If I got too greedy and over-committed to an attack, I could harden in a pinch to prevent certain death. I am susceptible to cocking things up in the heat of battle, so this free invincibility button proved exceptionally useful. What’s genuinely astonishing is the way you can harden at any point during a swing, and as the effect melts away you’ll follow through so naturally, so darn smoothly. At the press of a button your character will turn to stone, preventing any incoming damage and even staggering smaller enemies who collide with your rocky carapace. The most interesting highlight here, though, and one which is brilliantly executed, is the Hardening. Again, it has a wonderful crunch, a delicious punch you instinctively time your nod and awkward violence "Ooosh" noise to. Successfully parry an enemy just before they connect and you’ll perform a devastating riposte that deals huge damage. There’s an immensely satisfying heft to your movements, in the way your character hoists their weapon in the air and sends it crashing with a thunk into flesh, and in the crackle and rattle of your armour as you narrowly backstep a whirling hammer blow. This extends to combat as a whole, which is a shame as it does a few things exceptionally well. Sure, you can swap between them with special items, but there are only four in total, and once you’ve strapped yourself in there’s no loosening the buckles. Even if none of those stories really make sense to me, it presents a neat sense of discovery which lore nerds will relish piecing together.Įach Shell feels like it fits a certain playstyle, and you’ll soon adopt a favourite, but you’re somewhat bottlenecked by the archetypes. Hand Sister Genessa some Tar or Glimpses, the game’s bizarre main currencies, and you’ll gradually transform, for example, your glove into a power fist, while learning a bit more about whoever had the gear before you. Hop into them and they’ll give you a basic health boost or stamina bump, but to fully unlock their potential you’ll need to learn more about their original owner. These are suits of armour previously worn by another unfortunate soul, each with their own unique traits. Scattered throughout the world are four Shells which your pale, Gollum-y self can inhabit. Where Mortal Shell really sets itself apart is in this upgrade system. Chat with her to set your spawn point, respawn all the enemies (what else), and spend your winnings on upgrades and the like. Checkpoints are few and far between so there’s always a lingering sense of anxiety as you progress, and that familiar wave of relief when you eventually stumble into a bonf- I mean, Sister Genessa, a sweetheart whose mask lights on fire when you wake her up. Oh, you’ll find said health bar coupled with a green stamina bar, of course. You explore a dark fantasy world littered with enemies that’ll batter your health bar to a pulp in a couple of swings. This is an action RPG where you control a nameless being that looks a bit like the person from Crysis, but if you let them reduce in the pan for twenty minutes. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. But scrape away all the spooky-big-words dressing and you’ve got a fairly strong Soulslike beneath the gubbins. Expect a big toad NPC to blurt out something like "Apocryphal intestines lie in the heart of darkness!" while you’re being smacked in the bum by a crazed villager wielding a lute. Mortal Shell tries desperately hard to emulate its hero Dark Souls, while also attempting to carve out its own weird niche.
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