

One of my favorite moves would be putting my character into a heavy thrust and then hardening. It’s an exciting ability because you can play with the timing of its activation. It gives the ability to make step-back three-pointers absorb all damage on the next hit. What Mortal Shell uses instead is something called “harden.” Harden turns your character into a statue. Something that separates Mortal Shell from other Souls-likes is the inability to block on demand. You take the Foundling through this tutorial limbo and face off several times against someone named Hadern (who, as an aside, seems like a significant character yet gets almost zero definition). Unlike purgatory, which more people might be familiar with, there is no suffering. Limbo is a place that is neither heaven nor hell. For those of you with a primary Catholic education like myself, a lapsed Catholic, it made me think of the concept of Limbo. The game starts with your Foundling in a tutorial world. Still, I appreciate the occasional bluntness in naming. It takes place in a fallen kingdom known as Fallgrim, which is certainly on the nose. Much like Dark Souls, Mortal Shell hides its story in lore and vague statements by NPCs.

That is not a criticism, but something I noted as I played. I enjoy Dark Souls because your character’s context is pretty clearly established, usually with a brief line of dialogue or an opening cutscene. After spending time with the game and only vaguely paying attention to the lore, I’m still not entirely sure what that means. Mortal Shell is a small-budget, small team Souls-Like game in which you play as a Foundling. While perusing the Playstation Store for new releases, I noticed that the “Enhanced Edition” had been released for the PS5. I had seen it played on FightinCowboy’s channel back in 2020. I picked up Mortal Shell mid-way through a Souls-Run that started last year with The Surge 2.
