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[Mista]

Publisher Playstack and developer Cold Symmetry have announced Mortal Shell, an “uncompromising, authentic, and hauntingly beautiful” action RPG built upon the “ruthless traditions of the soulslike genre.” It will launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam in Q3 2020.

The game, known in its early development days as Dungeonhaven, is produced by a core team of 15 people who have worked on “some of the biggest AAA titles on the market.”

Cold Symmetry co-founders Andrew McLennan-Murray, Anton Gonzalez, and Vitaly Bulgarov said in a joint statement:

For a small team like ours, developing this title in many ways felt like crossing an ocean on a paddle board. To finally announce Mortal Shell is one of the most exciting and terrifying experiences we’ve had in our lifetimes. The last two years have been a time of non-stop growth, full of shocking revelations of sheer complexity that goes into creating a video game that you, yourself, would really enjoy playing.

Here is an overview of the game, via Playstack:

About

Awakening as an empty vessel, you will enter into a shattered and twisted world where the remains of humanity wither and rot. Implored to do the bidding of the mysterious “Dark Father,” you must traverse this tattered landscape and track down hidden sanctums of devout followers. There, in Mortal Shell’s most hallowed grounds, you must overcome formidable foes and harvest the sacred glands. You won’t be truly alone when the dead litter your path: Scattered across this land are the remnant anima of lost warriors who can be inhabited to gain their unique abilities and knowledge of weapons. The Dark Father is desperate for you to complete your task — but to what end?

Key Features

• Discover “Shells” to Suit Your Playstyle – The lost remains of defeated warriors are yours to unearth. Awaken these Mortal Shells, occupy their bodies and significantly widen your understanding of different forms of combat. Inhabit a Shell that best fits your style and utilizes their own unique mastery of skills and weapon upgrades.
• Iron Sharpens Iron – Combat is strategic and deliberate. Survival demands superior awareness, precision and instincts. You must commit your sword only when an opportunity opens. Calculate your parries to unleash devastating counterblows.
• Non-linear Campaign – Draw your own path across marsh-infested lowlands, through a gargantuan cathedral of obsidian rock, and into an ancient crypt frozen into the crest of a mountain.
• Deep Upgrade Paths – The stronger your connection to each Mortal Shell grows, the better you can harness their innate talents. Craft unique upgrades, sharpen your blade with acid, and study dark arcane abilities that imbue your attacks with supernatural devastation.
• Face Haunting Foes – Your path is guarded by desperate adversaries, devoted to inscrutable gods. Behold creatures both pitiable and grotesque, but do not let fear halt your journey. Muster your courage and face them down.
• Developed by AAA Veterans – Mortal Shell has been developed by a coalition of seasoned veterans with an unbridled passion for the soulslike genre.

Gematsu

Mortal Shell

Mortal Shell is a ruthless and deep action-RPG that tests your sanity and resilience in a shattered world

www.mortalshell.com

 

[Bladed Thesis]

"soulslike"

I hate this term so much.

 

[Saber]

Doesn't look like big deal to me, sorry.

 

[daveonezero]

I don't really like the term but I understand it. I don't like developers saying lets borrow from that but all try to do a dark fantasy world too.

I like how Ashen does it or say if a game came out like God and Monsters that used Souls game elements.

 

[LostDonkey]

Really getting tired of this genre.

 

[Mista]

Really getting tired of this genre.

I am getting tired of it and the shitty term "Soulslike"

 

[Lanrutcon]

Man, that looks quite similar. Oof.

 

[Fuz]

It has, like, souls?






I'll see myself out.

 

[bronk]

I love the term "souls like" it lets me know I need to at least check it out. Term works on my dumbass so I'm sure it works on others.

 

[Northeastmonk]

"soulslike"

I hate this term so much.

How about soulsrip or soulcopy. Soully (like sourly, but with more Soul). Soulish, Soulstyle, or “Souleftinully like”?

It actually looks interesting. I just hope it isn’t one of those “this looks amazing, but it plays like a stale piece of bread”. I thought Lords of the Fallen looked good and I didn’t care for the game. Ashen was pretty good and so was Code Vein. NiOh is probably the best -ish game in the style of Dark Souls.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I like the visual style. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this.

Of course, I felt the same about Lords of the Fallen years ago and that turned out to be pretty rubbish in the end.

 

[synchronicity]

Doesn't look like it has that same FROM magic to me, but it doesn't look bad. I'm curious anf I'll await reception.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

I am getting tired of it and the shitty term "Soulslike"

Why did you use it then

 

[Mista]

Why did you use it then

Thats how the news outlet reported it..

 

[GymWolf]

this looks very good, i dig the art deisign.

 

[waltyftmus Prime]

Looks very fucking nice.

 

[The Pleasure]

Souls like is the new doom clone.

 

[GymWolf]

 

[brap]

Just what we needed /s

 

[Gargus]

"soulslike"

I hate this term so much.

Why?

It's a simple term that gives people a general idea of what the game will be like a modeled after. It's just a word, I can't imagine hating just a descriptive word of a video game genre or sub genre. Then again I am not a contrarian.

Racing.
Roguelike.
Soulslike.
Metroidvania.
Sports.
Battle royale.
Etc.

All simple phrases and words that immediately tell me whether I would be interested or not. If I see roguelike then I am automatically out because I don't enjoy those games. I quite enjoy soulslike games and when I saw lords of the fallen called a soulslike game I tried it and I enjoy it. So for me that name serves a purpose to me.

 

[cireza]

I don't know if we need more games like these, but it looks quite impressive.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Wish it was next gen, but I'm definitely digging it

 

[JLB]

Mortal Shell.
What an ugly name for a videogame.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

I like it. Sue me.

For being a souls like it actually looks to have quite a bit of polish. I'll reserve judgement till more hands on opinions surface. Including my own.

 

[GymWolf]

I like it. Sue me.

For being a souls like it actually looks to have quite a bit of polish. I'll reserve judgement till more hands on opinions surface. Including my own.

for a team of only 15 people it looks really impressive.

 

[martino]

Like one of my playthrough with my buddies, is there multiplayer ?

 

[Fbh]

Seems rather unoriginal but the visuals are nice.

Might give it a chance if the gameplay/combat is good....which is generally where most of these fail IMO

 

[waltyftmus Prime]

Mortal Shell.
What an ugly name for a videogame.

Demon souls
Dark souls
Blood borne
Sekiro???

Game looks good though.

 

[Graciaus]

Saying soulslike is just setting yourself up for failure. Many have tried in 2d and 3d but not one has come close to being as good.

 

[ULTROS!]

Genres of this gen:
- soulslike
- roguelike
- open world
- battle royale
- indie 2d platformer

I wonder if we’ll have a soulslike roguelike open world battle royale indielike platformer?

 

[Mista]

I wonder if we’ll have a soulslike roguelike open world battle royale indielike platformer?

GOTY!

 

[sublimit]

In terms of art it looks like it tries too hard to look "dark" and edgy while it's basically the same pretendious and generic designs and themes you see in sites like Artstation being copied to death by thousands of creatively bankrupt concept artists.

However if the gameplay is solid i'm willing to give it a chance since i love the genre. Hopefully it brings some new ideas of its own.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

In terms of art it looks like it tries too hard to look "dark" and edgy while it's basically the same pretendious and generic designs and themes you see in sites like Artstation being copied to death by thousands of creatively bankrupt concept artists.

However if the gameplay is solid i'm willing to give it a chance since i love the genre. Hopefully it brings some new ideas of its own.

In term of art it looks amazing.

 

[Discusguy]

Looks cool AF. Hope they nail the controls.

 

[Lux R7]

Loved the trailer, it looks very interesting

 

[Danjin44]

To me they should less try to be like "souls" and try more to be "inspire" by them, good example is how Toyama got inspired by Crackdown to make Gravity Rush but at the same time that game plays and looks very different than Crackdown.

If you try too hard to be like FROM games then your games will always be compare to them and unless your game is actually better than actual FROM games then to people eyes it just cheap copy of FROM games.

 

[Fake]

I am getting tired of it and the shitty term "Soulslike"

Open world first person survive horror metrovania souls zeldalike game.

 

[Mista]

Open world first person survive horror metrovania souls zeldalike game.

You missed indie

 

[Kokoloko85]

I only care for Miyazaki games when it comes to ”soulslike”

 

[sublimit]

In term of art it looks amazing.

On a technical level it may look great but on a creative level it looks like something i've seen a million times before in dark fantasy concept art.

 

[johntown]

It looks really good but these games are so much more than that.

I have yet to see one of these copycat games that even comes close.

Hoping this one might be just because it looks cool.

 

[Pachi72]

This looks so freaking impressive. Almost looks like next generation.

 

[MagiusNecros]

"soulslike"

I hate this term so much.

I prefer slow burn beat em up myself.

---------------

It looks nice, especially from just 15 people however it's just more of the same taking inspiration from Dark Souls featuring sluggish stiff combat which I can't really get into.

I think the greatest things from Dark Souls tends to be atmosphere, lore and unforgiving difficulty yielding great feeling of accomplishment once you figure out how to read each and every enemy type.

However once you've played one you've played them all and they just become tedious grinds with a stat sheet.

I do however endorse more Dark Fantasy games on the market. My favorite genre.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I don’t particularly like Dark Souls but I kind of want this because of the visuals.

 

[Hayabusabruh]

Yo! This shit looks tight af!

 

[Dark Star]

I love "souls" games so yes please, more of this next gen

 

[pr0cs]

Looks really good but this genre lives and dies by gameplay

 

[Hayabusabruh]

Spoiler: GIFS

 

[Fake]

"soulslike"

I hate this term so much.

I hate metrovania even more.

 

[mortal]

I mean it sure looks nice can't deny that, but as pr0cs stated, it'll come down to how well it plays.

Calling it "soulslike" will set a certain expectation in the minds of gamers. Soulsborne games have inspired many imitators, but many have yet to exceed FromSoftware.

Assuming this isn't a very elaborate April Fools prank, I'll be keeping my eyes on this one.