately. It's a neat idea but I'm on the fence because the game is so short that if you find one you like late in the game, you might not have enough time to level it up. The same problem goes for the 3 collectible weapons, which are found at the entrance of each of the 3 dungeons. It feels like you should immediately explore the hub area and find all of the weapons and shells. You're given hints of where they are at the central save point so the game nudges you in that direction but this is surely going to drive a lot of people mad that don't do this, as it did me. Also, the shells feel really unbalanced. The four shells focus on defense, agility, offense, and magic but the offense one has twice as much health as the others on top of some awesome attack buffs. Given you basically can't heal, this thing is the obvious choice.

    I haven't mentioned the game's signature mechanic, hardening. Instead of a shield, you can turn into stone for a few seconds and tank most attacks. It's a cool mechanic but turns out to be kind of one-note. You to get a free combo by hardening, dodge, wait for it to recharge, rinse, and repeat. This is how you win the game. There is no variation or strategy at all. I really feel like the parry mechanic should have been worked into the hardening somehow. The game also has something like the die-twice mechanic from Sekiro. You get a free life-refill if you can jump back in your shell on dying but only once before visiting a bonfire. You can buy an upgrade that refills the ability if you kill 10 enemies and this thing feels almost necessary as it fixes the shoddy healing mechanics but it's fairly expensive so it will take you a while to earn. This is yet another baffling decision that makes the first half of this game enraging and the second half too easy.

    And that's really my thesis on this game. Like Demon's Souls, your first few hours with this game can feel overwhelmingly unfair. It holds back essential abilities, forces you to find good enough gear to even have a chance, makes you grind to be able to heal, and generally makes you learn the "right way" to play rather than getting better at its combat. And once you've surmounted that difficulty wall, the game immediately becomes too easy and you run out of upgrades fast. I'm sure this "git gud to the extreme" will appeal to some and when Mortal Shell works, it REALLY works. I genuinely forgot I wasn't playing a FromSoft game at a couple points, but the bad and mediocre moments overpowered the good ones. A really good patch could save this game but as it stands, I only recommend it for Demon's Souls fans.    … Expand
  13. Milidante
    Aug 21, 2020
    7
    Mortal shell could be one of the best soulslikes ever made but developers made some weird mistakes. First the game is too short and bkz of no lvl up system there is no repeat value so after you beat the game you’ll never go back to it bkz there is nothing more to do. Second is healing system. A healing system based on just parries is **** Your health is low in a boss fight and to heal yourMortal shell could be one of the best soulslikes ever made but developers made some weird mistakes. First the game is too short and bkz of no lvl up system there is no repeat value so after you beat the game you’ll never go back to it bkz there is nothing more to do. Second is healing system. A healing system based on just parries is **** Your health is low in a boss fight and to heal your self you should parry the boss’s hard hitting massive attacks! This is not acceptable and lower your joy. All and all mortal could my best souls like of the year but now it is my most disappointing souls like of the year :(… Expand
  14. hellogamer
    Oct 10, 2020
    6
    I am shortly before the last boss. It s a relatively short game but overall i like it. For a team consisting of only 4 devs in the beginning it s really long game. According to many reviewers: One of the strong points of the game is the hardening mechanic. Reviewers mentioned, it s a fresh new ability which allows for new styles.
    Me on the other hand, I constantly sticked to one combat    I am shortly before the last boss. It s a relatively short game but overall i like it. For a team consisting of only 4 devs in the beginning it s really long game. According to many reviewers: One of the strong points of the game is the hardening mechanic. Reviewers mentioned, it s a fresh new ability which allows for new styles.
    Me on the other hand, I constantly sticked to one combat schematics coz it s so powerful: 1. Commence Heavy Attack 2. Harden and 3. wait until enemy struck u. Rinse and repeat.
    I was tempted to stick to it coz it s so powerful. So now in the end its growing a lil dull and also a bit easy.
    Dont get me wrong, this game is the best soulslike (along with Nioh). But the more i played it, the more I longed for the Original - Dark Souls (Demon Souls on the PS5!)    … Expand
  15. Hopedealer
    Oct 29, 2020
    6
    Mortal shell is another example of a game with amazing potential but a lackluster finish. Mortal shell is basically a dark souls clone in its feel, controls, difficulty and dark atmosphere. However this is its downfall as well as the other titles that attempt to clone the dark souls formula.
    Whenever anyone attempts to clone dark souls they run into an amazing inevitable error in creating    Mortal shell is another example of a game with amazing potential but a lackluster finish. Mortal shell is basically a dark souls clone in its feel, controls, difficulty and dark atmosphere. However this is its downfall as well as the other titles that attempt to clone the dark souls formula.
    Whenever anyone attempts to clone dark souls they run into an amazing inevitable error in creating a game, THE TITLE WILL BE ALWAYS BE COMPARED TO DARK SOULS. Competing with from soft is like trying to defeat the iPhone of video games. I mean seriously you’re literally competing or comparing yourself to the greatest series of all time basically.and the thing is when you do that unless you 100% understand the formula and vision of Miyazaki it’s going to always fall short, and mortal shell does that in many ways. I need to say bravo for attempting to make this game, it’s not easy to create and it turned out fairly good game given the team and devs, but it does deserve some critique. And I hope they continue on to find their groove in the gaming world.

    Problems
    1. Variety- This is non existent essentially there are only 4 player types and 4 weapons and they all handle to same with each different shell type. To me this is a big blunder because so much of the game is meaningless and it requires players to give it meaning. They can’t do that when they are unable to express the character in their play-style.

    2. Loot- Most items and skills or anything are not worth getting for any reason. Having to fight enemies in this game is extremely annoying and slogging your way through them only to get a healing item that heals for 1% of your total health, ITS POINTLESS. Also the items have zero information about them till you use them, which sounds interesting in theory but they cause effects you don’t want, like changing weapons or something else lame like that.

    3. Combat- This is by far the worst characteristic of this game. Almost everything you do is based around a bad combat system. The A.I is idiotic, the enemies are way too damaging even the scrubs, hits don’t connect when they obviously should, certain enemies have a stupid animation that can’t be avoided.

    Poise is broken and completely inconsistent. Using what looks like the heaviest weapon possible does not stun enemies in the middle of an animation even with a fully charged hard hit. Attacks from enemies can hurt you even after they have completed with point of momentum, meaning and enemy swings his weapon- you dodge- move back in too fast and still get hit. This also works terrible after getting your second chance to revive. Enemies already finished with their swing can whenever it’s convenient finish the attack and the frames still get you resulting in a crappy cheap death.

    All enemies are stronger than the player even when it makes no sense. Basically any scrub with a hammer in a few hits can kill your character in a full armor set empowered with the wrath of 10,000 sun gods. It doesn’t make sense that a homeless man outside of Walmart can easily kill the spawn of Satan.

    Parry skill is horrible.
    This is very, very inconsistent and this is coming from someone who beat Sekiro with room to spare. The party mechanic is also broken, it doesn’t fire when you press the button but other times fires too early and who can be parried or what can be parried is completely inconsistent.
    And given that this is the primary way of regaining health(WHY?) it makes it extremely frustrating to play the game to completion.

    Final thoughts
    I feel like this game could be much better and grander if it stopped trying to fit into the dark souls universe! There is plenty enough merit on its own to be its own worthy title but the desperation in trying to be the next “dark souls clone” prevents it from being really good. Dark souls has plenty of things that do not deserve to be repeated in another title. Sekiro proved that in its fresh take and won game of the year!

    If you’re looking for something to scratch that dark souls itch, imo this is not it. It’s better to just go and replay the titles you know and love with mods or a new character or something.
    This is worth a try though at its price point but don’t be shocked at the glaring problems when compared to a from soft title.

    Congrats to the studio though on their bravery in trying to make DS clone with that small team.
    The takeaway here though is players don’t care about the process they care about the product and the magic it can bring.    … Expand
  16. JoseManuel10_
    Aug 9, 2023
    7
    Mortal Shell is an action role-playing video game developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. LaPS4
    Nov 19, 2020
    85
    Mortal Shell offers a souls-like with a dark story, innovative gameplay, and great graphics quality that will overwhelm fans of this genre. Its short duration and its limited variety in some aspects leave you wanting to see a second chapter.
    Read full review
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 21, 2020
    65
    You can’t help but feel that Mortal Shell is a fan-made mod for Dark Souls – however, it has accordingly low price. It also shows promise: a few more tries, and Cold Symmetry could make something really good. [Issue#248, p.34]
  3. GameCritics
    Sep 29, 2020
    70
    While there were many aspects of Mortal Shell that I didn’t care for, the bits that worked for me really worked. The final product is far from perfect and I’m not sure that I’d even recommend it to anyone except the hardest of soulslike hardcores, but beneath the underdeveloped ideas and questionable design choices is a pool of talent bound for bigger and better things — Cold Symmetry’s work shined brightest when it veered away from standard Souls, and I’m interested to see them take it further.
    Read full review
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