Played for a little while, got the first gland and returned it through the mist/fog that happens. Game a little easy imo, I've only died once. Not sure when/if I'll come back to the game as it didn't grab me like DS/BB/Sekiro but I like this genre of games enough to atleast try other games that come out in it.
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Mortal Shell |OT| These Shells Crack Twice ['Enhanced Edition' Now Out On PS5/XBS]
- Thread starter Dancrane212
- Start date
- OT
What bug? I felt there was something "off" with the hardening on PS4, which combined with the atrocious load times made me quickly drop the game.
PS4 performance analysis
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A few people have said they found it easy, which boggles my mind. I've played all the main Souls and Soulslikes but this has been kicking my arse, might just be understanding the combination or parties, dodges and harden but it's taking some time to adjust for me.
I've played the game for 1 hour on the PS4 Pro, I'm loving the combat but the loading times are atrocious for a game that expects you to die a lot as a learning process, and that alone makes me want to wait for a future patch before touching this again.
It was quite the experience for a first try:
It was quite the experience for a first try:
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I need help:
I beat the boss in the obsidian looking area and need to take the elevator down to the temple-entrance.
The elevator is already down tho and I don't know how to call it back up. And ideas?
I beat the boss in the obsidian looking area and need to take the elevator down to the temple-entrance.
The elevator is already down tho and I don't know how to call it back up. And ideas?
I hated the beta as well.
And I just finished the full game. Everything you disliked from the beta is here, it just falls a bit into the background when you get to bite into the things the game does well. This is a Souls game where builds are implicit in 4 shells (character types) you find, and levels focus on tight encounters in relatively straight-forward lead-ups to 4 bosses. It's a short game, even if you're taking it slow, and it's at its absolute best when you've become comfortable with the combat (not really possible to do in the beta, or rather, unlikely to happen in that short amount of time) and have found a shell that fits your playstyle.
All said I'd give the game a 7. It's better than Hellpoint in my opinion (a game I'd give a 5, or so), and better than Surge 2 (a game I'd give a 6). It's about on par with Surge 1 in terms of the amount of fun I had, though if you're looking for the breadth and depth of that game you won't find it here.
This is an easy recommend for someone looking for a Souls fix wrapped in some polish (it looks surprisingly good, even though the decor is drab and boring sometimes), and mechanically it's sound, even if there's not a ton of depth.
As a side-note; it is one of the easiest Souls-appeal games in a long time. I died 0 times on every boss sans the last, and on that boss only once. The initial impression you'll get though is that it's very hard -- encounters scale to 'easy' *very* quickly after the first few damage upgrades, though as some posters here have indicated it is possible to pick the "wrong path" and make the game way harder on yourself. The bosses being so easy is kind of a downer, *but* they have great designs and cool move sets.
Look up the recommended play order and enjoy if you can snag it at 20. 30 is a tad steep, right now, considering the runtime (7 hr 33 min for me and I took things pretty damn slowly). An aggressive player with familiarity of Souls games could nail this one down in ~5 hours should they get lucky in finding their way.
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Beat the game. Took my time I thought and clocked in at 7h 40m. Not bad for a first (likely only) run through.
Found myself overall flat on the game. Combat is great, even if the overall weapon choices feel kind of random. Stuck with the starting weapon and had it fully leveled after boss 1. This left the rest of the game's difficulty much lower. Not that the difficulty was too high to begin with.
Overall I think it does visuals a class above From Soft in a very western AAA way. But it lacks the feel, punch and authenticity of Dark Souls.
I would recommend it to a friend who is a fan or wants to know where a good intro point is. But I just feel whelmed after being so excited for this from the reveal. May revisit in the future but for now I'm glad I played it but its going on the shelf.
Found myself overall flat on the game. Combat is great, even if the overall weapon choices feel kind of random. Stuck with the starting weapon and had it fully leveled after boss 1. This left the rest of the game's difficulty much lower. Not that the difficulty was too high to begin with.
overall the bosses felt me. The born twice boss's aesthetic was cool but their fighting styles were nothing to write home about.
If you are gonna make a souls style game, I think the boss and enemy design are more important than this game leads you to believe.
If you are gonna make a souls style game, I think the boss and enemy design are more important than this game leads you to believe.
Overall I think it does visuals a class above From Soft in a very western AAA way. But it lacks the feel, punch and authenticity of Dark Souls.
I would recommend it to a friend who is a fan or wants to know where a good intro point is. But I just feel whelmed after being so excited for this from the reveal. May revisit in the future but for now I'm glad I played it but its going on the shelf.
Finally bought MS today, and put about 45 minutes in to it.
First impression is that this is an unabashed Souls rip-off, but with just enough different that it's not out-and-out plagiarism. I'm a Souls nut, so I'm enjoying what I'm seeing. I like the exploration that's being presented so far.
First impression is that this is an unabashed Souls rip-off, but with just enough different that it's not out-and-out plagiarism. I'm a Souls nut, so I'm enjoying what I'm seeing. I like the exploration that's being presented so far.
Got this for free today on PC from a friend; it seems pretty good control- and concept-wise, but it's lacking direction a little bit right now. The forest you start in is very confusing and samey looking, without something to help you visually navigate. I beat the first boss and I'm not sure if I'm progressing or just going in circles. Still, it runs just fine on my system and seems interesting. So far I'd put Hellpoint above it, but we'll see once I can start leveling up.
Interesting how different everyone plays this. I see all these people beating it in 7 hours. I'm terrible at Souls like games so I'm taking this very slow. Learning the main area and getting the hang of the shells and weapons (which I sprinted there and back on all of them). I'm just now familiar enough with the starting area that I've gone to the shrine of ash and just about at the boss. And I've been playing about 7 hours.
I finished the game this morning, been playing it on the PS4 Pro. It took me 13 hours to finish. I think it's a good game, I do love some aspects of the art and sound design, but overall it feels a bit unfinished in parts and definitely a much smaller scope than a Souls game. I basically only really played as Solomon with the basic sword so I think I'm going to play thru it again using more shells and weapons.
Finished the game yesterday with less than 10h of playtime:
Played the whole game as Tiel, with the first available weapon (Hallowed Sword) and the Ballistazooka, and i followed this order of locations: Shrine > Seat > Crypt. Died once against Crucix, once against Tarsus, and maybe 7-8 times throughout the world.
Positives:
+ The characters models (the shells look outstanding, as do the npcs and enemies).
+ The aesthetic and art design.
+ Quality of some animations.
Negatives:
- Lack of variety, from enemies to animations (the shared jump attack between the Putty Patrollers and the Hallowed Sword was a bit jarring) and world assets, among other things.
- The layout of some locations / level design (the Eternal Narthex comes to mind, which looked to me like it was made on Dreams or something).
- Gameplay jank (especially when fighting some bosses, like Tarsus and his low quality auto-aim).
- Enemies appearing from thin air or falling from infinity when you have a gland, which prompted me to just run past everything when returning to Fallgrim.
It was ok overall (definitely a good first attempt by the studio), but the scope is much, much, much, much smaller than a Soul game, and it shows.
PS: I laughed hard when i tried to cheese the Sesters while climbing the Dim Gate, but no dice, they didn't want to fall into the void.
Positives:
+ The characters models (the shells look outstanding, as do the npcs and enemies).
+ The aesthetic and art design.
+ Quality of some animations.
Negatives:
- Lack of variety, from enemies to animations (the shared jump attack between the Putty Patrollers and the Hallowed Sword was a bit jarring) and world assets, among other things.
- The layout of some locations / level design (the Eternal Narthex comes to mind, which looked to me like it was made on Dreams or something).
- Gameplay jank (especially when fighting some bosses, like Tarsus and his low quality auto-aim).
- Enemies appearing from thin air or falling from infinity when you have a gland, which prompted me to just run past everything when returning to Fallgrim.
It was ok overall (definitely a good first attempt by the studio), but the scope is much, much, much, much smaller than a Soul game, and it shows.
PS: I laughed hard when i tried to cheese the Sesters while climbing the Dim Gate, but no dice, they didn't want to fall into the void.
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Resolution details and performance analysis
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PS4 Pro vs Xbox One X vs Xbox One S via VG Tech:
We also have resolution details for all platforms thanks to their work:
PS4: 900p
PS4 Pro: dynamic resolution from 2133x1200 to 2560x1440 (reconstructed when dipping below 1440p). Renders at 900p when supersampling is disabled when outputting at 1080p
Xbox One X: dynamic resolution from 2560x1440 to 3200x1800 (reconstructed when dipping below 1800p).
Xbox One S: dynamic resolution from 1152x648 to 1600x900 (reconstructed when dipping below 900p).
All run at 30fps.
We also have resolution details for all platforms thanks to their work:
PS4: 900p
PS4 Pro: dynamic resolution from 2133x1200 to 2560x1440 (reconstructed when dipping below 1440p). Renders at 900p when supersampling is disabled when outputting at 1080p
Xbox One X: dynamic resolution from 2560x1440 to 3200x1800 (reconstructed when dipping below 1800p).
Xbox One S: dynamic resolution from 1152x648 to 1600x900 (reconstructed when dipping below 900p).
All run at 30fps.
Finished the game and didn't like it that much. The map/level design is awful (second zone with the teleportation is one of the worst shit I have seen in recent games), the enemies are just placed randomly without rhyme or season, like "here is a big guy, next room are two and the one after that three etc. At least make try to make it somewhat interesting. The constant back tracking is boring as hell too, I did just run past everything without fighting.
Finally into the swing of this now, I think I was hitting the wrong areas first to be honest.
I'm now at the Obsidian place which looks awesome, have Eredrim (heavily upgraded) and the Hammer and Chisel which has improved my experience significantly.
Still have no idea how people were clearing this in ~6 hours. I've spent at least three wandering the overworld and getting battered by the combat system.
I'm now at the Obsidian place which looks awesome, have Eredrim (heavily upgraded) and the Hammer and Chisel which has improved my experience significantly.
Still have no idea how people were clearing this in ~6 hours. I've spent at least three wandering the overworld and getting battered by the combat system.
It's decent.
I'd put it below stuff like Nioh 1/2 and Surge 2 but it's still fun.
Length wise it's pretty short, you can see and do everything in about ~10 hours or so, so on the shorter side of Souls-like.
Big issue is that despite the short length there is a lot of repetition and you'll see the same enemies over and over.
Edit: Also if you're looking for a game to make cool builds in... There isn't really much here.
Okay, I must say I didn't enjoy the beta but I just gave up cause the game seeemed slow.
Now I get how to use harden properly and I got parry and it's really fun. I like the grim style and animations etc. Locations aren't interesting though. But from all the "AA"/indie souls games, this is I think my favourite.
Now I get how to use harden properly and I got parry and it's really fun. I like the grim style and animations etc. Locations aren't interesting though. But from all the "AA"/indie souls games, this is I think my favourite.
Yes it's more than decent. The Harden mechanic make it worth it.
10 hours.
There should be a little button by it that you can press. Or try dropping while hardened of you have that ability.
They are live on GAME (UK) Gamespot (US/IT) and other retailers.
Ultrawide patch is being worked on along with a hdr patch too.
Just started playing and I'm enjoying it so far but I'm really confused... Which I guess is kinda the point for that type of game lol.
I assume that if you die without getting back to your corpse you lose your tar just like in the Souls game?
What is the second currency that you get... Having a brain fart and can't remember the name right now but the thing on the right of the Tar counter in the corner of the screen?
Also I got, I think, the first item for the second shell? (picked up the thing under some kind of burning cross or whatever)... I guess I just need to keep exploring before I can start using it?
I assume that if you die without getting back to your corpse you lose your tar just like in the Souls game?
What is the second currency that you get... Having a brain fart and can't remember the name right now but the thing on the right of the Tar counter in the corner of the screen?
Also I got, I think, the first item for the second shell? (picked up the thing under some kind of burning cross or whatever)... I guess I just need to keep exploring before I can start using it?
Yes. If you die and then die again without retrieving your previous shell, you lose your tar.
Glimpses. They are dropped by enemies and found as items throughout the world. It is used primarily to upgrade your shells.
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Finally got back from a trip and bought the game, and played it. So far, it's pretty cool. I was testing my skills on the beast outside Sester Gennessa near the bear traps, testing parry and learning the patterns and killed it.
It definitely scratches that Souls itch. It also runs pretty decently on my GTX 1050. I also appreciate that it runs natively with PS4 controller support on PC, and even supports PS4 button prompts. Not enough developers include it.
I'm enjoying the game. Even though when watching videos, the animations look clunky, but when playing, I don't notice it as much as I thought. I like the parry mechanic, and I've been using this a lot more than harden. Need to practice harden more.
So far I'm digging it. I don't mind if it's copying a lot from Souls. It will be a nice appetizer until Elden Ring comes.
It definitely scratches that Souls itch. It also runs pretty decently on my GTX 1050. I also appreciate that it runs natively with PS4 controller support on PC, and even supports PS4 button prompts. Not enough developers include it.
I'm enjoying the game. Even though when watching videos, the animations look clunky, but when playing, I don't notice it as much as I thought. I like the parry mechanic, and I've been using this a lot more than harden. Need to practice harden more.
So far I'm digging it. I don't mind if it's copying a lot from Souls. It will be a nice appetizer until Elden Ring comes.
Any parry tips? I've been using harden a ton but rarely use parry. It's like I can get it 20% of the time.
Yeah, i realized that on my third attempt after using the teleporter and dying from trying to jump down on a very solid looking, but actually no-collision-enabled block of obsidian. Lost all the tar and insight from completing the whole dungeon and the Boss in one run. Fun times!!! :-)
Not sure I can say any tips, but there's a sweet spot in the arc of an enemy's attack. You can't do it too early or too late, like a Souls parry. On that particular monster, you can parry his short swing, not his big leap, and on occasion I would mess up. I would just trigger it so the character animation has the parry item up about when the enemy's attack turns to a downward swing. I will have to study it some more, but I think that's the sweet spot.
Depending on the weapon, running then hard attack will make you do a jumping strike. But no, there's not a dedicated jump.
I'm in the Shrine of Ash now, and man these enemies take a while to kill, even with two weapon upgrades on the mace. Shield assholes and the other knights remind me of Heide Knights in that their attacks are annoying to parry because they go from 0 to 100-mph swings in half a second. And the parry timing is weird and doesn't always seem to work even when you have the resolve to do it.
Doing the light-light-heavy smackdown attack with the mace has helped a lot but I'm not a fan of how long it takes to get through groups of enemies you've killed before, or annoying things like the fire cauldron guys.
Doing the light-light-heavy smackdown attack with the mace has helped a lot but I'm not a fan of how long it takes to get through groups of enemies you've killed before, or annoying things like the fire cauldron guys.
I've reached the Sester Genessa further in the Obsidian place (not the first one here, but the second deeper in, with two big hammer dudes nearby). So far, I do have some complaints. I agree with people who complain about the level design, as it's not so great, and you are just wandering around in a mess of enemies and paths to eventually find the way. Also, the maps are too large for how slow and clunky your character walks. This is starting to get a little bit tedious.
The combat is still pretty fun, I've been using the hammer and chisel, and upgraded the parry item. I upgraded the sword but the hammer is better than the sword, imo. I think I missed one shell back in the forest, or rather, there was one of those soul guys but without a shell, but I never found it again, and the traversal is a bit tedious so I don't really want to go back and find it again. I do have the good armored shell though, and I've just been using that. I'm probably going to stick with this shell for now and upgrade since tar and glimms are pretty hard to come by for now.
I'm somewhat iffy on the game now, I'd probably give it a 6/10 so far. Needs more tweaks for control and enemy placement I think. But overall a pretty good first effort for the small studio. The game feels pretty bare bones though, and they don't quite hit the right balance that Souls games strike in terms of traversal, enemy placement, map design, safe spaces, and atmosphere. I'll continue playing more tomorrow.
The combat is still pretty fun, I've been using the hammer and chisel, and upgraded the parry item. I upgraded the sword but the hammer is better than the sword, imo. I think I missed one shell back in the forest, or rather, there was one of those soul guys but without a shell, but I never found it again, and the traversal is a bit tedious so I don't really want to go back and find it again. I do have the good armored shell though, and I've just been using that. I'm probably going to stick with this shell for now and upgrade since tar and glimms are pretty hard to come by for now.
I'm somewhat iffy on the game now, I'd probably give it a 6/10 so far. Needs more tweaks for control and enemy placement I think. But overall a pretty good first effort for the small studio. The game feels pretty bare bones though, and they don't quite hit the right balance that Souls games strike in terms of traversal, enemy placement, map design, safe spaces, and atmosphere. I'll continue playing more tomorrow.
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It's been a common complaint about the overworld. It just doesn't seem to flow very naturally, the dungeons / levels are generally more straightforward.
They are annoying, but if you harden while they do their shield attack, it breaks and they become vulnerable (they are weaker than they look).
Yeah, got past them. Now I'm stuck at the big boss for that zone.
I know what to do but I've been hitting my head against it for over an hour now.
I've played original release: King's Field, KF 2, KF 3, KF 4, Shadow Tower, Shadow Tower Abyss, Demons Souls, Bloodborne, Dark Souls 1-3, completed them all, and it took THIS GAME to make me realize how bad I am at actually playing these!
granted for almost all of thee above, I co-op frequently. But still, I'm struggling really bad at mortal shell - even the beginning, ha. I can't even get Grisha down 1/4. My brain just doesn't seem able to balance harden, parry and roll all at once. I'm stumbling over my defense options so much I just get hit on the simplest moves.
im terrible.
I either need a range weapon,
Something faster, a shield or I'm stopping ha!
on startup gear and I hate this big sword
granted for almost all of thee above, I co-op frequently. But still, I'm struggling really bad at mortal shell - even the beginning, ha. I can't even get Grisha down 1/4. My brain just doesn't seem able to balance harden, parry and roll all at once. I'm stumbling over my defense options so much I just get hit on the simplest moves.
im terrible.
I either need a range weapon,
Something faster, a shield or I'm stopping ha!
on startup gear and I hate this big sword
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