The first big day of reveals forIGN’s Summer of Gaming 2020 event included a brand new trailer forMortal Shell, new information from the developers, Cold Symmetry, and the announcement of an upcoming beta, so let’s break down what we learned today.
First off, Shells are the playable characters that you will have access to when you boot up the game. As you inhabit them, after discovering their names, you will be able to gain access to unique abilities. As you find out more about each Shell’s history, you will unlock more. Each one will offer a different style of gameplay, letting players choose their preferred playstyle. Each of the four Shells is hidden from the start and has to be discovered, but luckily they all are near the beginning, so you won’t have to wait too long to experience them.
An interesting aspect that the developers shared is that you will be able to play through the entire game without using a shell at all. There is a point in the game where you are ready to swear off all of the Shells, which will change your character’s appearance, reflecting your choice. Speedrunners and challenge run players will be happy to hear this news, and I can’t wait to see how this will limit you.
The world ofMortal Shellrevolves around what the developers jokingly refer to as “The Juice,” known more officially as the Sacred Nectar. This juice will serve asMortal Shell’s version of currency to improve your shells. When it comes to the level designs, Cold Symmetry is aiming to lean more towards the philosophy and layouts from games likeDemon’sandDark Souls, evolving them and adding bringing them into this new project. The game’s structure will focus around a hub area, which will allow you to tackle the other locations in any order you wish. This approach sounds very reminiscent ofDemon’s Souls.
One area whereMortal Shellwill diverge from some of its contemporaries is the size of the world, which is described as “compact” by the developers. They do assure fans that the areas will still be large enough to get lost in and explore, and the entire game will take around 20 hours to complete. These styles of games lend themselves well to replaying, and hopefully,Mortal Shellwill have a similar increasing difficulty approach for subsequent new game plus runs.
The dark and gothic tone of the environments mixed with terrifying monster designs and the mysterious world has me giddy with excitement. PC players that are intrigued byMortal Shellwill be able to explore the Crypt of Martyrs in a beta kicking off on July 3, with a full release planned for the third quarter of this year. As a longtime fan of the genre, I’m anxiously awaiting the chance to check out the world ofMortal Shell.
Mortal Shellwasannouncedback in April and will release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Check out other new announcements that were also revealed during the first day of theIGNExpo, likeWerewolf: The Apocalypse- EarthbloodandMetal: Hellsinger, the rhythm FPS.
