The soulslike genre is filled with titles forever trying to perfect the style made popular by FromSoftware. While many use mechanics in a linear approach closer in structure to Dark Souls, there are some that shoot for the stars – or, more literally THE star: Elden Ring. Mortal Shell 2 is one of the latter efforts, placing the player (Harbinger) in an unforgiving open world against hordes of deadly foes. Where many falter, Mortal Shell 2 succeeds. The combat is fast-paced and without the restriction of a stamina bar, the art design and sound design are dark fantasy delights, and the difficulty is brutal. The game runs smooth for the most part and the character models are outright disgusting. Here are all the components needed to challenge the best. Does it rival Elden Ring? Read on.
The story of Mortal Shell 2 is covered in intrigue and lore, though its prologue does well in establishing themes. In its most basic form, your character is trying to collect the Ova for the Undermether. You hatched from an Ovum and have the ability to possess fallen warriors, taking their skills in some form of resurrection/embodiment. All those words make more sense during early cut-scenes, which are presented in such a metal way. I can’t say I fully connected with narrative here, but these types of games are not traditional storytelling. They reward discovery and reading bits and pieces found through-out the game world. There are a range of NPCs that provide short dialogue to assist in informing the character of the journey and the goal. The Harbinger as a playable character is a beast, though it is the shells and seals that really define the gameplay.
What are shells? They are the remains of those aforementioned warriors which allow you to use their skills. An early shell ability sees you turn an enemy to stone. These really become playstyles and choices. Post prologue, some new shells are marked on your map and these are really opportunities to refine how you approach combat. There’s a stealth shell, a hook-shot, time freezing and more. The other component to this is seals, acting as your defense mechanism. The first seal is a simple guard/parry. Next is harden (cue those Pokémon connections, because that’s what it basically is). One of the seals states that is it essentially an easy mode, disabling achievements. I didn’t find this to be overpowered – I wanted to try it for review purposes, yet it didn’t seem to make combat any easier. Shells and seals provide a clear differential to other soulslikes and create a system that allows for strong builds and experimentation. While early it can feel strange to swap out something such as a guard, options are always available to test.
Outside of the above, you’ll obviously have an assortment of weapons to play with. At any time, Harbinger has a melee weapon and a firearm with an allocation of shots. This did remind me of Bloodborne to a degree, but the firearm is much more active here. Weapons include swords, axes, daggers, a scythe, and hammer and variations to all mentioned. Sidearms feature guns, crossbows and a range of lore-based trinkets to blow the enemy into pulp. Most operate in a similar manner, though speed and damage output vary. I always like a first playthrough to feature a sword, finding myself most comfortable with this selection.
I have a love/hate relationship with soulslikes, as some ramp up the difficulty so high that playing becomes more frustrating than enjoyable. Mortal Shell 2 has enough tools to succeed eventually. The prologue (first two hours) is very manageable and enjoyable as you learn all the functions of combat. The environments are impressive, though all is linear. Once set out into the wide open world, the difficulty skyrockets. That first hour outside is brutal. I lost all my gloom (the currency to enhance health and other stats) in a fall right before the prologue boss, meaning I had nothing to upgrade with when really the game expects you to do so. Set with the most basic of tools and surrounded in every direction by enemies just waiting for me to interrupt their patrol, I was handed a lesson. General enemies dish out a heap of damage. A particular knight right next to the starting beacon takes a heap of hits to kill. You can parry and riposte three times, and still he lives. Two hits from him, dead. I chose to avoid him and explore, yet enemies just as strong (or stronger!) halted my eagerness for discovery as the world is so diverse and full of brilliant mini-stories (such as grandma’s pit). I found a castle with hanging corpses and hoped to explore for a while, but was peppered with arrows from all directions. I probably died 30 times in that first hour, though eventually found a groove to upgrade and hunt more shells. The next 12 hours were fine in difficulty, and then the final five or so hours generated this feeling again. Both post-prologue and the latter hours were more frustrating than fun, yet I appreciate the middle section greatly as it does have some of the best open world soulslike ideas out there.
Compared to Elden Ring? Not quite. Mortal Shell 2 would not usurp the king, but it may be one of the best of the rest. Elden Ring’s post prologue was much more open, forgiving and enemies were manageable no matter the build. Having Torrent (a horse) in Elden Ring created a great option in traversal, which is lacking here. Traversal helps pick up the stat boosters quicker on death, and I did find myself pondering whether just to leave fallen glooms to rot when dying far away from a beacon. The design and graphics rival Elden Ring, while the metal-focused tracking works a treat. Where Elden Ring may take 80 hours to beat, you’re looking at no more than 30 for Mortal Shell 2. It’s an open world, but it does not overstay welcome.
Performance here really is a highlight. 60 frames per second seems to be a luxury on the base PlayStation 5 lately. After a range of recent reviews of games that struggle to meet this standard, Mortal Shell 2 on performance mode both looks and plays incredibly well. The wet sloshes when hitting a foe and the boss animations proved that the team has learned so much since Mortal Shell. The step up should be studied, for Mortal Shell 2 is one of the best looking games this year.
Mortal Shell 2 is a highlight in the action game genre in 2026, though its punishing nature will provide a barrier for those that simply love fascinating dark fantasy with interesting lore. The shells and seals are a neat original idea that work well alongside the dual weapons (melee and ranged). While game design can impact the natural flow of discovery, soulslikes need a high difficulty to best challenge players begging for punishment. The excellent quality of this sequel should see it become a favourite in the field.
Pros
- Character models
- Performance
- Art design and metal style
Cons
- The enemy placement impedes exploration, as does the verticality
