Mortal Shell

 Xbox One
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 52
  3. Negative: 10 out of 52
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. BRUN0BRAV0
    Aug 24, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Um jogo para fans de soulslike,como uma originalidade única, não se obtém armaduras em partes neste jogo, vc tem q se apossar de corpos e assumir o set completo, cada um com sua abilidade,itens vc tem que usar para saber para que servem,jogo feito por 15 pessoas,baixo investimento ,estão de parabéns, seria um tiro certo a Microsoft comprar este estúdio em.… Expand
  2. AndrewEvolution
    Dec 9, 2021
    0
    Just another Dark Souls copy generic thing, nothing new and a lot of weird mechanics ! Game have 6 weapons and 4 playable character skins in TOTAL... it´s just A BAD JOKE, everything it´s dark and evil even your playable dude feels like a vilan, the devs that made this should be like depressive and ghotic sad PP... i did not buyed , it came with PS Plus and boy, i want better games thanJust another Dark Souls copy generic thing, nothing new and a lot of weird mechanics ! Game have 6 weapons and 4 playable character skins in TOTAL... it´s just A BAD JOKE, everything it´s dark and evil even your playable dude feels like a vilan, the devs that made this should be like depressive and ghotic sad PP... i did not buyed , it came with PS Plus and boy, i want better games than this from PS Plus since i pay for this service !… Expand
  3. Rampagesmithy
    Sep 20, 2020
    9
    So 1st of all I'm a huge darksouls bloodborne, sekiro fan i was very skeptical going into mortal shell but I have to say WOW
  4. Xbox_Alive
    Aug 20, 2020
    7
    Mortal Shell is an action role-playing video game developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. It has been compared to the Souls series and released on 18 August 2020 Xbox One. Epic games shared Mortal Shell for free for a little time and this was one of the biggest gift they gave us this year because game has amazing mechanics and atmosphere. Mortal Shell got a lot moreMortal Shell is an action role-playing video game developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. It has been compared to the Souls series and released on 18 August 2020 Xbox One. Epic games shared Mortal Shell for free for a little time and this was one of the biggest gift they gave us this year because game has amazing mechanics and atmosphere. Mortal Shell got a lot more enjoyable once I got to where I could explore again. The moral of the story? Be sure you're fully prepared before you jump down any three-foot ledges with no visible way to get back up. The ledge will end up feeling like a mountain, and Mortal Shell has no pity on you if you go too far too quickly. Mortal Shell can be a brutally hard game, but I'm glad it draws inspiration from Sekiro by granting you a second chance of sorts. If an enemy "kills" you, you get knocked out of whatever shell you were wearing and end up in your weak shell-less form; if you can get back to your shell, though, you're instantly boosted back to full health and stamina. If you get knocked out a second time, though, it's back to the bonfire — or, ahem, Sister Genessa, an enigmatic lady brimming with unsettling commentary about the bodies you wear. Ultimately, Mortal Shell will make you want to headbutt your monitor out of sheer frustration. The puzzling nature of the map, the repetitive placement of enemies,the lack of options all coalesce into a big arm that holds the game back from being really good, to just good. No matter times I try and swat it away with thoughts of the meaty combat, that arm simply won’t budge.… Expand
  5. GamerGuysNGals
    Aug 20, 2020
    8
    It’s no mystery how big of a Dark Souls fan I am. I’ve prob finished the first one over 50 times, so i was excited to see Mortal Shell finally pop up in my email. Spoiler alert for this review’s final score from the very start, but I loved it. I feel it might be the closest we have got so far to feeling that need for a Souls 4. Don’t get me wrong I really , really enjoyed “Hellpoint” butIt’s no mystery how big of a Dark Souls fan I am. I’ve prob finished the first one over 50 times, so i was excited to see Mortal Shell finally pop up in my email. Spoiler alert for this review’s final score from the very start, but I loved it. I feel it might be the closest we have got so far to feeling that need for a Souls 4. Don’t get me wrong I really , really enjoyed “Hellpoint” but it was something totally different overall. It was like a “Souls” meets “Dead Space” experience. Mortal Shell emulates the original a lot better. Even the menus have the same feeling. It isn’t exact though it does one major thing different. Hardening instead of using of shield play. You can turn into stone and absorb one attack. You can do this mid attack, and even in the air so it lends to some really interesting attack play. It also some times lends to a repetitive attack style as well though. You will find some people double attack, harden, attack over and over. If you don’t get your self stuck in that routine though, you will find yourself doing some really cool maneuvers.

    You play as a mysterious wraith type creature who is very weak and can only take on shot. So you must find human warriors or shells as they are called to possess. That also lends to an original mechanic where you lose all your health , and are knocked out of the body. You have to get back into it with out being hit. if you can you get a full health bar. You can do this once per life. I know this might make this sound easy, but it truly isn’t. To be honest this can feel like more of a struggle than actual Souls at first. The game can be Hell, but finding the right character and upgrades can really help. I recommend just trying everything out your first play through. As a Souls fan I like to encourage exploring, but if you feel like giving up certainly try a walk through first. It’s worth experiencing it all, and hate to see people give up on it. There are a lot of excellent vids out there, that will help you find essential items that will make it so much easier.

    The 4 characters are so different and encourage different play styles. They have different upgrades that will be so useful as well. There is a huge Knight with a giant health bar I recommend finding if you are new to Souls Like games and are struggling. He can take a lot of punishment. There is a character that doesn’t lose stamina while running, and can lose Stamina on contact instead of Health. This is one of my favorites. The first one you find Horrus is also good for beginners. He is a completely balanced build, and his upgrade focus is on hardening. All 4 are fun to use, and learn though. The only thing is upgrades are important so you might want to find which you like first instead of trying to upgrade all four. There are also four different weapons as well. You have to defeat a secondary boss using that weapon to get these.The weapons and Shells are all stored in the first tower you come to. So you can change any time you want. There are even items that will let you change characters in mid battle. Like the upgrading with Shells you might want to pick the weapon you like as well to get it fully upgraded. You can actually get one really strongly upgraded before even facing the first boss.

    These Bosses are a real struggle. You will think you got them after a tough battle just to realize they all have 2 phases, and health bars. So you have to beat them twice pretty much while they do a totally different and more aggressive attack pattern the second time. The good thing though the lady who saves and upgrades you is right at that boss battle so you don’t have to grind out the level over and over. If you have to leave to upgrade a weapon or something you also open up short cuts where you could with ease just sprint right back there. I really enjoyed the differences in the Bosses, and learning their attacks. I got my ass kicked a few times I won’t lie. Like I said it can be a challenge until you discover the weapons and shells you prefer.    … Expand
  6. 1forAll
    Aug 20, 2020
    9
    Very fun game. Runs spectacular on one x. The fluidity and the combat is very responsive. Great enemy variety and difficulty. The fact that this game is only 40$ makes even that more sweet.
  7. stevej7
    Aug 31, 2020
    9
    This is a very capable souls like experience created by a very small team. Graphically and performance wise, it ran very well for me. It's been a while since the last From Software game so this was an enjoyable time.
    Although there are some aspects very heavily influenced by DS, there were also numerous original ideas such as the shell and weapon system, upgrades and the riposte/heal    This is a very capable souls like experience created by a very small team. Graphically and performance wise, it ran very well for me. It's been a while since the last From Software game so this was an enjoyable time.
    Although there are some aspects very heavily influenced by DS, there were also numerous original ideas such as the shell and weapon system, upgrades and the riposte/heal system which gave it enough individual flare to distinguish it from DS. Probably the best soulslike that i've played outside of the main games. Enemy variety was decent and they did a good job at world building.
    I enjoyed the difficulty scaling during the first half but did feel that it eased off quite a bit later on and for the second half, I did feel overpowered at times.
    I hope this sells well and I'd love to see them get picked up by a decent publisher to support them making a second, larger game.
    Also for the price (£25) I think it's absolutely a bargain and well worth picking up.    … Expand
  8. jasart
    Aug 21, 2020
    10
    El juego tiene su propia identidad y atmósfera. Las animaciones están bien.
    Tipo Dark Souls, morirás muchas veces, debes encontrar a guerreros humanos o cáscaras como los llaman para poseer.
    Hay 4 personajes a elegir y son tan diferentes, que hacen que tu forma de jugar cambie. Al igual que las mejoras también diferentes entre ellos.
    Recomendado.
  9. muzzleberrie
    Aug 20, 2020
    9
    My first game of this style and even though it was frustratingly difficult to get into, I just could not stop playing. Taking it in turns with my housemate was a lot of fun, laughing as each of us died over and over. The only improvement that I can think of is that the tutorial could have been a bit longer.
  10. TomeCastello
    Aug 20, 2020
    9
    Died once on Xbox due to a small glitch but I am sure the great dev team will sort it! Fantastic
  11. Stoys
    Aug 21, 2020
    1
    this game is an unbalanced unthough of game.. the combat is clunky as hell, and the enviroment is not well put together. the progression in the game is not even rewarding. exploration wize its fun. but in other souls like games, you have a mission too become stronger and form your character, here its just about finding a shell, and unlocking its story and abilities. wich is not enough whenthis game is an unbalanced unthough of game.. the combat is clunky as hell, and the enviroment is not well put together. the progression in the game is not even rewarding. exploration wize its fun. but in other souls like games, you have a mission too become stronger and form your character, here its just about finding a shell, and unlocking its story and abilities. wich is not enough when they sayd its a deep rpg. this game is only deep in its story, and these games should be all about gameplay and progreession and its not! the games graphics is the best here. the game looks impressive. but thats not enough when the overall game is **** you never know where and when too find checkpoints. upgrading the shell only apply too abilities. and soo far the weapons are not unique enough. its sad because graphics is what sold me this game. if i knew that the gameplay overall where this ****ty i would not have bought it.… Expand
  12. Supersonysta
    Aug 23, 2020
    0
    Mais uma grande bosta que imita souls like.
    Mais uma porcaria flopada pra passar batido
  13. Exanthius
    Aug 25, 2020
    7
    As a Soulsborne fan I try to play as many Souls-like titles as possible. Not only because I love this type of games, but also for comparison and to not miss the chance on a new take on the formula. In the past I have played games like Ashen, The Surge and Lords of the Fallen, and neither of those games were successful in pulling me into their world and gameplay as the originals byAs a Soulsborne fan I try to play as many Souls-like titles as possible. Not only because I love this type of games, but also for comparison and to not miss the chance on a new take on the formula. In the past I have played games like Ashen, The Surge and Lords of the Fallen, and neither of those games were successful in pulling me into their world and gameplay as the originals by FromSoftware. If you play a title like this and have played games of the Soulsborne series before, you will inevitably draw comparisons.

    What intrigued me from the first minute I played Mortal Shell was the new twist on defensive systems. There is the classic dodge as well as a replacement for the typical shield block in the form of hardening your character. Hardening prevents all damage (from regular attacks as well as elemental attacks) and can be incorporated fluently into combat by being an ability that can me triggered mid-swing of your weapon and lets you finish your attack once hardening is done. However, this ability is on a cooldown. While the Dark Souls games let you take cover behind your shield almost as much as you want (depending on your stamina), the use of hardening has to be chosen wisely, because it can only be used once before being on a cooldown for a few seconds. This makes combat harder, but also more interesting.

    Aside from the harden mechanic, the use of shells - your replacement for classes or playstyles - is the other big difference from Soulsborne games. However, you cannot pick your shell right from the start of the game. You first have to find each shell and explore it in a way. This is a theme that is used throughout the game. Not only do you explore the shells or the open world, but also things like items. If you find an item you don't know what it does, until you use it. And the more often you use it, the more you learn about the item until you master it and get a little more out of it. Some might see this as an interesting encouragement to try out stuff. Others, like me, will try to eat a mushroom only to find that it is toxic and just cut off one half of your health - and health regenerating items are rare - and might get discouraged from trying new items, because they could do more damage than good. This might not be a problem for many people.

    The game runs super smooth on the Xbox One X. Although the download is only 4 GB, the textures have a relatively high resolution, the enemy models are mostly detailed (especially the bigger boss enemies) and the (post processing) effects look great and up to date. The framerate is constantly at 60 fps and so far I have not encountered any frame rate drops - but there is usually not much going on on the screen to be honest.

    I cannot give a higher score than 7/10 for some reasons. Despite making a good first impression, the game let's you know from time to time that it was done by only a handful of people and not a big budget development team. There were a few occassions that made me wonder if a little bit more money and maybe another 6 months of development time would have been good for the game. In my opinion this is most obvious when you do what you do most in this game: fight. The hitboxes of almost all weapons seem to be a bit off. All too often I found myself getting hit by an enemy attack that clearly did not hit me physically. In other games like Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3 you will always know if an attack will hit you or not (at least attacks from weapons). If the weapon physically hits your body, you will take damage. This is not the case in Mortal Shell. Weapon swings that visibly go past your body will often still deal damage. In the other mentioned games I could go into each encounter with full confidence, because I felt in control, I knew exactly what to do. In Mortal Shell I always have this thought in my mind that the combat does not work as expected.
    Another small problem is that sometimes movement and combat felt a bit "janky" and unpolished. There are too many instances of moments where I could not move for a reason I did not understand.

    All in all, I can recommend this game with some restrictions. For the relatively low amount of content I'd say that the current price of 30$ is fine. Although, I would recommend to wait until it drops to 20$, because you can complete the game in 10-15 hours which is rather short for this type of game. If you are full on Soulsborne fan and look for a new challenge: Go ahead and buy it right away!    … Expand
  14. osprey
    Nov 19, 2020
    9
    Really struggled to progress in this game at first and admit that I gave up once or twice but couldn't stop thinking about it so I came back to it and in the end loved it. It really gets it's hooks in you just like a Dark Souls game and definitely has the same atmosphere as those games. All the environments and enemies are interesting and really satisfying to defeat. Looking forward toReally struggled to progress in this game at first and admit that I gave up once or twice but couldn't stop thinking about it so I came back to it and in the end loved it. It really gets it's hooks in you just like a Dark Souls game and definitely has the same atmosphere as those games. All the environments and enemies are interesting and really satisfying to defeat. Looking forward to another game from this team.… Expand
  15. CamyVero
    Nov 13, 2022
    8
    Lo que nos ofrece Mortal Shell es una nueva oportunidad para enfrentarnos a un Souls Like. Y la verdad es que lo hace bastante bien. Se parece muchísimo a un Dark Souls, pero en miniatura. Hay menos clases, menos armas, menos enemigos a los que enfrentarse, menos bosses, y menos zonas que descubrir, explorar y en las que caer muerto. Pese a esto es un juego muy disfrutable, que sobre todoLo que nos ofrece Mortal Shell es una nueva oportunidad para enfrentarnos a un Souls Like. Y la verdad es que lo hace bastante bien. Se parece muchísimo a un Dark Souls, pero en miniatura. Hay menos clases, menos armas, menos enemigos a los que enfrentarse, menos bosses, y menos zonas que descubrir, explorar y en las que caer muerto. Pese a esto es un juego muy disfrutable, que sobre todo al principio nos parecerá un reto insuperable, pero que a medida que exploramos, morimos y conseguimos lo necesario para subir de nivel, se va haciendo mucho más fácil.

    El diseño del juego está clarísimamente inspirado en el primer Dark Souls, es casi un clon del mismo hecho con menos recursos. Con esos escenarios muertos, de colores pálidos y atmósfera cargada, mazmorras oscuras y húmedas, intrincados laberintos de obsidiana y malolientes pantanos donde te envenenas solo con respirar. Es justo mencionar que se introduce la mecánica de convertirse en piedra para absorber los ataques, que sustituye al escudo de los Souls, funciona de manera muy interesante y una vez que te haces a ello es un verdadero acierto en el combate. Por lo demás es lo mismo, aprenderse los patrones, atacar, esquivar, realizar el parry cuando puedas para subir un poco la barra de salud. En definitiva un Dark Souls bastardo que te mantendrá entretenido hasta unas 15 horas, depende de tu forma de jugar, hay gente que lo acaba en menos de 8 horas. Pero si te has acabado la saga original, y tienes mono de uno. Este te sirve perfectamente.

    Recomendado si lo encuentras en oferta o en alquiler. Ahora mismo está en Game Pass para Xbox y PC.    … Expand
  16. tobivv
    Sep 30, 2020
    7
    Best non-From-Software souls-like game, but combat is extremely clunky and meta feels more like exploiting the system then proper combat.
  17. Filmanwalt
    Mar 29, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After 9 1/2 hours and unfortunately only 375 gamerscore, I finished this Soulslike. There is a lot of potential in the game and it could be really, really good in a successor with a potent publisher.

    story

    Well ... just as cryptic as you know it from the soul titles: D. They have already decided to imitate that. I was interested and am happy about the background noise. I cannot say what it has to do with ascent, envelopes, etc. in full detail.

    Here, too, you can learn more about the story, the world and the shells via items, skills, etc.

    Graphics / performance / glitches

    Graphically, the game didn't upset the trees, but it had an aesthetic that I really liked. Everything kept pretty gloomy, the tutorial is almost Sci-Fi-like and a total of 4 different areas, some of which I liked very much, some less. I found the world with these obsidian-like rock shapes to be terrific.

    The armor, weapons and characters, as well as bosses looked very cool and I would have liked to see more different types of enemies.

    The game ran mostly smoothly at 60 FPS, so it had no noticeable drops (Xbox Series X).

    Glitches, on the other hand, occurred relatively often: opponents bug into walls, I get stuck, opponents bug onto unreachable platforms or the lousy texture reloaders in cutscenes. I don't like that at all, because it always pulls me out of the moment. When that happens almost all the time, I can't overlook it.

    Gameplay

    It's soul-like. Nasty areas with different and many NPC opponents, as well as different bosses. With the tar and the discernment there are equivalents to the souls. You lose it again when you die and you can get everything back again.

    There are different weapons and "classes" (long sword, two-handed, crossbow bazooka, dual 1h and a piston), all of which you have to find first or fight your way through in a boss fight. I played through with the long sword and the character Eredrim, who is extremely healthy.

    Unfortunately, there are no attributes or a deep role-play system. The individual shells simply have different status values ​​(more life or more stamina, for example), here I would have wished for more depth, also with skills.

    Fighting also consists of dodging or rolling, as well as parrying. The first aspects in particular do not make so much of the gameplay. Parrying, on the other hand, is essential because you can heal yourself with it, especially healing items are very rare if you don't buy them with an embraced tar. In addition, Mortal Shell has the hardening mechanism, which can ward off a complete attack and then has to recharge. I think the idea is great and it makes the gameplay sufficiently different to Dark Souls, but it's also way too easy. This ability should require more skill, similar to a parry, because theoretically I can stay petrified for a very long time and wait for the attack and then strike .. then just repeat once it has charged up. Furthermore, you acquired the so-called determination through attacks, with which you could then use parry or special abilities (very cool, it is also worth playing aggressively).

    In total I only died 43 times, the game is not really difficult. In the beginning it takes time, but when you are in you just have it out. Even if it is much easier, it is still a lot of fun to combine hardening, parrying and special skills.

    I actually really liked the optics of the bosses and the fights themselves were very nice, but unfortunately too easy. The final boss was e.g. right on the first try.

    Sometimes the hit boxes were also weak, you hit or get hit and don't really know why. I like the directness in Souls a lot better. Being able to use items several times to understand their effects is not my thing. Sometimes that felt too wasteful just to know what the item was doing in the first place.

    Conclusion

    To cut a long story short: A soul-like with a lot of potential that could lead to a really good second part. The foundation is well done and now just needs a little more in everything to my taste (role play depth, opponent diversity, challenge, boss opponent, areas). For me, very good 6/10 tar lumps. This is a promising entry for the makers into the soul genre.    … Expand
  18. LadyAux
    Aug 26, 2020
    8
    Mortal Shell is a fresh new souls-like entry that switches up the way you play and requires you to forget how you would normally approach the genre. Such a stark difference that you would wonder how you ever managed without the new tools you get here. Crazy new mechanics that add more layers to combat and makes the game a real GIT GUD challenge. A good looking game with some greatMortal Shell is a fresh new souls-like entry that switches up the way you play and requires you to forget how you would normally approach the genre. Such a stark difference that you would wonder how you ever managed without the new tools you get here. Crazy new mechanics that add more layers to combat and makes the game a real GIT GUD challenge. A good looking game with some great animations and world design. Its a bit short and doesn't have as many shells and weapons as I wanted but it was super impressive and a much better game than Hellpoint. Watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/xZDl5TjgoYo… Expand
  19. AtemArchangel
    Dec 21, 2020
    9
    The best way to describe Mortal Shell is.....the best tutorial to Dark Souls. Simply put this is one of the best Soul like games out, and it's mostly because it does everything the Souls games do well, but still manages to be it's own game, tell it's own story, and most importantly...not suck. I recommend this game to anyone that has never played a Souls game, but has interest in them.The best way to describe Mortal Shell is.....the best tutorial to Dark Souls. Simply put this is one of the best Soul like games out, and it's mostly because it does everything the Souls games do well, but still manages to be it's own game, tell it's own story, and most importantly...not suck. I recommend this game to anyone that has never played a Souls game, but has interest in them. This will whip you into Dark Souls shape. Take that from someone who has been playing Souls for years.
    The different character types are lovely and cater to different build types. Each shell having their own lore as well is great. Not to mention the weapons and how each requires a different play style depending on which shell you pair with them.

    The biggest downside to Mortal Shell, is the final boss was kind of a let down. I also had some glitches during the final boss that made me have to redo it. In general it was kind of a poorly designed fight even without the glitches. Which is why this is a 9 and not a 10. Great game though.    … Expand
  20. mlnsn
    Jul 22, 2021
    6
    Gameplay : 6/10
    Design (video + audio) : 7/10
    Story : 6/10
    Technical aspects : 6/10
    Repeatability: 6/10
  21. Daniel2009
    Jan 13, 2022
    10
    Awesome game dude I love it so much more its just incredible it's just so great
  22. yaminotenshi1
    Jun 13, 2022
    4
    I think they just pushed only the 3d models. all the rest sucks.
    the gameplay is clucky and slow, the story does not exist, is tedious redundant and boring.

    they took all the worst part of souls genre and they put all together in this game.
    pretty **** game to be honest.

Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Best Xbox One Game of 2020
38
#38 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2020
    75
    I respect the Cold Symmetry team for their courage to put their own twist on the soulslike formula. In Mortal Shell almost nothing works how you would expect it to and even if the game doesn’t always benefit from that, it feels fresh and is definitely worth checking out. [11/2020, p.36]
  2. DualShockers
    Sep 11, 2020
    70
    Mortal Shell will certainly scratch your Soulslike itch, but it won't necessarily win points for originality in presentation.
    Read full review
  3. Gaming Nexus
    Sep 4, 2020
    88
    Mortal Shell embraces the Souls-like moniker with open arms. They welcomed comparisons, and, for the most part, delivered. What's more impressive is that a team of only 15 people created it. Mortal Shell will make you to rethink your ideas around patience and frustration. You will love this game for all the same reasons that you hate it.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »