Mortal Shell is developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack, and they have made it so that owners of the core version of Mortal Shell can upgrade for free to the enhanced version for Playstation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. Mortal Shell Enhanced edition is here and will deliver 4K resolutions, faster load times, and 60 frames per second gameplay.

Starting the game as an empty vessel in a tutorial-like dream-space, I quickly learned the basics of dodging, light attack, heavy attack, locking on, and the sweet and essential ability ‘harden’, an ability that turns you to stone, and when used strategically is a game-changer. Upon completing this short section, your empty vessel enters a dark, foggy, twisted world and is asked to do the bidding of the character, Dark Father.

You are soon tasked with travelling the tattered landscapes while tracking down hidden sanctums and their followers, where you will encounter numerous enemies. There are four main locations within Mortal Shell, and each area will hold challenging encounters that reward the player with new weapons. as you explore the worlds, you will encounter empty shells that your character can possess, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

Your starting weapon is the hallowed sword. It is good for a balanced combat style being able to have speed and still hit hard. There are also some slightly less obvious weapons, such as the hammer and chisel. As the name suggests, this is a hammer and chisel, and it is more suited to a speedy attack style. You can manage to get a lot of hits in before needing to back away, but the damage output is very low.

The Martyr’s blade a two-handed sword with great reach and damage output, but it is slower than the basic sword. On the plus side, it can hit multiple bunched-up targets. Last but not least is the Smoldering mace; a war mace that has a fire effect. This is the slowest of the weapons but in turn, it hits the hardest and I found the best time to use it was during boss fights.

The gameplay is challenging so there will be deaths… so many deaths. Thanks to the new load times though, you can respawn quickly and get straight back into the action. Surprisingly the controls were a breeze to pick up, though some buttons like (LB) parry and (X) kick will only work once you find the parry item, or unlock kick from the skill tree. Even the menus were simple to navigate and figure out.

Mortal Shell looked great last year, but with the enhanced edition there are subtle changes I didn’t notice right away, like the details on the character models, both in and out of shells, and dark areas light by fire seemed to be more natural-looking than I could recall from playing the base version. The Seat of Infinity area looks amazing. It always had the best lighting in the game, but seeing how much has changed with the enhanced edition made me love that painful area just that little bit more.

The environmental sounds such as swamps, waterfall, creaking dilapidated towers were all very atmospheric. The sound effects used for footsteps, howls, screams, and whizzing of arrows had me constantly on alert.

My only real flaw in Mortal Shell Enhanced Edition is the exclusion of a map. It wouldn’t even have to be a minimap, just one in your inventory would have been nice. As much as I enjoyed being lost, dying meant I wasn’t too sure as to where or how I got there, or how I needed to get back to retrieve my shell. Picking up items is 50/50, as you’re never sure what anything does until you use it. I inadvertently poisoned myself by eating a toadstool for example, but on the other side of this, you can build up immunity if you eat carefully…

I loved this game when it came out in 2020, and I love it even more since it’s been enhanced. While it is not for everyone, Dark Souls players will find it familiar, as will people who are gluttons for punishment.

Written by: Shane Walsh