Mortal Shell 2: A Series Coming Out Of Its Shell

So far, 2026 has been a pretty mixed year for the souls community. Largely on account of there being very few games within the genre on the docket until the second half of the calendar year.

We’ve had some highlights, such as Nioh 3. But also, because there have been some lukewarm titles and absolute stinkers making up the numbers. I even had the great displeasure of reviewing one such atrocity. 

In the back of my mind, when the familiar name ‘Mortal Shell’ arrived on my desk. I thought I might be in for more of the same. After all, while it did have some neat ideas, the original Mortal Shell was far from a world-beater. A game that quite frankly, did very well to justify a sequel. 

If you’d have told me this sequel would not only be the best Soulslike I have played all year. I would have raised an eyebrow. But I’ll go one better. This is perhaps the best Soulslike I’ve played, running games like Lords of the Fallen 2 and Lies of P very close. It’s a series realizing it’s potential, a series challenging the juggernaut, FromSoft. A series coming out of its shell. 

Gather Round, Brethers & Sesters 

Listen up, Brev. I’ve never been someone that has needed an amazing story to enjoy a soulslike. I’ve always felt like it’s a genre that lives and dies on its world design, and it’s gameplay. However, if you can make the central plot in any way engaging, it’s a huge bonus. 

Mortal Shell 2 goes about this in a typical Souls manner. By placing you in the shoes of an enigmatic undead entity. Not a tarnished, not the chosen undead. But, in MS2’s case, the Harbinger. Tasking you with gathering the lost ovums of the master you serve, in a bid to rid the land of corruption. 

Aside from this starting plot point, there really isn’t a lot of joined up thinking in terms of narrative to speak of here regarding the central plot. You’ll largely go from one corrupted gate to the next, collecting eggs with little understanding of why you’re going to all that trouble. But, what the main story lacks, the game makes up for with interesting characters, unique areas to explore, and gorgeous visuals to bring this corrupted land to life. 

Mortal Shell 2 is a gothic and gorgeous treat for the eyes, which will offer you just as many beautiful vistas you’ll want to drink in forever, as it will desolate, decrepit hovels you’ll want to fight your way out of as fast as possible. Mortal Shell 2 walks the tightrope between beauty and brutality masterfully. 

Every kill animation is wonderfully violent; the juxtaposition between the grassy floating islands of the open world and the distinct biomes of the corrupted gates is welcome. Even the slightly unimaginative ethereal flashback sequences for each shell provided a little color to proceedings. 

Mortal Shell 2 walks the tightrope between beauty and brutality masterfully. 

However, I do have a bit of a bone to pick. Mainly because I felt I was sold a dream. You see, I went into this one after the game’s trailer featuring the metal track, Darker Thoughts, or Ben Sahar depending on which trailer you come across, thinking, perhaps MS2 is going to have a metal score underpinning the action. 

Something that just never quite came to fruition. The sound design is fine, and the tracks serve their purpose. But I don’t feel they are anything to write home about. Sure, you can play a few tunes on your lute to tide you over, but it doesn’t produce the same heart-pounding excitement that the initial trailer hyped me up for.

A slight dampener on the overall presentation for me. But all in all, a beautiful, gorey game that deserves kudos. 

Shell Hath No Fury 

We can talk about how visceral the blood gushing looks until the cows come home. But at the end of the day, we Souls fans want one thing, and that’s fluid, harsh but fair combat with depth. Something that Mortal Shell absolutely provides. 

Having played the original, there was always this feeling that, while it didn’t feel all that satisfying or fun to engage with, there was something purring under the hood. This is evidenced by this sequel, which takes all that worked with the original and revamps it to provide combat that feels varied and violent. 

With the addition of firearms to the action, Mortal Shell 2 feels like a lovingly made blend of traditional Souls games, and more action-centric hybrids like Remnant. With the player able to literally bring a gun to a knife fight and reap all the rewards that brings. 

It’s the most fun I’ve had with a combat system in a long time. Bloody, brutal, limb-chopping, headshotting, mutant-garroting fun.

But beyond that, the game also sticks to its guns and allows you to serve as just as potent a weapon as the big bonk stick you choose to carry. Your shell acts as both your shield and a special party trick that varies depending on the character you are inhabiting. 

It’s through these weapons, sidearms, Shells and tarstones that the game achieves combat depth in abundance, making for one of the smoothest souls experiences I have ever enjoyed and suffered through. 

But what’s all the more impressive is that even with all these options, the game still feels brilliantly balanced and challenging. Making each encounter survived  and every new area conquered feel like a proper win. 

I’m shocked that I’m saying this, as Mortal Shell 2 at its core is yet another parry-focused endeavor. Usually something that I accept but never truly adore. But thanks to the freedom the game grants the player to choose their own fighting style, I felt like I had all the freedom in the world to play this game with the dynamism and reactive nature of Bloodborne if I were to choose to. 

I can nitpick with the best of them, but I simply can’t fault the moment-to-moment combat of Mortal Shell 2. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a combat system in a long time. Bloody, brutal, limb-chopping, headshotting, mutant-garroting fun. 

Shellden Ring 

Speaking of ‘the most fun I’ve had with a Souls game.’ The last time I truly enjoyed exploring a Soulslike world was probably all the way back at the launch of Elden Ring. Very few games in the genre have had the guts to shoot for an open world format, jam-pack the map with oodles of content, and encourage players to lose themselves in the minutiae of it all. 

I would still say nothing quite touches that experience, but Mortal Shell 2 just might be the closest thing yet. Offering a semi-open-world setup with six different linear pathways to embark upon in any order you choose, and plenty of side content to procrastinate with along the way. 

It emulates Elden Ring in a lot of ways, in truth. Some good, some less so. But on the positive side, the map design is brilliant, encouraging players to check every nook and cranny for goodies. Which is often rewarded with a new Tarstone, Shell, or Weapon that could just be the key to unlocking the potential of your character’s build. 

Plus, the game also employs dungeons in one of the most unique ways I have seen in a long time. Almost all dungeons are short, self-contained loops with a core gimmick. This might be a light puzzle element, this might be a surprise cave-in, it might be an enemy-laden path where you’ll need to find a key. But the takeaway here is that they all feel like unique, rewarding bite-sized experiences in their own right. 

Truly, the only downside to the excellent exploration you’ll enjoy in MS2 is the fact that the game has an inexplicable lack of checkpoints. This forces you to become very good at managing your health and parrying, which is a plus in the long term. But this also leads to a lot of aimless wandering and deadly corpse runs that needn’t be so frustrating.

However, MS2 also makes the same sin as Elden Ring when it comes to bosses. In that it loads up on boss variants of basic enemies, a lot. To the point that there aren’t that many unique bosses outside of the mandatory fights needed to clear the six corruption gates. Something that does make those big crescendos to dungeons and areas fall a little flat at times. 

But that’s only really scratching the surface on the boss fights. 

Ovum, I Hardly Know Them

Editor Note: This criticism was written before an extensive day one patch, which was primarily focused on adapting and buffing boss enemies. We can only review what is in front of us, and the overall boss experience may be much better on release. However, criticism around boss patterns will likely remain a pain point.

If you ask any Souls fan what one thing makes for a good game within the genre, it would likely be a toss-up between world design and boss fights. 

Mortal Shell 2 has an incredible world worth exploring and lays an excellent foundation for boss encounters with such a well-implemented combat system. But, sadly, the bosses for me fell very flat. 

Boss fights throughout Mortal Shell simply weren’t all that challenging. Not because they didn’t hit hard, but because the choreography of the fight was so easily read. A boss would occasionally get the better of me with an unblockable strike I misinterpreted, or because I got caught up using ranged attacks when they were closing in on me. 

But I could truly count on one hand the number of times when I went into a boss fight, got my bearings, and wasn’t immediately confident that I could beat them on the first try. Something that I don’t think any sadistic souls player should accept. 

There should be strife; there should be hardship. But on most occasions, I endured more strife wading through enemy-infested areas on the way to the main bosses of the respective areas than I did the bosses themselves.

Combine this with the fact that the sheer amount of build options you have makes it rather easy to lean into gimmicks to beat certain bosses with ease, and you have an overall boss battle experience that can really take the wind out of the sails of the whole ordeal. 

I got knocked out of my boots a few times, but ultimately, the bosses of Mortal Shell 2 didn’t test my resolve. Which is the itch that every Souls fan wants to scratch. 

Review code provided by publisher, reviewed on PS5

9.0

Mortal Shell 2 is the sequel I simply didn't see coming. It's a welcome evolution, taking the fun ideas of the original and refining the experience into an addictive, enthralling Soulslike. It looks stunning, combat is fluid and varied, and the world is a joy to explore. Bosses lack a certain punchiness, and minor tech issues drag the experience down ever-slightly. But, Mortal Shell 2 is undeniably one of the best non-FromSoft titles the genre has produced

Pros

1. Outstanding world design
2. Gorgeous, gory visuals
3. Excellent bitesize dungeons
4. Decent build variety

Cons

1. Lack of Checkpoints
2. Boss battles are underwhelming
3. Soundtrack is forgettable

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