Porter Christensen

The game itself is a great idea. The shell and upgradable aspects of it is very intuitive and intriguing, and I have nothing but cudos for the developers for thinking up such a thought. HOWEVER. This aspect alone cannot save the player from an assortment of flaws beholding in this game. From what I experienced as an avid soulsborne player and loyal fan of games in resemblance, I do not think of this as dark souls-esque game. The combat is clunky and unresponsive when trying to make quick decisions and fight more than one enemy at once, and the dodging is at best, a crapshoot. Sometimes it won’t even attempt a dodge with full stamina and mashing the dodge button. The parrying and harden skills are great, but with harden being on a cool down, and the parry mechanic being difficult to master through the game, it makes for a tricky combat situation. Granted, most people know that games that are meant to resemble souls-games, are not meant to be ran through as a slash and dash-type game. Slow and steady may win the race, but the majority of gamers would prefer not to be seemingly bogged down by slinky combat to make the game seem longer. Storyline may not be deliberately noted in games like dark souls, however They are integral parts of the franchise. Even smaller characters such as Ludleth, The Exiled, have great roles to play in its lore. This game is vastly under par in this sense. In my playing, I feel it lacked the same gratuity and excitement that the souls series so subtly gave to the player through the completion of its main storylines as well as the landscapes it brought to lighten the experience. The bland, depressed overtones of Mortal Shell never give way to a lighter, more subtle experience. Rather, it barrages you with stale scenes and ominous sound effects. If you prefer a game in which you can sit down for an hour after work and make miniature increments of progress each time playing it, without minding it’s inherently depressing mood, then this game is a great one. Great for people who can play games without critiquing and noticing flaws. However, if you have played through any of the Fromsoft games, then this game will feel very underwhelming compared to them. Choose wisely.