Is Mortal Shell 2 Worth It? A Humble Review & Parent's Guide

Way back in the 2020s, when I first played Mortal Shell, I called it a budget Souls game. I concluded that it was a praiseworthy experience, though a limited budget prevented it from standing shoulder to shoulder with the giants of the genre.

Well, six years later, someone has clearly opened up their wallet and happily splurged a few shekels on Mortal Shell 2. In other words, Mortal Shell 2 is mostly everything you want from a sequel: bigger, more content-rich, more practical, and more ambitious in every respect. The emphasis is mostly on the good, because with a bigger budget and bigger ambitions, Cold Symmetry managed to expand almost every good part of the original while also keeping a few problems that I had hoped they would leave behind in 2020.

In the mood for something completely different? Check out our Splatoon Raiders review!

SHOP OUR LATEST MERCH AT VERY

Mortal Shell 2 Story

Don't let the "2" in the title fool you into thinking you need to do your homework before playing. Mortal Shell 2 is designed as a standalone story, and although it shares concepts, mechanics, and some familiar faces with the first game, it actually functions as a separate game. You can jump right in without any knowledge of the Foundling, glands, and other delights that the original called a story.

And the new story is once again very "soulslike." You play as the Harbinger, a strange pale being capable of possessing the bodies of dead warriors, sent by a mysterious entity called the Undermether in search of its stolen eggs. I'm not joking; the guy lost his eggs. They ended up in the hands of various fanatics, monsters, and false gods who use their power for their own needs. Again, I'm not joking; you're searching for powerful eggs. And that gives you a perfectly solid reason to go through them one by one and forcefully explain to every thief that the eggs aren't theirs.

The Cryptic Plot and the Shells' Backstories

The story of Mortal Shell 2 is cryptic and, once again, very typical of this subgenre. Naturally, questions are hanging over all of this that Mortal Shell has no particular desire to explain. In that sense, the story hasn't matured much compared to the original. There's as much mystery and interesting lore as you want, but there's considerably less actual plot that the game really wants to tell. At least you have more characters to talk to now.

Marrow Keep, as the central hub, gradually fills up nicely with various oddballs who sell you gear, offer upgrades, or stand in a corner, always ready to chat and share a piece of the puzzle or, through their statements, create even more question marks over your head.

The Shells have more character than the average soulslike protagonist. The most interesting pieces of the story are once again tied to the titular Shells. The Harbinger can inhabit the bodies of eight dead warriors, and by using and developing them you gradually unlock memories from their lives. This time it's not just short texts. In these flashbacks, you even get limited control over the characters and relive key moments from their pasts.

The execution of this is fairly rudimentary, but the idea itself works because you at least partially connect with the characters you embody. They were warriors, thieves, fanatics, murderers, and various other unfortunates, and their fates are often connected to places and people you then encounter in the present. As such, they have more character than the average soulslike protagonist, which might not be the highest bar to clear, but I'll take what's offered.

Mortal Shell 2 Has A Bigger, Denser World

And Mortal Shell 2's biggest glow-up came precisely where I felt the original's limited budget the most in the world. The first game was built around a relatively small central Fallgrim from which three main paths branched out, and the sequel stretches that concept almost to the edge of an open world. I say almost because these definitely aren't the wide-open fields of Elden Ring, which isn’t a bad thing. The space is much more compact, denser, and more layered, more like a massive version of the original Dark Souls.

The world of Mortal Shell 2 is convincingly the biggest step forward compared to the original. There are also areas you reach via special transitions and teleportation. Still, the design is so naturally integrated that I never felt like I was switching between separate instances via a menu. And there's plenty of territory to explore. Depressing forests, half-ruined villages, grandiose fortresses, swamps, caves, bizarre temples, and monumental structures alternate frequently enough that I always had something new I wanted to head toward.

In fact, the desire to see what awaited me next pulled me forward more than finding new Shells, weapons, and upgrades. Several times I told myself I'd play just until the next checkpoint and then turn off the game, and then two hours later I'd still be exploring some completely new location.

Atmosphere, Enemy Design, and Exploration

The locations are tremendously atmospheric and visually invite exploration. The game itself never holds your hand during this exploration. The world is full of hidden passages, walls, puzzles, and small secrets that nobody explicitly explains to you. Still, they're mostly intuitive enough that you can figure them out by observing the environment and a bit of experimentation. Mortal Shell 2 is more fair in this regard than the Souls games, which sometimes hid things in a way that made you wonder, after using a guide to find them, how you were ever supposed to find them on your own.

It helps that the world is fantastically atmospheric. Mortal Shell 2 still very obviously draws inspiration from FromSoftware's dark fantasy, but Cold Symmetry has found enough of its own visual language here. The locations are packed with small details, grotesque architecture, and surreal sights, and even a relatively familiar combination of forest, swamp, or medieval fortress usually gets some sufficiently twisted detail that makes it memorable.

The same applies to the enemies. There are classic armored warriors and fanatics, but also all sorts of freaks that look like someone experimented with human anatomy. Large skulls running around on legs, insectoid creatures, elongated humanoids, and a whole gallery of other nasties give the world character, and the best main bosses push that grotesqueness a few steps further.

The roster of enemies is diverse and imaginatively grotesque. They mostly justify this presentation and can be quite imaginative, but I can't say the same for the mini-bosses. Some of them are noticeably simpler, and the game in a few places even takes a regular enemy, pumps up its health, and presents it as a boss encounter, which doesn't leave a particularly strong impression.

Checkpoints, Mini-Dungeons, and Map Navigation In Mortal Shells 2

Checkpoints are also mini-dungeons that pale in comparison to the open world. Scattered throughout the world are also checkpoints that have everything you'd expect from a soulslike resting spot: recovery, enemy respawn, character development, and switching Shells, but activating them is tied to short, enclosed challenges and mini-dungeons.

Now and then a dungeon comes along that genuinely surprises with an interesting mechanic, unusual layout, or detail, but such examples are more the exception than the rule. Most of them are a collection of generic corridors or a short combat challenge that I completed more for the resources and rewards than because I enjoyed it, eagerly waiting to get back to exploring the far more interesting open world.

The game's map is visually striking but not particularly clear. Navigation isn't always simple either. The map looks nice, but it isn't ideal for a geography made up of cliffs, bridges, tunnels, and paths that overlap each other at different heights. You often know where you want to get to, not which route the game expects you to take to get there. The problem would be smaller with a better custom-marker system, but as it is, I circled aimlessly around a location several times that was practically right in front of my nose on the map.

Combat Without Stamina: The Resolve System

As for combat, in Mortal Shell 2 it's difficult, brutal, varied, and above all fun. The biggest change compared to the original, but also compared to a good portion of the soulslike competition, is the complete absence of stamina. You can run, dodge, and swing your weapon as much as your heart desires, but that doesn't mean you can mindlessly mash the attack button. Animations can't be interrupted here, so you still have that ever-present risk of committing to an attack at the wrong time.

The complete absence of stamina defines combat in Mortal Shell 2. A partial replacement for stamina is resolve. You fill it up with successful close-range attacks, then spend it on ranged weapons, special moves, and Shell abilities. Essentially, forget about that classic souls dance where you land two hits and then pull back, waiting for stamina to refill. Mortal Shell 2 rewards you much more for aggression and constant pressure on your opponent because that's exactly how you fill the resolve needed to "unlock" the rest of your arsenal.

That said, defensive options aren't lacking either. They're largely determined by the seals you find throughout the game. One gives you Harden, a returning mechanic from the original that lets you turn to stone mid-attack, absorb the enemy's blow, and then calmly continue what you started. Another introduces more classic blocking and well-timed parrying, leaving enemies vulnerable to a devastating counterattack.

The Eight Shells and Build Variety

The Shells are essentially the game's classes and are quite diverse. And then on top of all that come the Shells, which have a much bigger role in the sequel in terms of how you'll actually fight. There are eight of them, and now they're far more than just different amounts of health with a few passive bonuses. Each has its own upgrade tree, active abilities, and a clearly defined playstyle that can significantly change the entire rhythm of combat.

Sariel can recover some health by attacking; Tiel is more suited to stealth and can turn invisible; Proxima has a hook that pulls smaller enemies toward her while she launches herself at larger ones. And those are just some of the Shells you can find; the rest are better discovered on your own.

The game offers ample room for build-crafting tailored to different playstyles. Add to that eight melee and an equal number of ranged weapons. Swords, scythes, giant hammers, dual katanas, crossbows, machine guns, and a few significantly more bizarre pieces of the arsenal aren't just different animations of the same attack. They differ in speed, range, power, ability to stagger enemies, and combinations of light and heavy attacks.

There are also Tarstones, which you can equip to gain various bonuses, elemental effects, passive abilities, or completely new moves. When you combine all of this with the Shells and weapons, Mortal Shell 2 offers a genuinely impressive amount of room for experimentation and build-crafting.

Balance Problems and Difficulty Spikes in Mortal Shells 2

The right combination of gear can seriously disrupt the difficulty curve. When everything clicks into place, the fun is enormous. The only problem is that sometimes it clicks a little too well. Mortal Shell 2 has inherited a chronic balance problem from the original, except now a larger number of systems expose it even more easily. If you find the right Shell, a good weapon, and a few Tarstones that pair well together, it's possible to trivialize some enemies and bosses completely. That's how I basically strolled through the final third of the game, mowing down in one or two hits enemies that had regularly sent me back to a checkpoint earlier on.

Part of the problem is also that certain weapons feel more practical than others. Fast dual katanas that can even turn into an axe on a heavy attack give you mobility, speed, and plenty of damage. On the other hand, the giant hammer might hit like a truck on paper, but by the time you lift it above your head, the enemy has had time to go home for lunch and come back just in time to smash you into the ground.

Mortal Shell 2 is definitely a difficult game that doesn't forgive mistakes. Despite this added accessibility, don't be fooled: Mortal Shell 2 is still a difficult game that will test you thoroughly. Enemy respawns after using a checkpoint, losing and re-collecting resources, regular enemies that can kill you in two hits, hidden attacks, and enemy combinations straight from hell are just some of the ways you'll die here.

Camera Issues and Technical Polish

And then there are the cliffs. Lots of cliffs. The world is full of places where one slightly stronger hit can turn a fight against an enemy into a very short fight against gravity, where not even the most perfect build in the world will help you.

The more distant action camera is clearer and better for the player's sanity. A similar danger comes from the camera. You have a choice between a more distant action camera and a closer, cinematic variant. The latter is positioned directly behind the character's back, turning the whole experience into something visually reminiscent of the modern God of War. It looks great, but I'd only use it if I hated my own life. Mortal Shell 2 often locks you into spaces with several enemies attacking from different directions, and the close camera doesn't give you enough information about what's happening behind you. The game uses off-screen attack indicators, but I felt much more comfortable with the more distant action camera.

Even target-lock isn't perfect. In a crowd, it can become erratic, and abilities that rely on auto-aim occasionally fly right past the enemy you carefully targeted. It's not a problem that constantly ruins combat, but it happened to me often enough to notice, especially when a poorly executed ability wastes valuable resources.

The technical experience could also have used another round of polish. I experienced a couple of crashes after particularly tough bosses that had me contemplating my life choices, and I hope they'll be fixed with a launch-day update. There were also a few visual bugs and other minor things; fortunately, nothing serious or frequent enough to significantly spoil the experience.

In Conclusion

I loved the original Mortal Shell precisely because, beneath its obvious limitations, you could see a team that understands why Souls games work, while also having a few ideas of its own about what to do with that formula. The problem was that it almost constantly felt like a game that ran out of money right as things were getting interesting.

.

The sequel finally develops those ideas properly. It has a world that compels exploration, combat that's more aggressive and far more flexible, Shells that finally fully justify their place in the title, and enough room for experimentation that you constantly want to try something new.

It still has its problems and occasionally reminds you that Cold Symmetry still isn't a studio with several hundred employees. But most of the time that doesn't even matter, because Mortal Shell 2 has enough of its own ideas, enough content, and a good enough execution that it no longer needs to hide behind comparisons to its inspirations. The shackles are off, and while it's not perfect, it's good enough to finally stand confidently on its own two feet.

Rating & Recommendation

Rating: 8.7/10. Mortal Shell 2 earns a high score for dramatically expanding on the original's world design, combat depth, and build variety while keeping the atmosphere that made the first game special. However, it loses a bit for persistent balance issues, a cluttered map, and some technical rough edges.

Recommended age: 17+. This is a brutal, unforgiving souls-like with grotesque, body-horror-style enemy design (twisted anatomy, insectoid creatures, skull-monsters), intense, violent combat, and a dark, disturbing atmosphere throughout. It demands precise, high-stakes combat execution and patience with repeated deaths, making it unsuitable for younger players due to both content and difficulty/frustration factors. It's best suited to older teens and adults already comfortable with the Souls genre.