An ambitious sequel to Cold Symmetry and Playstack‘s Mortal Shell, the world of Mortal Shell II is expanding its Soulslike formula with an interconnected open world.
See whether Mortal Shell II makes a lasting impact with our review…
Mortal Shell II Review
Beginning with a flower festival, Mortal Shell II has players as the Guest of Honor – with everyone happy to see you.
Players are the chosen Harbinger, the one to help Mether collect all of her Ova (eggs). Revered as a god in these lands, there is a whole temple dedicated to helping find and protect them.
The more Ova returned, the stronger the Harbinger gets – and the more experience one is granted.
While featuring a great narrative, Mortal Shell II’s many smaller stories kept me going to the very end.
For instance, Mortal Shell II tells of a big frog guy who just wants to find a wife. While he keeps getting sick, players will help him in his quest for both a remedy and a wife.
Being mindful of spoilers, stories like those kept me coming back more than the Mether and her minions throughout its approximately 30 hours of play.
While these stories are great, Mortal Shell II’s comabt is some of the best seen this year.
It comes down to impact: Mortal Shell II possesses the rare ability to feel every hit.
I’d go so far as to say Mortal Shell II sets a new gold standard for combat!
Mortal Shell II allows players to fight with melee, ranged weapons, and Shell abilities.
That being said, Mortal Shell II starts off with the most GOATed weapon combo in game history:
A Greatsword and a shotgun.
Shooting my first enemy in Mortal Shell, when I thought:
“That’s like DOOM’s shotgun!”
I knew I was in for a good time with Mortal Shell II.
Getting into a fight in Mortal Shell II, melee attacks build Resolve. One can use Adrenaline to use ranged attacks, or alternatively use Shell skills.
The Shell Eredrim serves as my main, largely due to the shoulder charge that breaks enemies’ guard and closes the distance.
Each Shell in Mortal Shell II has a different ability for different play styles.
Me? I’m just a bruiser, so I pick the big heavy armor guy with the charge and the big sword.
While there are supposedly eight Shells in all, I only had six by the end of my playthrough.
On top of Shell customization, Mortal Shell II also features Tarstones akin to charms. However, these Tarstones also grant new skills and buff basic attacks.
My shotgun in particular utilized the Barrage Stone, which launched a shotgun blast right above the enemy. Combined with the Tarstone that makes enemies explode upon death, and tell me Mortal Shell II doesn’t feel like DOOM.
Want to rip and tear even more? Mortal Shell II’s Tarstones can also be upgraded.
Mortal Shell II also places weight on its in-game economy, something I always keep an eye on.
Having so much gold worried me at first, but oh boy was I wrong.
A number of basic upgrades t weapons and Tarstones in Mortal Shell II can be had for cheap, but maxing them out easily costs over 10k – plus materials.
This same principle also applies to Mortal Shell II’s leveling system. Those sticking around the same area won’t level fast.
Rather, going to new and harder areas will have EXP double or even triple, allowing one to level up if needed.
Put simply, Mortal Shell II’s grind the difficulty match up very well.
When it comes to Mortal Shell II’s world, it’s Dark Fantasy through and through – denizens must hate living here.
Around every corner of Mortal Shell II is some monster or weird humanoid eager to rip you apart.
However, sometimes looks can be deceiving….and sometimes a hunchbacked old lady with a broom can bust out a Liu Kang bicycle kick.
Exploration is very rewarding with gold, EXP, new Tarstones, weapons, and even Shells.
The combination of good combat, fun exploration, and interesting side stories really pulls everything together in Mortal Shell II.
It’s just unfortunate players can’t see each Shell’s stats in Mortal Shell II – there’s no strength, HP, or anything of the sort.
Conversely, when I hit an enemy with the same weapon as Eredrim and Tiel, the damage difference is noticeable.
There are seemingly some stat differences…
Mortal Shell II also tasks players with manually marking completed dungeons on the map. A cool idea, but not all have a clear “you beat it, now warp back to the entrance” icon.
When scouring the map for the last few Ova, you really start to question if you completed certain spots…
Currently sitting in my top five releases of the year, fans of gritty Soulslike action RPGs will absolutely love Mortal Shell II.
Mortal Shell II Review
Reviewed On: PC (A digital code was provided)
Release Date: August 20, 2026
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (via Steam)
Developer: Cold Symmetry
Publisher: Playstack
Aggregate Scores: Metacritic / OpenCritic / CriticDB
Review Policy | Scoring Policy | Meet the Reviewer
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