Valor Mortis is a soul that actually stands out from the crowd
Blog Andrew Joseph 24 Aug , 2025 0
Napoleon's European battlefield, the rich battlefield will never be a good place to wake up. It turns out that the current soldiers’ chaos and creepy mashups are worse, and the phobia is awful. Valor Mortis puts you in a thick position and trusts the skills of your blades, pistols and superpowered palms to ensure you are alive. Although it is rooted in the fundamentals of the soul-like genre, it adopts a non-inertial first-person perspective that not only immerse you in this frightening world, but also adds its more precise and satisfying layer to parry, cut, cut and sharp combat. While I found it might be tough to fight, during my time playing on Gamescom in 2025, I found several signs that I wouldn't punish the practice like elsewhere in the genre.
Valor Mortis' protagonist William faces the mud and hears the words of his general Napoleon Bonaparte, echoing in his ears, telling him to get up. Dozens of bodies were along the forest road on the forest road because the French flag was supposedly ragged. There is no other situation about how we finally got here, but the infamous emperor yes Stick to get up, so I did that and then move forward. Initially armed with swords, capable of performing blocks, parry, dodging and light and heavy attacks, initially, the developer's new project was initially nothing revolutionary, which slowed its Ghostrunner melee movements.
The swordsmanship may not be much different, but it is still incredible to be in the competition. Blocking doesn't completely eliminate damage, so your Parries' time becomes the best choice for quickly dispatching your opponent. When you get just the right amount, there is a great metal curve, followed by a momentary turn to slow motion, reminding me of the same satisfying moves of shame. Later, I found a pistol situated in a gorgeous trunk adorned with a portrait of Bonaparte himself. All this adds to all this to Dunwall, a centuries-old sidearm that handed me a long distance option despite limited bullet supply.
But things got a little weird with the addition of my arsenal of flames that I could poke straight out of my palm. This flamethrower capability will look familiar to those who emit one of the bioshock custody. It was a pleasant explosion technique that helped me deal with the control of the crowd and even imposed a burning state on the boss of the presentation (more on him later). There are certainly two of the above immersive Sims aspects here, but I won't be anywhere near the flexibility of its combat system, as you'll find in Arkane or irrational games. Fundamentally, this is still a soul that relies heavily on one-on-one melee encounters while skillfully managing your endurance meter, so I don't want to mix elemental effects here and create my own design chaos here. Aside from having a weird chance to sneak into an opponent and string them up from behind, the demo’s choices rarely go beyond the toe showdown when in battle.
The creatures I fight against in this 45-minute sample can be described to varying degrees as rooted in some kind of human. Initially, the lower infantry went deeper into the deeper the enemy, the undead infantry was everywhere for the more interesting enemies. I found an optional area to develop the structural weakness of light by blowing a pistol, where I was welcomed by a moving forward duel who was heading towards, with only a ruthless metal mask emphasizing his ghost. His attacks were fast and well organized, his Parry windows were tight- I quickly decided that he was another day's challenge. I barely mentioned Blood Source, almost half done in this preview, but the speed and thrust of his blade really reminded me of the threat of one of the hunters in Jarnan. A high challenge, but not a real boss.
Fans of the annoying enemies of the genre tradition also seem to be well satisfied, as there are more mutated monster-like enemies. Although all seem to stick to their former self-armed uniforms hanging on their bodies, or the heads (sometimes multiple) keep an eye on your movements—they are by no means the world, or at least at least how they describe it in history books in early 19th-century Europe. A mysterious plague infected the battlefield and caused these distortions, which could pose a challenge. One such barbarian seemed to be two soldiers, who also happened to add an extra arm and develop a large, fleshy, clawed hand. He wiped me at close range, but if I walked too far, I could only throw out the explosive cinders. Fortunately, a huge glowing red sack looked ready to pop up where his elbow should be, so I aimed at some pistols to take advantage of his weakness.
But he is surpassed by another entity with a more terrifying appearance. The last boss of the demonstration was General Lotrey, Eagle Carrier, a messy mountain of people with a ridiculous normal-sized head, and I would have laughed more if it weren't for those three guns pointing at me from his distorted, twisted right shoulder. Double waving the sweeping flagpole and sliced scimitar, he has a great coverage and a heavy hit rate. I will be free to admit that I spent a few attempts to knock him down, but after a few upgrades to the nearby Reburning Lantern (the classic Dark Souls Bonfire Edition of this universe) I managed to take him away.
Well, his first form anyway. Yes, another level decides to bring peeing to the first boss of Valor Mortis in the second stage. This version of Lothaire still has deadly ranged and close-range attacks that keep you on your toes, but also contains the ability to summon annoying minions and capture you into his claw clutch. He's tricky, but thankfully, nothing is too difficult for anyone who accepts this type of combat.
But for those new to the soul, even those who find first-person combat, the brave Mortis is to some extent leniency… to some extent. Catalysts are your resource upgrades here and you can use them to improve statistics at a fairly cheap cost. I'll pump points into greater stamina, as some quick stabs can quickly consume your initial meter, which makes it more manageable than the boss. It is crucial, however, that after dying, the collected catalysts are dropped outside the boss arena, rather than on the dark, smoky gates before them. On one level, you don't want you to grind out elsewhere in the world to progress, and this proposal to save your frustrations adds special features that can be unlocked by exploring that leverages parkour design studios that perfect the studio in Ghostrunner (for example, you can swing from a tree) can help you feel stronger faster.
My demo ended when I finally deleted Lothaire, and the word “abhorrence” filled the screen. I think if Valor Mortis reveals what the trailer is going to go, there are more hatreds to be resolved. All in all, I had a very satisfying time and found its first-person swordsmanship and super-powered magical abilities to be a pleasant dynamic journey. I look forward to delving deeper into what secrets it might have about its combat kit and more abhorrence when it arrives sometime in 2026.
Simon Cardy is a senior editor at IGN who can mostly find feeling desperate in the Open World Olympics, indulging in Korean cinemas, or in Tottenham and the New York Jets. Follow him in Bluesky @cardy.bsky.social.