The pretty good Souls-like out of developer Cold Symmetry titled Mortal Shell is being treated to a new piece of DLC on 18th August 2021 that makes it a roguelike. Named The Virtuous Cycle, it will be available for both the original game on PlayStation 4 as well as the PS5's Enhanced Edition. Check out the trailer above for more context.
Footage shows a new Shell you can encase your character in and a brand new transforming weapon. Anyone for some Bloodborne? There's also a new lute, because of course there is. The DLC will cost £6.99/$7.99. "Scattered across the land are pillars that will bestow new talents for you to inherit. With more than 100 new abilities to discover and combine together - from exotic weapon enhancements to entirely new combat maneuvers - players are free to create and develop their very own combat style."
When we reviewed the enhanced PS5 version recently, we concluded: "Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition is undeniably inspired by the likes of Dark Souls, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While the upgrade doesn’t fix every technical problem the original had, the PS5 enhancements are enough to make this version the definitive version of the game. If Demon's Souls didn’t scratch your Souls-like itch, Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition is worth a try." The Virtuous Cycle DLC will be even more of a good thing, then.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 22
I love Dark Fantasy games, and was thinking of getting in to Diablo, but this is looking more and more my speed.
Has anyone played it on PS5? Worth a purchase?
@Shepherd_Tallon Personally, I thought it was pretty rubbish. The combat is cool but the enemies themselves are just annoying, the placement of checkpoints is far too far apart and the areas aren’t very fun to explore. The bosses are the best part and the game would have been better as a boss rush game.
Oh, now this game looks more appealing to me. I'm a great fan of Fromsoft games (they're absolute best for me), but I'm very sceptical with regards to other souls like games not from From. Only Fallen order was good enough.
Now I'm looking forward to buy some complete edition or smth of this Mortal Shell.
@nessisonett 🤔 Nuts. I have a friend who is saying something similar. And that it's a little clunky to play in general.
How does this compare to a Souls-like like Ashen? That's actually the only Souls-like game I've ever completed. (Unless you count Remnant: FTA)
@Shepherd_Tallon As a genre fan, I definitely enjoyed it. The hardening mechanic makes for a unique experience. Other than that, I thought the combat was… decent. The world is cool, but not quite up to par with From. I’d say give it a try when it’s on sale, if you like the genre. A good first attempt from Cold Symmetry!
My Q is… how does this DLC make the game rogue-like. More info needed…
@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah, clunky’s the right word. Don’t get me wrong, it has some great ideas but you can tell the devs don’t quite have enough experience to fully pull the game off. I guess they nailed the completely incomprehensible plot and lore?
You can tell it was made by a small team but not in a way that hindered it. I found it can be hard as nails in places but you can usually figure out a way of swinging things in your favour. Personally I really enjoyed it, it had a cool atmosphere to it and the combat was very satisfying.
@nessisonett I did not like the enemies or the environments either. The harden mechanic was cool and I like the concept of the different shells but they do not carry the weight of the game on their own and it ended up feeling like quite the slog for me
Blah blah blah, have to leave a longer comment
Rouguelike 👎
@nessisonett 😂
I get you. I'll be giving it a miss. Thanks for the replies!
@Ear_wiG That sounds like a fair opinion.
For now I'm going to skip it, but if that DLC turns out to be something special I could be persuaded.
I ended up running threw most of the levels to get to bosses.
@Shepherd_Tallon To offer an alternative opinion, I’m a huge fan of souls-like games and absolutely loved Mortal Shell. It probably won’t be a popular opinion but I liked it more than Dark Souls tbh. It’s smaller and more contained but that’s part of its charm. It’s “clunky” only in a way that forces you to really time your attacks. The combat is slower in general (unless you’re playing with Tiel, the faster shell) but felt more immersive because of that. The environments were probably one of my favorite things about the game. It’s heavy on the atmosphere and the addition of a metal soundtrack when you fight bosses makes you feel like a real badass.
Oh boy...Souls-Like and Roguelike combined, into one game? The only thing that could make me pass on this even faster is if it had DLC making it also a Battle Royale and a MOBA. 🙄
Don't mind me, just being a smart @$$. I do hope it's enjoyable for fans of those (IMO, horrible) genres of games.
Looking forward to picking this up!
Picked it up on psn in a sale for £15. Well worth it and was my introduction into soulsborne games. Fantastic atmosphere, lovely if a little repetitive in places scenery and some interesting mechanics (your hardened shell is your block).
Great game, the swamp sucks as a beginner area, but the other areas are really something. Seems the DLC will add in powers, a bazooka, a sword/axe, a female shell, new monsters and now a collection of shrines to find. Good tide me over for bad month of PS plus.
@Kang81 Git gud 😛
Interesting twist on the gameplay, will maybe try out this game eventually.
@Lolwutz
But...but...I don't wanna! 😭😆
It took some time but this game really clicked with me. It doesn't scratch that "Dark Souls-itch" but the combat is satisfying, the items/lore were interesting, and the game had a lot of unique systems and things that impressed me. It's one of those games that you'll either really like or just flat-out hate — I don't think there's too many people who fall in-between with this one.
Then again, I usually like Souls-clones quite a bit; I was a huge fan of Team Ninja's Nioh games, as well as Deck 13's The Surge series. I even enjoyed Code Vein. The only one that I didn't like was Lords of the Fallen — admittedly, a game I didn't give much of a chance to, so I may have to try that one again sometime.
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