Why you won't want to turn off the Mortal Shell 2 beta: first impressions

The Mortal Shell 2 beta gives an excellent understanding of what to expect from the full version of the upcoming soulslike from Cold Symmetry.

It may take an average of about three hours to get acquainted with it, but that will be enough to make you want to return to this eerie world, full of pain and grotesqueness, where every crawling, flying, or loudly stomping creature tries to kill the protagonist in the most unpleasant and cruel way. It's literally impossible to walk past a simple tree without some bat-like creature falling on your head and trying to gnaw off the protagonist's face.

Fight as much as you want

A significantly improved combat system will help deter enemies from using their hands, tentacles, and other limbs.

In Mortal Shell 2, there is no stamina bar — the hero can swing his sword and circle around bosses until the player's fingers turn blue — however, this does not make the fights easier. The developers managed to balance the soulslike in such a way that the absence of stamina simply evens the odds of winning a battle with another scoundrel. There's no need to worry that the hero's arms will go limp at the most inopportune moment or that he won't be able to roll away from an enemy attack.

In Mortal Shell 2, it is still important to be able to read enemy movements, dodge in time, position yourself correctly for an attack, and choose the right moment for that attack. Even numerous deaths do not make you swear and throw up your hands in irritation.

If some clumsy knight with a halberd kills the hero for the fifth time in a row, it's not a balance problem, but a lack of skill on the player's part.

Parries throw enemies off balance, leaving them open for more powerful attacks, more akin to Mortal Kombat fatalities. The hero twists heads, plunges crosses into the back of skulls, smashes faces with an armored knee, pierces chests with axes, slices with a sword from shoulder to groin – everything looks very brutal and bloody.

The original Mortal Shell had four shells (a fifth appeared in the expansion), while the sequel will have eight at launch. Each will offer its own unique playstyle and abilities.

However, the beta only lets you play as two: Harros and Tiel. Harros is only available in the prologue and can turn enemies to stone for a while, while agile Tiel will be familiar to fans from the first part. He is frail, doesn't take hits well, but hits hard himself and masterfully uses shadows to evade enemy attacks. Tiel is designed for a fast and more aggressive playstyle.

Technical Balalaikas

Even the Mortal Shell 2 beta is much better optimized than some release versions of games from AAA companies – we won't point fingers. Even in open-space battles with a lot of enemies and a variety of special effects, the game demonstrates a stable frame rate.

Good optimization is especially important given the significantly increased scale of the game. The locations are simply huge and genuinely interesting to explore, not just wander around looking for the right direction for the next story trigger. Almost every turn brings the hero to another dungeon, a fork in the road, or a mini-boss blocking the way to yet another fork.

For those who like to admire the sights, the developers have even added an additional camera mode with a wider viewing angle.

There are two main complaints about Mortal Shell 2: boring NPCs and a frantic camera in battles. While the developers are unlikely to be able to do anything about the characters, there is still time to fix the camera so that it doesn't behave too erratically, losing focus at the most crucial moments.

Analysis

Cold Symmetry still has work to do, but it's already clear that any self-respecting soulslike fan simply must get Mortal Shell 2 for their collection.

Or at least try the demo, which is available on Steam during the "Games to Be" festival.