Mortal Shell II

“The dark atmosphere is unmatched, the graphics are stunning, and the combat system feels incredibly tight, weighty, and deeply satisfying.”

“Phenomenal graphics. The graphics are phenomenal, the environments, lighting, textures, character detail, and overall atmosphere are seriously impressive.”

“Mortal shell 2 does everything right: the combat is challenging and very satisfying, the level design is excellent, the atmosphere and the graphics are beautiful.”

“Performance-wise, the release had some bizarre and sometimes game-breaking bugs, but a big patch improved things and the game now runs really well, achieving easy 110+ fps on high-ultra 2k settings without frame generation using FSR4 quality, outperforming many other UE5 titles which often struggle at 50-70 fps on similar settings.”

“One of the things I was most pleasantly surprised by is how optimized it seems to be, delivering very smooth and stable performance even with demanding visuals, which is quite rare for new Unreal Engine 5 games these days.”

“This game is incredibly well optimized compared to many recent titles; I played nearly 20 hours on my Steam Deck with no performance issues and experienced zero crashes or stutters, making it one of the most optimized UE5 games I have seen.”

“The story is told via shell memories which you unlock as you level each shell.”

“At the time of writing this review, I have completed the memories of Proxima, Genessa, Lazlo and Eredrim, and each story presented through their memories has made me extremely invested in who they were and by extension, further invested in the world their stories take place in.”

“The overarching story leaves a lot to be desired but the individual stories of the shells acquired by leveling them up are very entertaining and give an appropriate amount of backstory and insight into who they were and why they are worthy shells of the harbinger.”

“The atmosphere, the music, the vibe, when you put all of this together with the gameplay and the lore, it's a must-have experience.”

“Special mention: the icing on the cake of this game's suffocating atmosphere is its masterful ambient soundtrack, courtesy of veteran artists Brian Lustmord and Liam "Mizmor" Neighbors.”

“Love the atmosphere, graphics and music.”

“No crashing, no glitches and optimized like nothing I have seen in years.”

“The game runs great with stable framerate and no glitches.”

“Of course there might be little things that could be improved but the game just released, and is not a half finished game, it runs great and I did not encounter any game breaking bugs.”

“The games just oozes atmosphere which really draws you into this dark world.”

“Mortal shell 2 does exactly what a sequel should do: it takes the core identity of the original and massively expands the combat sandbox, world scale, and build variety without losing the gritty, oppressive atmosphere.”

“The atmosphere, the music, the vibe, when you put all of this together with the gameplay and the lore, it's a must-have experience.”

“They made a challenging game but kept the combat fun and not tedious.”

“Going for the 100%, seems quite easy from the achievement, no grinding needed or NG+ needed.”

“I like how the world is kind of depressing visually but the game has a sense of humor with some really goofy bosses and NPCs, it makes for a nice juxtaposition. That was actually the reason I got this in the first place because of the ridiculous boss that was the shepherd in this otherwise dark and gritty game. This dude you fight turns you into a sheep and the game still lets you play and the sheep was actually viable?”

“Despite the over-the-top grimdark aesthetic, it also has a great, absurdist sense of humor, with some really creative and weird bosses and places to discover.”

“Throughout my time playing I've had just as many moments enjoying a funny little detail or item as compared to the moments where I was soaking in the atmosphere or locking in for a tough fight.”

“This game has a massive amount of replay value just based off of the mechanic and the shell system. The game's strength lies in trying to find the right tarstones that complement the shell you're using.”

“Every power fantasy is a fully realized playstyle that warrants replay value, encourages experimentation, and offers hidden interactions and mechanics.”

“There is tons of replay value with all the different shells, giving a lot of build potential and replayability for the game.”

“A souls-like hasn't made me feel this way about it since the first time I discovered Dark Souls.”

“That being said, the stories themselves for the shells endeared those shells to me, and made me feel attached to them as characters.”

“Honestly this is the first time I have ever felt like I needed to leave a review. I love this game but it really is too difficult. This is coming from an avid souls enjoyer. There is a fine line for these games to feel rewarding and fun without being too easy, but this game is just heartbreakingly difficult. I feel no joy when finally beating that boss I was stuck on. Every enemy in this game will never give you a safe opportunity to attack; be prepared to always trade or the game will force you to parry. Most enemies will kill you in 1 or 2 hits regardless of night or day mode. The boss designs have combo chains that never end. Not to mention a bug where Magdalena, the Lady of the Woods, will summon her minions at half health; she will try to do her usual charge attack but she gets stuck on her minions who hold her until eventually she pushes past and the game catches up delivering an instant hit to you. Then there's also that Shepheard Jesus—that design was just painful, no fun in that whatsoever. Turning into a sheep. Fine, I can deal with that, but spamming it every second as part of his kit whilst sheep have the damage to insta-kill no matter what is absurd. Just simple enemies across the world are too strong. It promotes running past instead of taking your time to explore and I personally hate that. All in all, this game really has the potential to be amazing but even for a souls fan like me, a game is a game to be fun, and the enemies in this game really felt like they were taking that away. Therefore, I have to leave this game. As much of a shame as it is, I can't have fun in this game with enemies and mechanics like those. To anyone who is thinking about this game, honestly go for it if you want something so challenging it's kinda painful. But if you like souls games for that rewarding feeling and the ability to immerse yourself in the lore, then I can't recommend this right now as much as I wish I could. Anyway, that's all. Peace.”

“If you're looking for a deep narrative, it isn't here, but there's a lot of great worldbuilding through the environment, character designs, item descriptions, and notes found during exploration.”

“The world and character designs have a distinct identity that helps the game stand out from other soulslikes that I have played.”

“Not to mention the character designs for the shells are extremely good in my opinion, so unlocking a new shell always felt exciting and special.”

“Every class feels unique and worth playing, there are no microtransactions, no store, no ads; you just start the game and have amazing soulslike fun.”