Not without its quirks and issues, Mortal Shell is a fun and unrelenting good time. Shell-swapping makes the experience unique, while its combat and world are ripe for experimentation and exploration. Though unabashedly inspired by other games in its genre, Mortal Shell warrants a play from the most die-hard of fans.
It’s not very often that modern games establish brand new types of genres. FromSoftware’s Dark Souls is one of those games, having inspired plenty of “Souls-like” games over the past decade. As with most Dark Souls inspired games, they tend to hit on some of the marks but falter in others; thus leading to a lackluster attempt that overstays its welcome.
Mortal Shell is not one of those games.
Mortal Shell is blatantly inspired by Bloodborne and the Dark Souls franchise, from its item-description loading screens to its brutally difficult combat reliant on players learning enemy combat rotations. But while it’s unabashedly inspired by the critically acclaimed franchises, it throws in its own unique twists to allow it to flourish. It’s story, characters, and most of all its gameplay, are all uniquely crafted to suit the world Cold Symmetry created.
Those who are familiar with the world of Dark Souls know of its subversive nature in the way of telling its story. While there are enough context clues through dialogue to know where you’re heading next, the overall story is heavily based within the lore of the world and within item descriptions you find. Mortal Shell is no different in this regard, more so than its inspiration.
The lore of Mortal Shell appears to be deep and ripe for long-term analysis by its community, so I won’t attempt to do a deep dive in this review. But here’s the gist: players take control of an unnamed husk (literally) of a person who has just recently re-entered the world of mortals. Throughout the game, your goal is to establish links with “Shells” of deceased mortals to gain their memories and combat abilities, all the while attempting to bring Sacred Glands to a mysterious chained beast in a tower.
Each of these shells has its own upgrade tree, so while there isn’t any sort of “Best Build” for your initial character, players have the opportunity to build out which Shell they enjoy playing the most. Upgrading is simple, with players gathering Tar (the game’s currency for upgrades/vendors) and Glimpses (akin to Insight in Bloodborne) to upgrade the four different shells available in the game.
Each Shell offers its own unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, I found that using Solomon the Scholar was the most balanced Shell to use since it had an appropriate ratio of health to stamina that proved reliable in most combat scenarios. However, Tiel the Acolyte proved useful if I just wanted to get to where I needed to go since that Shell skewed dramatically in favor of stamina over health, thus allowing me to sprint and dodge more frequently.
Of course, weapon combinations with each of the Shells are also vitally important. There are five weapon options available in the game, unlockable to various degrees. Three of the five weapons require a run through the various dungeons and boss arenas to unlock them, with another, the Ballistzooka, only unlockable via an item purchased from a vendor. Unfortunately, this is where Mortal Shell may disappoint.
Combat in “Souls-like” games is so very important, if not the most important aspect of those games. Mortal Shell’s combat is engaging enough but its lack of weapon variation causes enemy encounters to be more of a headache than a true joy to play. I found three of the four main unlockable weapons–Hallowed Sword, Martyr’s Blade, and Smoldering Mace–so similar to one another that playing with none of them felt unique. On top of that, those three weapons all felt absolutely heavy and cumbersome that oftentimes I found it too difficult to time my swings since the majority of enemies in the game move faster than the player does.
Luckily, the Hammer & Chisel (the fourth unlockable weapon), eased up my frustration immensely. It’s a decent damaging weapon that swings fast enough to slay enemies quickly. Combined with Solomon the Scholar, I was ripping through enemies and bosses left and right. 
Mortal Shell is also visually interesting. While still heavily inspired by Dark Souls and Bloodborne, it throws in its own dark fantasy style to stand out. One of the most eye-catching designs is that of the player husk: a gaunt, pale figure that has the ability to Harden like a stone. The “Harden” ability is Mortal Shell’s unique contribution to the “Souls-like” genre, giving players the ability to instantly turn to stone to deflect any amount of incoming damage. While it’s not a parry mechanic, it should be used in conjunction with parry, not as a replacement.
My only criticism of the Harden mechanic is its relation parrying. Harden activates instantly, while the parry mechanic is a slow pre-canned animation. As I mentioned earlier, enemy combat rotations and animations are typically faster than the player animations. So while it’s not impossible to learn an enemy combat animation, nailing the timing to a parry is a daunting task as enemies tend to strike you faster than you can parry.
Mortal Shell does a lot of things right when it comes to being a “Souls-like” game. It nails its environmental and character designs, its combat feels satisfying, especially when I found the build that worked for my playstyle, and it’s difficult and unrelenting. I found a lot to chew on with Mortal Shell, even if it wasn’t necessarily apparent in the first few hours. Though not quite as polished as I would have hoped, for a game developed by such a small team, it’s quite an achievement.
