Developer: One More Level
Publisher: Lyrical Games
Reviewed On: PC
Available On: PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: October 6, 2026
Review Copy Provided By: Lyrical Games
There is a certain level of sheer stubbornness and masochism that one needs in order to like Soulslike games. God help me, because I’m not one of them. It’s not that I don’t like this subgenre because I have played a few in the past but I know that I’m going to need a level of commitment not seen in other games whenever I start a new Soulslike game.
Valor Mortis is another entry to the Soulslike subgenre with its own flavor from the people who brought you Ghostrunner. Taking place in the Napoleon era, but a more twisted re-imagining of dark history, you’re dropped into the middle of a hostile environment with nary of an idea of what’s going on.
Unlike other Soulslike games I’ve played, I like that Valor Mortis is a bit more simple and easy to approach for beginners to this genre. You don’t have a wide array of different weapons and magic to choose from and you don’t need to think much on what build you want to create. However mastery of its fundamental mechanics is still a must if you plan on lasting long.
Valor Mortis places you into the perspective of one of Napoleon’s loyal soldiers. Literally. This is the first time I’ve ever played a Soulslike from a first person perspective. And it’s an interesting experience because I’m not used to parrying, dodging, and fighting in this subgenre from anything other than over-the-shoulder third person.
The game balances this new perspective by making its mechanics a bit more simpler and easier to digest. Even from someone like me who usually shies away from the Soulslike experience, Valor Mortis was relatively easier to understand. To be fair, it’s not like you need to understand what each unique stat does and how it’s possibly beneficial to your build.
In Valor Mortis, leveling does feel refreshingly simple. You don’t pick which stat to increase instead you choose which skill you want to invest in. This does help newer players like me into the genre by allowing me to focus more on gameplay rather than builds. At the same time it is also a bit disappointing because all the skills to level up are essentially just get a bigger health pool, deal more damage, block better, and etc. I didn’t find anything game changing from the skill selection.
Valor Mortis focuses on fencing combat, something I find rather novel. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. William, the game’s protagonist, primarily uses a saber against foes which you’re encourage to break their posture to counter with a powerful riposte which may even instantly kill foes on a single hit.
There’s always a level of focus that is borderline stubborn when playing Soulslike. And I find myself carefully playing more defensively because of the riposte mechanic. Blocking just the millisecond before an enemy hits lowers their posture and leaves them vulnerable to a devastating counter.
Like any Soulslike, you have stamina management. Attacks cost you stamina. Blocking costs stamina. Dodging costs stamina. Because of this I often find myself waiting for an opponent to make the first move. Especially if it’s the first time I encounter a new enemy type. I just don’t know how devastating their attack might be and if I can even survive it should I leave myself vulnerable when they’re already in attack animation and I’m out of stamina.
Just about the only thing that doesn’t use stamina is your magic. William can also conjure flames from his hand to burn his foes down. That and bullets. William can also use his revolver to target enemy weak points for big damage and to get them to drop more Nepthogoblin reserves which is essentially your MP equivalent in Valor Mortis.
What I do like about Valor Mortis is that it encourages you to abuse your resources to fight enemies to get even more resources. Nepthogoblin can be depleted sure, but never fully. And you can recharge it by switching to your sidearm, firing at an enemy’s weakpoint to get them to drop more of those reserves, pick up those reserves, and burn the other enemies with your magic. I never found myself holding back or saving up on resources like I would usually do on other Soulslike games.
Combat does feel a bit clunky if I could be honest. Melee attacks do feel visceral but once you’re mid attack animation you can’t easily cancel it into a parry. It also becomes more challenging when more than one foe is on the screen. There is no rolling away here unlike other Soulslike games so you can get into better position. William’s dodge is more a short hop and the environment can often be linear and claustrophobic.
Riposte does feel amazingly satisfying. Especially with the animation putting you up close and personal in first person as you stab an enemy in the throat, burn their face, or shoot them at point blank range.
The lanterns are your equivalent of bonfires in Valor Mortis. This is where you upgrade your skills and your healing consumable. Every time you perish, you spawn in your last lantern. You do lose all the XP points needed for upgrading skills but if you can make it to the area you last died in you can pick them right back up else they’re lost forever if you die again.
The environment in Valor Mortis is particularly well done and thought out. During your first time through an area, you have to fight through enemies however you can unlock shortcuts which lets you access a previous rekindle lantern so the next time you respawn you won’t need to go through all the trouble of fighting those enemies again.
Because of its first person perspective, Valor Mortis is able to take advantage of your revolver sidearm more. You can shoot red barrels to dispatch groups of enemies rather quickly and you can also shoot certain objects in the game to help you dispatch foes so you can avoid fighting them head on. Some thing I imagine would be more challenging from a traditional third person view.
I played Valor Mortis on PC and I did have some trouble with my RTX 3060 despite the fact that it’s well above the minimum specs. In more open areas, my frame rates would dip below 30 FPS, which makes parrying challenging. The game is still gorgeous even on low graphical settings, but the dip in performance can be really distracting and even frustrating.
I also felt like the world wasn’t particularly captivating in its visuals. What Valor Mortis needed was a clear direction to make it stand out. None of the characters, enemies types, or even environment were particularly memorable or interesting to look at. I never found myself chewing the scenery or admiring the time and effort the developers put in to the game.
Valor Mortis is a fun experience and, like most Soulslikes, requires a keen focus and stubborn determination to see through. It has solid mechanics; however, nothing really stood out as particularly memorable for me. I won’t deny it’s fun and worth diving into for those seeking a Soulslike experience that doesn’t require too much from you.
Valor Mortis
Valor Mortis is a fun experience and like most Soulslike requires a keen focus and stubborn determination to see through. It has solid mechanics, however nothing really stood out as particularly memorable for me. I won't deny it's fun and worth diving into for those seeking a Soulslike experience that doesn't require too much from you.
The Good
- Parrying and riposte feels visceral and fun
- Game is easy to approach
- Environment gives you multiple ways to engage enemies
The Bad
- Environment and characters aren't memorable
- Melee combat can be a bit clunky when fighting more than one enemy
- Skills improvements don't really offer much of anything new
