Cold symmetry is the developer of Mortal shell, a title that aims to replicate the stylistic features of the Souls series, refreshing the game dynamics with interesting elements. It is not at all easy to enter this market niche but apparently the public was so eager for such a title that the producer Playstack has also decided to release a physical copy of the game, scheduled for the next one 2 October at a very similar price compared to the digital copy available as early as 18 August to PC, Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One (any model you have of the green X). We took our time to dissect a title that may seem simple at first but which reveals an underlying complexity that should not be underestimated.
A dead body, again
Myths and legends unfold in these lands: the protagonist of the game is an empty body, indeed perhaps more than a body, in front of us there is a set of muscles, nerves, organs and bones without an envelope (Shell in fact). The purpose of our "hero" is to find a soul for himself and come back complete. As he untangles himself in the swamp he finds the body of a dead knight, takes possession of it and can use it as he pleases. During his adventure, our mass of muscles will be able to take possession of different Enclosures, these will from time to time be equipped with different characteristics. As in almost all Souls Like, the story is told as you play and the information that the player receives is few at the beginning, as long as they touch every single figure and collect every single piece of information from the numerous NPCs encountered in the course. of your trip. Not that it is a necessity but the story sector is really a pretext, do not expect the depth and complexity of the plot that it can have in the least. Dark Souls o Bloodborne, here we are in a world created specifically to slaughter hordes of enemies and bosses.
Different wraps, different game
There are four different Wraps available in Mortal Shell, each of which aimed at favoring different styles of play. You will be able to get to the end of the title without ever changing the Casing it is clear, by enhancing the first one you will receive but you would miss an important part of the adventure. Let's start from the first and continue with the intrinsic characteristics of each Enclosure:
- Harros, Il Vassallo:
The basic knight has the most balanced characteristics of the game, let's say he is a blank canvas and it is up to the player to direct him where he prefers. It is probably among the most complicated to use as the excessive balance does not make it very good at anything and this can be penalizing especially at the beginning of the game.
Durability 5/10
Stamina 5/10
Resolve 5/10 - Solomon, The Scholar
A more powerful version of the previous Enclosure, this warrior boasts greater resistance than its predecessor and a high Resolve value, useful in critical situations. Stamina however remains basic which makes it fairly balanced. Indicated if you have already had to do with Souls Like.
Durability 7/10
Stamina 5/10
Resolve 10/10 - Eredrim, The Venerable
Probably the most suitable Enclosure for Souls newbies strong in the game's highest health and quite balanced.
Durability 10/10
Stamina 3/10
Resolve 3/10 - Tiel, The Acolyte
This Envelope is the most complex of the four: fragile and not very resolute but with a disarming flexibility. This character is dedicated to those who dominated the Souls, in the right hands is the Ferrari of the four Casings present in Mortal shell, in the wrong hands, he is a colander of despair and hatred because he risks dying at every encounter.
Durability 3/10
Stamina 10/10
Resolve 2/10
Each Enclosure present in Mortal Shell will force you to take a different approach in the game, as you juggle in finding your way and conquering Tar points (the game's currency). At the level of progression, you cannot directly increase the characteristics of the Enclosures, but you can unlock passive skills that will give you a hand: for example by spending both the Tar currency and the Visions currency (in the game you will get them by killing monsters or as rewards scattered throughout the map) you can increase the drop rate of the Visions themselves or unlock an enhanced kick that unbalances the enemies or, last but not least, increase chained skills for example Tiel, the Acolyte can emit a poisonous cloud whenever he kills an enemy. To directly increase the damage of your weapons, you will need access to a Work Plan and have found several items in the game, some unique that are used only once while others like the Venetian Oil (also available for purchase from the merchant) it can be taken multiple times to increase the power of your weapons. In addition to stamina, there is another value that can be accumulated over time: Determination, this will allow you to perform perfect parries giving you access to critical counterattacks; that's not all, Determination can also be used to unleash special attacks with upgraded weapons, always spending points in that case.
Interesting mechanics in Mortal Shell is that of Last Chance: when you take a fatal blow, your mass of muscles and organs will be thrown out of its current envelope and here you have two options; you can regain the body and recover to full health to continue fighting or summon another body and fight in other guise. Last Chance can only be used once and resets each time you talk to the NPC who restores your health or it will level you up. Finally, it is possible to enter a state at any time petrification, which will allow you to block incoming attacks, suffering very little damage or to perform specific combos once you have unlocked passive skills.
Cases and Situations
Mortal Shell is a good title all in all, but we are far from shouting a miracle: it suffers from trivial defects, small finishes that could have been treated better. Let's start by saying that the game is too punishing, especially at the beginning of the adventure, when we have the first Envelope that seems unable to face anyone. The dodge is quite woodyFurthermore, before carrying out a roll action, the character is forced to a short dodge which makes it difficult to manage the game spaces sometimes as well as making us run the risk of ending up on objects that will block our escape. The amount of Tar that is extracted from enemies is really minimal, not satisfactory to understand: you could have killed ten "simple" enemies and one in heavy armor and find yourself with just over 150 Tar (keep in mind that the least expensive upgrade is 1000 points of Tar) which makes the game quite frustrating unless you are a fan of grinding, in this case you may find the title for you. Sometimes the game is not "following" the player, or the input of the commands has a sort of intrinsic lag on the Console, while selling the shares on PC this does not happen: you may find yourself in uncomfortable situations because you will think you have performed the action correctly pad in hand but the game did not follow you and therefore you will not have the desired result. Mortal Shell is interesting but it lacks the basics: there is no possibility of a multiplayer nor synchronous no asynchronous, the developers didn't even consider it as an eventuality basically it's a Souls-tinged single player adventure.
