Valor Mortis is a unique first-person Soulslike game that officially launched today. However, early reviews for the title have been surprisingly split: some critics hail it as a true masterpiece of the genre, while others consider it just another Dark Souls clone. On Steam, Valor Mortis has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from players, with 82% of the 203 reviews being positive.
Valor Mortis is developed by One More Level, the studio behind Ghostrunner. The game is set in a darker version of Napoleonic-era Europe. Players take on the role of William, a resurrected soldier, traveling through plague-ridden cities, devastated villages, and eerie dungeons. A mysterious plague has turned Napoleon's army into monsters, and uncovering the truth behind the plague is part of the story.
In terms of gameplay, Valor Mortis easily brings to mind Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It is essentially a Soulslike game. Combat focuses on timing your parries and dodges, then seizing the opportunity to counterattack, rather than just swinging your blade at enemies. However, while most common Soulslikes use a third-person perspective, Valor Mortis uses a first-person perspective.
Early reviews were highly divided. Insider Gaming gave it a 9 out of 10, believing that this title brings freshness to the Soulslike genre. The reviewer even called it "a generational leap for Souls games." It particularly praised the challenging combat, the rare first-person perspective, and the dark atmosphere, but criticized the limited weapon variety and found the boss fights quite disappointing.
The PC version of Valor Mortis has collected scores from 44 media outlets on MTC, with a current average score of 77.
GamesRadar+ was much harsher in its evaluation. It also felt that the combat played well, but believed that aside from the first-person perspective, the game lacked new ideas. The reviewer summarized: "The gameplay felt more familiar to me than my own shadow." The parkour sections were described as frustrating, some boss mechanics were annoying, and technical issues such as crashes and unstable frame rates were also criticized.
German media outlet GameStar gave it an 80 out of 100. It considered the first few hours of the game somewhat rough, but felt that this first-person Soulslike truly became enjoyable in the latter half. TechRadar similarly praised the combat system, but also criticized the occasionally poor visibility and some frustrating design choices.
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