Mortal Shell 2 arrives as an expanded soulslike sequel on the PlayStation 5, offering a focused 30-hour campaign across multiple biomes and dungeons. A recent review published by Push Square details what players can expect from the sequel's open world, mechanics, and technical performance.
Quick Facts
- Platform: PlayStation 5 (tested across standard PS5 and PS5 Pro)
- Runtime: Approximately 30 hours to complete
- Core Premise: Players control a godling named Lavendar (the Harbinger) tasked with collecting the fertile Ova of the Mether.
Combat and Gameplay Findings
Push Square praised the sequel for shaking up traditional soulslike formulas. Most notably, Mortal Shell 2 discards the stamina meter, allowing for aggressive attack strings alongside a break meter that limits blocking. Weapons feature a heavy physical weight and pair with ranged sidearms like shotguns and mini-guns, plus Tarstones that attach custom perks.
The core class system relies on eight different shells scattered throughout the world. Each shell—such as Tiel, Proxima, or Gragu—brings distinct abilities and unlockable skill trees. Review findings note that skill points can be refunded at no cost using Glimpses, letting players freely experiment with different playstyles.
Strengths and Criticisms
Review highlights praise the game's heavy-metal aesthetic, diverse enemy variety (including accordion-playing hags and demonic sheep), and streamlined RPG progression. Technical performance on PS5 and PS5 Pro runs smoothly in both Quality (30fps) and Performance (60fps) modes, though DualSense support is limited to basic rumbles.
However, the review points out a few late-game drawbacks. The final stretch requires collecting a mandatory number of Ova, leading to frustrating backtracking if dungeons were not manually marked on the map. Additionally, heavy exploration can leave players overpowered by the end, reducing the final boss challenge.