Mortal Shell

Mortal Shell is an action role-playing video game developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. The game was released on 18 August 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. A remastered version titled Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition was released on 4 March 2021 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and on 18 November 2021 for Amazon Luna. A port for Nintendo Switch with all the DLC included titled Complete Edition was released on 19 December 2022. It received positive to mixed reviews from critics and has sold one million units as of September 2023.

Mortal Shell
Developer(s)Cold Symmetry
Publisher(s)Playstack
EngineUnreal Engine 4[1]
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, PS4, Xbox One
  • 18 August 2020
  • Enhanced Edition
  • PS5, Xbox Series X/S
  • 4 March 2021
  • Luna
  • 18 November 2021
  • Complete Edition
  • Nintendo Switch
  • 19 December 2022
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Mortal Shell is a third-person action role-playing game focused on melee combat, where players control one of several "shell" characters with different playstyles.[2]

Development
A photograph of the band Rotting Christ performing in 2015
Rotting Christ created the soundtrack for the "Rotting Autumn" update.

The game was developed by American indie developer Cold Symmetry.[2] It was published by Playstack on 18 August 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[3][4] "Rotting Autumn", an update adding new shell shades (skins), a new quest, a photo mode, and an alternative soundtrack by the Greek black metal band Rotting Christ, was released in October 2020.[5]

The developers created Mortal Shell as they thought there was a gap in the market for video games evoking deeper emotional experiences. They were influenced by the 2011 game Dark Souls, similarly creating a setting with a dark atmosphere and populated with characters giving players cryptic information, and designing gameplay based around challenging melee combat, but still intended to change things up and create their own take on the concept. While some changes to the Dark Souls formula were creatively driven, such as giving players only a limited amount of consumable health items to encourage use of the health-leeching mechanic, compared to Dark Souls' Estus flasks, other changes came from the limitations of being a smaller developer: for example, they could not develop the same amount of armours, weapons and character builds, and instead developed four "shells" with different play styles and backstories.[2]

An early prototype of the game, titled Dungeonhaven, was focused on procedural generation; the developers moved away from this, feeling that it was antithetical to the Dark Souls series of games, and instead opted for designing the game's areas by hand, wanting players to feel like they were going on an adventure, traversing a space that made sense as a setting.[2]

A remastered version of the game titled Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S was released on 4 March 2021, and was made available for Amazon Luna on 18 November 2021.[6][7]

Reception

Mortal Shell was met by generally positive reviews on all platforms, according to the review aggregator Metacritic,[8][9][10] except on PlayStation 5, which received mixed reviews.[15] The game was nominated for Best Debut Game at The Game Awards 2020.[16]

Reviewers frequently compared the game to playing Dark Souls for the first time.[17][18][19]

GameSpot awarded the game an 8/10, saying: "Cold Symmetry's budget action-RPG is a love letter to FromSoftware's work, but Mortal Shell's take on similar ideas feels aimed at those who struggle to get through Soulsborne games."[20]

Sales

By March 2021, Mortal Shell had sold over 500,000 units worldwide.[21] By September 2023, the game had sold one million units.[22]

References
  1. Thang, Jimmy (September 25, 2020). "Mortal Shell embodies how a small studio can punch above its weight class". Unreal Engine. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. O'Donoghue, Niall (16 November 2020). "Finding the Soul of Soulslikes – the devs riffing on the genre". VG247. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. Tack, Daniel (5 August 2020). "Mortal Shell Arrives On August 18". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. Sheehan, Gavin (18 November 2020). "The Game Awards Releases The Complete 2020 Nominees List". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. Bolding, Jonathan (24 October 2020). "Mortal Shell's free update has pumpkin hats and black metal by Rotting Christ". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  6. "Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition coming to PS5, Xbox Series on March 4". Gematsu. February 25, 2021.
  7. Twitter https://twitter.com/amazonluna/status/1461439852499644417. Retrieved 2022-12-20. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "Mortal Shell for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  9. "Mortal Shell for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  10. "Mortal Shell for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  11. "Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. "Mortal Shell Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  13. "Mortal Shell Review". IGN. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  14. "Mortal Shell review". PC Gamer. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  15. "Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  16. Comments, Gavin Sheehan | Last updated | (2020-11-18). "The Game Awards Releases The Complete 2020 Nominees List". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  17. Saltzman, Mitchell (2020-07-02). "Mortal Shell Hands-On Preview: Finding Its Own Souls-Like Voice". IGN. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. Hornshaw, Phil (2020-07-02). "Mortal Shell Hands-On Preview: Hardened By Dark Souls". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2020-07-03. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  19. Boudreau, Ian (2 July 2020). "Mortal Shell reminds you how you felt on your first Dark Souls run". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. "Mortal Shell Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  21. Nunneley, Stephany (March 4, 2021). "Souls-like Mortal Shell has sold over 500,000 units since release last summer". VG 247. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  22. B2B, Christopher Dring Head of Games (2023-09-06). "The secrets behind Mortal Shell's 1m sales". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
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