Mortal Shell Review Summary

Good soulslike experience: The game is frequently compared to the Dark Souls series, with reviewers noting similarities in atmosphere, difficulty, and gameplay style. It is often recommended for fans of the soulslike genre and is considered a good entry point for newcomers due to its balanced difficulty and unique mechanics. Some reviewers, however, found the game easier than other soulslike titles.

Excellent graphics and atmosphere: The game features stunning graphics, a hauntingly evocative soundtrack, and detailed environments that create a captivating and immersive dark fantasy atmosphere. The art style is frequently compared to AAA titles and praised for its unique and beautiful aesthetic, contributing significantly to the overall player experience.

Unique shell and harden mechanics: The game features unique mechanics such as the shell system and the hardening ability, which add strategic depth and variety to combat. The hardening mechanic, in particular, is praised for its versatility and the ability to create interesting combat moments, allowing players to absorb damage and counterattack effectively.

Intriguing world and exploration: The game features a mysterious and well-crafted world that encourages exploration and rewards curiosity. The interconnected level design and detailed environments create an immersive atmosphere, with locations feeling alive and distinct from one another.

Good potential and unique ideas: The game has potential for further expansion and offers unique ideas and mechanics that make it worthwhile. The core concept is well-grounded, and the game has a good sense of impact, making the initial playthrough experience enjoyable.

Clunky, slow, and frustrating combat: Combat is frequently criticized for being clunky, slow, and unresponsive, with limited stamina and long animation locks. The 'harden' mechanic, while unique, is often considered either overpowered or ineffective. Many enemies are damage sponges, and the parry system is inconsistent and difficult to master, leading to a frustrating combat experience.

Confusing, unpolished, and frustrating experience: The game suffers from numerous issues that detract from the player experience. These include a lack of clear direction, a confusing map, repetitive environments, uninspired enemy design, clunky combat, and a general lack of polish. Many reviewers felt the game was incomplete, frustrating, and ultimately not enjoyable.

Confusing and repetitive level design: The game world is criticized for its confusing level design, repetitive environments, and lack of clear landmarks, making navigation difficult. The absence of a map exacerbates these issues, leading to player frustration and aimless wandering. The world feels small and artificially stretched, lacking meaningful exploration.

Unfair and unbalanced difficulty: The game is often criticized for its high difficulty, stemming from enemy spam, unfair enemy placement, and a lack of player guidance. Enemies frequently ambush the player, have high health, and can quickly overwhelm them, leading to a frustrating and punishing experience. This difficulty feels artificial and unbalanced.

Short, vague story; lacks content: Many reviewers found the game to be short and lacking in content, with a story that is vague, rushed, and difficult to understand. The game's potential is often seen as wasted due to its limited scope and underdeveloped narrative. The ending is often described as bland and unsatisfying.

Unique 'shell' system as classes: The game features a unique 'shell' system where players inhabit different bodies, each with unique stats, abilities, and playstyles. These shells function as classes, offering varied gameplay experiences and customization options through unlockable skills and upgrades. However, some reviewers noted that the differences between shells can be subtle, mainly affecting stats like stamina and health.

'Hardening' mechanic for invincibility: A core mechanic is the 'hardening' ability, which grants temporary invincibility and can be used strategically during attacks or dodges. Mastering this ability is crucial for both defense and offense, allowing players to absorb hits, stagger enemies, and create openings for counter-attacks. Some players found it overpowered once mastered.

Limited weapon and enemy variety: The game features a limited selection of weapons, with only about four or five types available. Each weapon has unique movesets and unlockable abilities, but the limited variety restricts combat options. Some reviewers felt the game copies enemy placements and other elements from FromSoftware games.

Hub-based level design, aimless exploration: The game's level design is structured around a central hub area with multiple distinct paths branching out. The world feels empty, with many locations having empty rooms or large areas with only a few enemies and one or two items. The game lacks direction or motive, leading to aimless exploration.

Experimentation to discover item effects: The game encourages experimentation with items to discover their effects, with better results gained through familiarity. The game does not provide clear answers or hints for actions, requiring players to figure things out themselves. Learning about items through using them reveals lore and provides boosts for repeated use.

Inconsistent performance, optimization issues: Reports on game performance and optimization are mixed. Some players experience smooth gameplay and good frame rates even on modest hardware, while others report significant performance issues, optimization problems, and high hardware requirements. Some specific areas are noted as particularly problematic.

Various bugs and crashes: Players have reported encountering various bugs, including getting stuck in the environment, camera issues, and crashes. While some reviewers found the bugs infrequent and non-disruptive, others experienced them more severely, impacting their overall experience.

Area-specific performance/visual issues: Several reviews highlight specific areas (Crystal area, Flame Grave, Obsidian areas, and Castle location) as having significant performance issues, lighting glitches, or visibility problems due to fog or other effects. These issues seem to be localized to certain in-game environments.

Miscellaneous minor technical issues: A collection of minor or less frequently mentioned technical issues were noted, including menu animation delays, black screens, rolling bugs, resolution-specific graphical glitches, haze effect tied to shadows, controller vibration problems, audio weirdness and input lag.

Specific technical issues/crashes: Several specific technical issues were reported, including crashes when tabbing out, Windows Defender blocking game files, and certain key combinations causing unresponsiveness. These issues may require specific workarounds or fixes.

Recommended Soulslike experience: Many reviewers recommend the game, especially to fans of the Soulslike genre or newcomers to it. They praise its unique mechanics, captivating world, and challenging gameplay. Some suggest trying it on sale to mitigate potential regret.

Only buy on sale: Many reviewers suggest purchasing the game only on sale due to its flaws, short length, or limited content. Some reviewers even recommend refunding the game or buying a beer instead. This point shows a strong sentiment that the game is not worth its full price.

Good entry point Soulslike: Some reviewers suggest that the game is a good starting point for players new to the Soulslike genre, while others recommend other games like Dark Souls 3 or Elden Ring as better starting points. Some experienced players may find the game too easy or short.

Extremely disappointing experience: Some reviewers express extreme disappointment with the game, calling it boring, frustrating, and unfinished. They feel that the game had a lot of potential that was not realized. Some reviewers consider the game to be the worst game ever seen.

Mixed score ratings: Some reviewers provide a rating for the game, ranging from 0/10 to 11/10. Some reviewers are not satisfied with the current state but can see its potential. Some reviewers feel misled and scammed.

Short, incomplete, demo-like experience: Several reviewers felt the game was short, incomplete, and more like a demo. Some also mentioned that the price, especially on sale, reflected the game's overall quality, suggesting it might not be worth the full price.

Cryptic, convoluted, unclear narrative: Many reviewers found the game's narrative cryptic, convoluted, and difficult to understand. The story is revealed through item descriptions, cryptic NPC dialogue, and environmental details, but lacks clear direction or motivation. Some compare the story to Dark Souls, where the player is an undead being put through trials.

Developed by a small indie team: Reviewers frequently mention that the game was developed by a small indie team, often around 15 people. This context is used to highlight the team's commendable effort and the 'indie game feel' of the project, suggesting a labor of love.

Appealing dark fantasy aesthetic: The game features a dark fantasy setting with appealing visuals and armor aesthetics. The soundtrack, composed by Atrium Carceri, enhances the game's gloomy atmosphere. The game is similar to Dark Souls in terms of playability and setting.

Cool and unique core concept: The game has a cool and unique core concept that excites reviewers. Some reviewers feel like the game is a proof-of-concept or vertical slice showcasing core concepts, and they are excited about the future direction of the game.