Analysis of Mortal Shell, the immortal skin changer

Mortal Shell Analysis for Xbox One

Xbox Series X review in its enhanced version

COLD SYMMETRY has released a next-gen update for Mortal Shell and we received a new code to analyze. Those of us who already had the game in its Xbox One version, we can upgrade to the Xbox Series S version | X for free when changing console. With that on the table I will present the new impressions of the game, in particular its gameplay, after the update to the next generation. Thus, the rest of the analysis is still valid, since the game and its proposal remain the same as when I wrote these lines.

Entry, The first thing I saw in the enhanced edition of Mortal Shell is the improved load times. Obviously, being consoles with SSD m2, the games and scenarios load in a flis. I haven’t timed it, but I don’t need it. On the other hand, there is a collection of improvements in textures and graphics in general. Even if which is sure to enter your eyes immediately and its improving to 60fps. The original game suffered from the 30 fps limitation and it was difficult to keep up with some enemies. I literally felt like I lacked real-time information to react to enemies. Now everything is much more agile and the game responds better to my actions; which is appreciated given the genre of the title.

With these brief but heavy details, I leave you the original text so that you can know the full proposition of Mortal Shell. A game shorter than its competitors, but with a powerful proposition and an excellent artistic section.

Original analysis

Last weekend I had the pleasure of analyzing Deadly shell, the new portable soul slicing game from COLD SYMMETRY and published by Playstack. In this new approach to the genre initiated by Hidetaka Miyazaki we have a robust proposition that drinks a lot of dark souls but retains its own personality. It is essentially an ode to the difficulty, to the expertise and to the management of resources in real time. Perhaps the least friendly souls of players before. Quite a feat considering that it is a job done by only 15 people.

Mortal Shell puts us in the shoes of the foundling, or at least that’s what the few who speak to us call us

. In a world where everything is unknown and danger lurks everywhere, we must uncover the truth and find a way out. It’s hard to explain the basic plot without spoiling it, so I won’t say much more. In addition, the tradition is so complex and underlying that it would take hours and hours to explore and research texts to unravel the whole story which is hidden in Mortal Shell. I love this kind of story. Ultimately, the story is a secondary point in a game full of tension and playability.

RPG yes, level system no

The foundling is an entity without a face, without a voice, or without any special characteristic other than that of possessing other bodies, the shell. These shells are scattered around the map and feature the characteristics of lost heroes who left their remains after death. If we find a new one to inhabit, we should talk about it the Sester Genessa, an immortal entity that acts as a checkpoint(the bonfire) and allows us to improve our abilities. This mysterious woman can reveal more information about the body we inhabit in exchange for the right coin, the Tar. Nothing is free in this life my friend.

Our first encounter with this divinity? is in what we might call the central or rest area. This small bastion combines various services and even merchants for our adventure. If we have multiple Shells, they will rest in the crypt so that they can switch between them at will.. Likewise, a merchant will offer us consumables, as well as the items needed to improve our character. On the other hand, in this area, we will have information in the form of memories where to find weapons and heroes lost, if we don’t have them yet.

By investing Tar in each shell, we will acquire skills characteristic of these. However, we will have to offer vestiges as the second currency for most upgrades. These objects are rarer found and saved individually by each shell. In other words, we can share the tar, but not the remnants. Each corps offers a different fighting style. For what we will not be able to increase health, stamina or strength at will. In that case, the construction of statistics is directly linked to each hero, we’ll just unlock their memories, leaving room for specific abilities or upgrades. What we can choose is which weapon to use, as they are not limited to the original body. Each weapon is upgradeable as well, unlocking special moves and improving damage in the process.

While the shells wait to be found, the weapons are another story. To claim a new weapon, we must overcome a fight against said weapon. The same entity will always challenge us, but their fighting style will be totally different, as the weapon is unique in each case. Indeed, there are few weapons, but they drastically change the style of play. Speed, impact, the ability to destabilize the enemy, are just some of the variations it offers. Well if you upgrade them we will gain access to their unique abilities which can range from powerful ice spells to health draining abilities. Each weapon is designed with the greatest care, where this feeling is transmitted to me.

The challenge is my middle name

Once we have the basics of character building and moves, it’s time to take a walk. The world of Mortal Shell doesn’t spare a. This game does not offer refillable potions

at checkpoints. To regain health, we must use abilities that can heal ourselves or draw consumables found at random. Additionally, consumables don’t heal instantly, they heal over time, and they don’t heal too much health. Not to say that they are quite rare. To finish closing the loop, the foundling doesn’t know everything around him, so we won’t know what each object is doing until we consume it at least once. This leads to unexpected situations such as self-poisoning, involuntary home teleportation, or wasted temporary upgrades. Trial and error, never better said.

Obviously we don’t have a map. Orientation is a fundamental pillar in finding dungeons and their bosses, and surviving to talk about them. Without direct healing and without too many checkpoints, managing consumables and character wear is essential. Before any dilemma on the route of a dungeon, you have to ask yourself if you can afford to explore or if it is better to get to the checkpoint soon. Death involves losing the accumulated tar, but not the remnants. In addition to having to repeat the tortuous path taken. It is interesting to face bosses knowing that there are no potions to fall back on. This is perhaps the most demanding and fair fight against a boss.

VSa matter of life and death

I have to say that if we lose all health, we will be kicked out of the shell, being able to come back to it a second time. Likewise, if we die again, and we have used any object that allows us to recover the body again, our shell will be petrified in place. If we use the lost body again, we will get back all the health and tar that we have. It can be part of the strategy of leaving a body behind to heal yourself during the confrontation. I started playing like it was a soul, but ended up resorting to more Sekiro-style strategies when dealing with bosses. It’s interesting how Mortal Shell combines all of the genre’s established mechanics and its variations..

After all, as in all souls, we have light attack, strong attack, dodge, deflection and block. Although in this case, blocking and hijacking does not consume power. The lock is based on hardening our shell like a rock to absorb damage

, but be careful that this is not the final defense either. If we exceed the possible damage, we lose our stony form. It is a useful resource for stopping hard-to-circumvent attacks or for preparing for a safe loaded attack. On the other hand, the detour is a fundamental part of the gameplay. Master the ability to Deflecting a boss’s attacks allows you to stun, steal health, and perform overwhelming counterattacks. For special moves, it is necessary to build up determination through perfect attacks or deflections.

I noticed some input lag which I’m not sure if it’s a general error or if it’s because I went for the more robust shell. To dodge with the typical cart wheel, you must initiate the action in anticipation of damage. I mean, you can’t dodge at the last minute. Also, sometimes even if he dodged, he took the hit anyway. According to the developer, a patch will be ready for release on Xbox One, so you would not have to experience these problems in the final version.

The dark beauty of a ravaged world

As I commented a few paragraphs ago, the story of Mortal Shell gets lost between the memories of the seashells, the information NPCs give us and the texts we find exploring. Depending on the body we inhabit, Genessa will treat us in one way or another, just like the merchant, etc. However, the storylines themselves are capable of saying a lot without saying a word. This is all thanks to a beautiful artistic section that combines melancholy and fantasy. While the title It is very inspired by Dark Souls, its artistic section has very different roots. You could say it’s much more western, with touches of 80s science fiction. I could not qualify art in a general way, because each dungeon offers a totally different setting. Just to discover each set and the final bosses, it’s already worth the detour.

The part where Mortal Shell doesn’t look so much like is the variety of enemies. Each zone offers 4 or 5 different monsters which, in practice, are repeated over and over. It’s a shame, because there are some really spectacular designs that are outrageous when facing 4 equal types in the same room. Even so, the detail and visual display have little to envy large productions. From the play of lights to the textures and finishes of the objects, the end result is incredible.

Tailor-made for drug addicts suffering

Finally, Mortal Shell is the most difficult and demanding approach of its kind launched by From Software over a decade ago.. A game full of mystery, challenge and fun in equal parts. While the designs may end up repeating themselves more than they should, the art as a whole more than makes up for it. Perhaps the most negative part of the title is the durationAs there are not too many bosses to fight and with a good CV in the genre, it is a game that is overcome in a few hours. Although it is quite replayable if we want to test every shell.