I’m sure Game Pass subscribers can relate to the pain of having a game leave the service, especially when you’re in the middle of a hefty playthrough. Your options are to binge the game in two weeks, buy the game outright, or cry. Unless you were playing Mortal Shell, in which case all you have to do is wait a month for the title to be re-added. The fantasy Soulslike had left the service on November 30th last year, but now it's back, this time with the Enhanced Edition.
]]>The year of Epixclusivity for Mortal Shell ends on Thursday, bringing the Dark Souls-inspired action-RPG to Steam and GOG. The developers are jazzing it up too, releasing an expansion with a new roguelikelike mode - and it'll be free to keep, at first. Launching alongside the Steam and GOG releases on August 18th, The Virtuous Cycle will be free if you grab it by August 23rd. So, do that? Game's fairly deece.
]]>If you’ve played Mortal Shell, even for a little bit, you may have bumped into plenty of fishy, stone chests which refuse to open. Unlike their wooden counterparts, these things simply won’t let you in unless you’ve fulfilled a very specific request.
In this guide I’ll explain how you can start cracking open these rocky presents.
]]>Getting around Mortal Shell’s map isn’t easy. The world is often veiled in mist, forks in the road add to the confusion, and many paths look identical - plus, there’s no minimap to rely upon.
Thankfully there’s a way to teleport between all the Sister Genessas - she acts as a checkpoint if you’re new to the game - scattered around the world. This saves so much time and struggle, I’d highly recommend gaining the ability as soon as possible.
Below I’ll lay out how to unlock fast travel in Mortal Shell.
]]>Shells in Mortal Shell are suits of armour previously owned by warriors, and thieves, and powerful folks in general. They represent the game’s classes, each corresponding to a playstyle. For example, one Shell is particularly tanky, while another grants you the ability to dash frequently, but at the cost of lowering your health bar dramatically.
There are a total of four Shells - one of which you’ll find very early on - scattered across the map. I’d recommend getting hold of them all as soon as you can, as it’ll give you plenty of options when fighting through difficult zones or tackling tricky boss fights.
]]>Eredrim is the tankiest Shell in Mortal Shell. In this guide I’ll explain where to find it.
]]>Tiel is Mortal Shell’s rogue. Equip this Shell and you’ll have plenty of stamina and a shadowstep dash, but at the cost of very little health. In this guide I’ll explain where to find this Shell towards the start of the game.
]]>Solomon’s Shell offers a nice balance of health and stamina, but its unlockable abilities set it apart. In this guide I'll explain where to find it.
]]>Parrying in Mortal Shell requires the Tarnished Seal. Land a parry and you’ll deal huge damage with a riposte, so it’s definitely a skill worth mastering. Our guide will help you find the Tarnished Seal and provide some tips to help you nail those parries.
]]>Harros is the most balanced of Mortal Shell’s Shells with no real downsides, other than, it has no standout features. In this guide I'll explain where to find it.
]]>Look, comparisons to Dark Souls are trite, but Mortal Shell is understood most quickly through comparison to the games which so clearly inspired it. Off you go through a ruined fantasy world, parrying and riposting as you duff up baddies, piecing together history from snippets of stories, and so on. Our Mortal Shell review calls it "a fairly strong Soulslike", which might be somewhat faint praise but it's not damning. If you're curious, hey, it's out now, though only on the Epic Games Store at first.
]]>Mortal Shell tries desperately hard to emulate its hero Dark Souls, while also attempting to carve out its own weird niche. Expect a big toad NPC to blurt out something like "Apocryphal intestines lie in the heart of darkness!" while you’re being smacked in the bum by a crazed villager wielding a lute. But scrape away all the spooky-big-words dressing and you’ve got a fairly strong Soulslike beneath the gubbins.
]]>If you've been hankering for some more Dark Souls-like action after playing Mortal Shell's free open beta last month, you won't have to wait much longer, as developers Cold Symmetry have confirmed it's coming out in full on August 18th. This action-RPG is the very first game from Cold Symmetry, and it is truly a love letter to all things Soulsborne - gothic settings, huge freaky enemies and brilliantly bulky weapons with which to whack them with. I'm sold, tbh.
]]>The unashamedly Dark Souls-inspired action of Mortal Shell is now available for everyone to try, as its closed beta test has become an open beta test by popular demand. Our Matthew liked what he played of the preview version, and it sounds worth a go.
]]>I dread any ‘soulslike’ game arriving in my inbox, as it normally means having to make a video based on the first fight shot from different angles, as I couldn’t get any further. So it speaks to the appeal of Cold Symmetry's Mortal Shell that I persevered long enough to put together an entire video preview, and find a delightful lute to jam on in the middle of a swamp. Less loot, more lutes: the campaign starts here.
]]>While the Soulslike craze of the tensies wandered down increasingly esoteric paths of Soulslikelikes and Soulslikelikelikes, here comes a new one looking to hew relatively close to its inspirations: Mortal Shell. Following its announcement earlier this year, the action-RPG got its first gameplay showing today during IGN's Summer of Gaming stream. Dank tombs, cryptic conversations, big swords, bigger ladies, and a fella wearing the Elite Knight set? Yeah, I catch your drift, Mortal Shell.
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