Mortal Shell 2 Review – The Best Soulslike Yet??

In this Mortal Shell II review, we’ll be taking a look at Cold Symmetry’s sequel to their indie Soulslike, Mortal Shell. We’ll discuss the story and setting, gameplay, performance, and much more. If you’ve been super hyped for this title ever since the open beta, you will want to hear what we have to say about this one!

Key Takeaways

• Combat is sharper—no stamina, rewarding parries, more weapons and eight distinct shells.
• Exploration shines: masterfully interconnected maps, abundant secrets and rewarding discovery.
• Great value at $49.99 and ~30–40hr playtime; enemy variety and music are minor drawbacks.

Mortal Shell II is releasing on August 20th on Steam, the PS5, and Xbox Series X|S for 49.99 USD.

Story and Setting

The story of Mortal Shell II follows the story of Mortal Shell one to some degree, with the events taking place after the first title in the same lands of Fallgrim. However, this time you play as the Harbinger, tasked with collecting and retrieving the Ova of a mysterious cosmic being known as the Undermether. For what purpose, though? You must discover for yourself.

The story of Mortal Shell II is much more straightforward than its predecessor, with an easier and simpler plot that is less challenging to follow. However, it was not particularly amazing either, and in general I don’t expect anyone to love it or hate it; it’s just good enough to carry you forward with the main progression of the game.

The setting, however, is exceptional, and the dark war-torn lands of Fallgrim make the journey worth your while. From battle-stricken castles to marshy swamps and desolate wastes and abandoned townships, Mortal Shell II is a feast for your eyes in the darkest, dreariest possible way. This is dark fantasy at its peak (think Diablo 1 and 2), just in Unreal Engine 5, with more impressive visuals.

Gameplay

The gameplay of the original title was solid, but it was lacking in a couple of areas, most notably in combat and boss design. However, both of these have been markedly improved in the second installment, and even though they aren’t on par with some Soulslike games like Lies of P or maybe even Lords of the Fallen, they are still better than the vast majority of Soulslikes out there.

Combat

By removing stamina from combat in Mortal Shell II, Cold Symmetry has improved the flow and rhythm of attacking and defending, which makes combat feel more fluid and natural. Gone are the days of doing running attacks, backing away, waiting for stamina to replenish, and then repeating, and now players are encouraged to stay engaged with enemies and fight to the death since they don’t have to manage their stamina.

Further supporting this is a refinement of parry mechanics, which rewards the player for correctly parrying multiple attacks instead of just one attack (most of the time), allowing for some of the most visually impressive ripostes in the genre, which will blow you away the first time you see them.

Additionally, the number of weapons in the second game is improved vs. the first, and there are simply more options when it comes to combat itself. You have six sidearms you can use, from a shotgun to a bazooka, and there are different skills and abilities that can be slotted into both melee and ranged weapons as well.

On top of that, Mortal Shell II features eight shells to play with, which is double what the first game had, and they now have more unique abilities and passive trees that players can unlock to define their playstyle. However, the enemy variety and design does not push you to utilize all of these mechanics to their fullest, which is a bit of a shame.

Exploration

The exploration of Mortal Shell II is arguably the best in the Soulslike genre, and Cold Symmetry clearly knows how to design maps and worlds that flow and mesh together exceptionally well. This was evident in the first title as well, but this time it’s on a much grander scale.

Hidden items and secrets abound in this game, and you always feel rewarded for checking around that one corner or behind a random rock or wall, as if Cold Symmetry knew you would look there (because they did).

There are dungeons, puzzles, a few quests, and other secrets (including hidden passageways) that clearly take inspiration from Elden Ring in their design, and I don’t mean that in a bad way whatsoever. Mortal Shell II is to Elden Ring what Mortal Shell was to Dark Souls.

Bosses

Boss fights are a vast improvement from the first game, with many more to face. And while some are just souped-up versions of regular enemies, and others are returning bosses from the first game, many of them look and feel extremely unique, and it’s clear that Cold Symmetry has upped their game in this regard, especially when it comes to late-game bosses.

While they aren’t as memorable as bosses in Elden Ring or Dark Souls, they are good enough to get the job done, and I would expect even better ones in Cold Symmetry’s next production if they keep their current trajectory.

Audio, Visual, & Design

The art style and graphics of Mortal Shell II, while maybe not the best in the industry, are phenomenal. You can see this immediately in the gameplay, and it only takes but a moment to realize the combination of Unreal Engine 5 and Cold Symmetry’s vision of dark fantasy is a perfect mix and one of the main factors that drives you forward in the title.

Visually, the performance was decent as well, with stable framerates well above 200 FPS on a 4090 at 1440p on high. There was some grabbing and screen tearing, though I would consider it minimal, and it rarely affected my gameplay in any noticeable way. It was just enough to comment about it, but not enough to bitch about it heavily.

Audio-wise, the voice acting is top-notch and fits the theme perfectly, although there is not a ton in the game. The sound effects and ambient noises are great, but the music was average and doesn’t feel like it was used enough to create dramatic moments. I did, however, feel that when there was music, it was used well.

As mentioned earlier, the level design was absolutely insane, and the interconnectivity was mind-blowing. I honestly haven’t had this much fun exploring in a Soulslike since Elden Ring four years ago, which says a lot.

However, enemy designs were a bit lackluster, with most only having one or two attacks, which got stale over time. Additionally, almost every single enemy you fought in the first area of the game, you will fight again in the second area with essentially no new additions. The combination of such few attacks with the same enemies makes the middle of the game far less enjoyable than the beginning or the end.

Replayability and Game Length

Mortal Shell II is in a sweet spot when it comes to game length, which is about 30–40 hours for one complete playthrough if you are average at Soulslike games and explore everything. This felt about right to me. Any longer, and it would have felt like it was dragging on, and any shorter would have felt too short.

There is also a New Game Plus mode that allows you to carry over your character to another playthrough with higher difficulty, but I’m unsure how many people will do this even if they can, since the enemy variety doesn’t support this.

Pricepoint

Mortal Shell II is priced extremely well at 49.99 USD on Steam, which is a slam dunk. Cold Symmetry is aware they haven’t quite reached that triple-A production value stage yet and are therefore not asking for that price from their fans.

Note that there is a Deluxe Edition for 59.99 USD that allows you to play 72 hours early, and I am not a fan of using FOMO to extract more dollars out of players. Mortal Shell II is a good game, but save yourself 10 USD and wait for the 20th of August to play, and don’t get suckered by this move.

Final Thoughts

Mortal Shell II improves on Mortal Shell in nearly every single way. Better combat, more exploration, more secrets, more shells, more customization, and vastly improved boss encounters with good enough performance. Cold Symmetry has not been bunking off and clearly took everything they’ve learned from their previous game and applied it to Mortal Shell II.

If you’re looking for a new Soulslike title that isn’t mid, this fits the bill and will satisfy that hole in your life that Elden Ring left once you finished playing it. I’d say the odds that Mortal Shell II will do the same for you are high, and if not, it will come damn close…

Mortal Shell II isn't perfect, but it will undoubtedly capture the hearts and minds of Souls fans from the very earliest moments of the game. Cold Symmetry understands exactly what makes Soulslikes so special, and Mortal Shell II is an improvement over the original in almost every possible way. This is a day one buy for those that enjoy the genre!

If you're keen to jump into Mortal Shell II on August 20th or beyond, feel free to use our Mortal Shell II Wiki if you ever get stuck.