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Soulslike games tend to be quite difficult, demanding patience and knowledge of your often unforgiving opponents.
But every now and then, a Soulslike comes along that lets you lessen the challenge. For example, Lies of P introduced difficulty options fairly recently via a patch.
And as it turns out, Mortal Shell 2 will let you take things a little easier as well. The fast-approaching sequel — it's out in just over a week, on the 20th August — features an array of difficulty-tweaking items, which you can use to suit your needs.
In particular, the Slayer Seal lowers the game's overall challenge by making it so your executions restore health and resolve, "among other things". This promotes a more aggressive style of play, where you can keep your health topped up even when you're making mistakes.
However, there is a catch. Equipping the Slayer Seal will disable Trophies on that save file, suggesting that it really does throw the game's balance out of whack. Still, it could be useful if you don't care about digital trinkets, or if you want to blitz through a more casual playthrough.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the ominously named Gloombound Flame can be used to switch the entire adventure to 'Night Mode', making enemies stronger across the board.
This higher difficulty apparently has unique rewards and events, so it could be well worth looking into on a second run — or a first, if you're a glutton for punishment.
Developer Cold Symmetry says there are more difficulty-altering items to discover, including accessories that change the behaviour of core combat mechanics, like parrying. It'll be interesting to see just how deep this stuff goes.
How does all of this sound to you? Do you like it when games offer more dynamic solutions to difficulty, or would you rather just have predefined settings? Don't disable Trophies in the comments section below.