Mortal Shell, the first game from fledgling developer Cold Symmetry, bears more than a passing likeness to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls. Dark Souls and its follow-ups have influenced seemingly countless games that came after them, with the term “Soulslike” now in the common vernacular. Yet Mortal Shell also has its own distinct features that make it different from its inspiration.

Released in August 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Mortal Shell impressed with its stellar art design, dark imagery, and concrete sense of atmosphere. Coming from a core development team of only four people, Mortal Shells’ surprisingly compelling experience put its studio on the map. With the recent release of Mortal Shell Enhanced Edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, the game could continue to grow its audience.

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Like Demon’s Souls before it, Dark Souls is known for its grim world, and Mortal Shells’ subject matter is no less cheery, with a ghostlike player character known as the Foundling inhabiting various “shells” to co-opt their abilities. The world and character designs reflect this example of ultra-dark fantasy in a way that pays homage to Dark Souls, but its largely ambient soundtrack emphasizes this aesthetic even more than the FromSoftware games (unless playing with the heavy metal tunes provided by Rotting Christ in Mortal Shells’ Rotting Autumn update).

Mortal Shell Pays Homage To Dark Souls While Adding Unique Twists

Mechanically, Mortal Shell stays close to the expected formula. Combat is methodical, requiring players to commit to their timing. Blocking and dodging are key mechanics, and circle-strafing an opponent while waiting for the right moment to strike will be familiar to anyone who’s played a Souls game. Still, Mortal Shell carves out its own combat identity with the “hardening” mechanic.

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Instead of a shield, players can harden their shell, momentarily turning it to stone and rendering it immobile. This can even be done mid-attack, which allows for a lot of creative flexibility when defending. Parrying and riposting also make an appearance, offering the option to heal vampirically upon counterattacks – an important tactic, as Mortal Shell has no Estus Flask-like health items that refill after saving or dying. Similar to FromSoftware’s Sekiro, however, players get a second chance after death: When taking fatal damage, the Foundling is knocked out of whatever shell it’s inhabiting, allowing it to return to the shell if it can survive long enough (though this second chance only works once).

Mortal Shell mostly sticks to the script when it comes to items. Information about the world and its inhabitants appear in item descriptions, and loading screens rotate between different item descriptions – so far, so Dark Souls. Where it breaks the mold is with its Familiarity system. Items’ properties are initially unknown, but putting them to use reveals their effects. Continued use, usually to a maximum of 10 times, will eventually reveal more information and secondary effects.

Mortal Shell otherwise adheres to well-trodden Souls ground. Save points are scarce, enemies reset upon saving or death, and items are found or purchased from merchants. Experience and currency are dropped on death, awaiting retrieval by the player, and a second death will see them lost if they aren’t retrieved first. Leveling up is done through a female guide, just like the Souls games, and weapons are upgraded using limited materials.

If Mortal Shell is an homage to Dark Souls, it’s precious enough about the formula to be considered derivative. But despite this devotion, it still makes interesting choices uniquely its own, from its fundamental combat systems to its unique shell-swapping mechanic.

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About The Author


Michael Riser
(34 Articles Published)

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Michael J. Riser is an author, freelance writer, and a gaming features editor at Screen Rant. His work has appeared in such varied publications as Goomba Stomp, IGN Pakistan, UNC Charlotte’s Sanskrit, and print anthologies from Despumation, Solarcide, and Pantheon Magazine. He has formerly been the managing editor of Alloutgames.com and the indie games editor at Goomba Stomp. An Asian Studies and Religious Studies graduate of CSU Chico, he has lived in Japan, hunting through the narrow aisles of game stores from Osaka to Tokyo, and has lived in the cloisters of a Buddhist monastery in Ningbo, China. He now lives in California with his wife, a rescue dog, and a mischievous Hallowe’en cat.

You can find him occasionally ranting at Bookruptcy.com, and can email him directly at michael.r(at)screenrant(dot)com.

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