Pretty Dark Souls? Mortal Shell is a lot more than that

At the debut stream of the IGN Summer of Gaming Expo, Cold Symmetry showcased new gameplay for its upcoming game Mortal Shell, a new Souls-like experience that offers a lot of unique mechanics and beautiful visuals. 

While the game’s inspirations are obvious, Mortal Shell is more than just a simple Dark Souls clone. As the name suggests, the game’s mechanics are tied to the player’s Mortal Shell, a lifeless spirit form which players can occupy to enable class features and other abilities. This means that players can assume multiple forms throughout the game and explore a wide range of potential fighting styles. 

Graphically, the game features smooth animations and excellent lighting effects. At this time it is unknown what resolution or framerate the game will target on consoles, or if the game will have upgraded PS5 and Xbox Series X versions later this year. 

In combat, players can be forced out of their Mortal Shell and into your character’s original form. In this form, players are one hit away from death, a factor which will make players quickly jump back into their old shell (if possible) or retreat to occupy a new one. Players will only be able to re-occupy a shell a certain number of times, and the more time spent in a single shell will unlock upgrades. 

While the game can be finished without entering a single shell, the One-Hit-KO nature of your shell-less form should discourage players from attempting this playstyle. Mortal Shell will feature a parry system and lack a mini-map. This will force players to learn the game’s map and increase the complexity of the game’s combat.      

Mortal Shell has no firm release date at this time and is due to release sometime in 2020. An early beta for the game is due to start in July, and more information about this beta will be available on the game’s Discord channel.