Set in the 19th century during the Napoleonic Era, Valor Mortis explores an alternate history where much of Europe has succumbed to the devastation of war and an otherworldly plague that has turned many of the dead into zombie-like abominations.
Players assume the role of William, a soldier who should have died on the battlefield, only to wake up to a world transformed by the scourge of the Nephtoglobin infestation, the very arcane disease that courses through his veins, bringing him back from the realm of the dead. Valor Mortis‘ story is an interesting one that does well to serve the formula it so lovingly pays homage to: the Soulslike genre made popular by FromSoftware’s legacy of difficult but rewarding action games.
Valor Mortis, of course, is a first-person experience, making its adherence to the Souls formula feel fresh, despite it closely following the structure laid out by FromSoftware to a T. One More Level’s use of the 19th-century battlefield also brings with it a novel twist to the otherwise medieval and high fantasy setting of other Soulslike titles, feeling most reminiscent of something like Lies of P, with its antiquated fashion and tassel-strewn military garb of some of its enemies.
Survival horror elements also bleed into Valor Mortis‘ design, with the game featuring a healthy amount of sprawling environments, including burning villages, dusty crypts, monster-infested quarries, dark mines and, of course, war-torn battlefields and city centres. The spread of the Nephtoglobin pestilence brings with it zombified enemies, including Resident Evil 4-style villagers, to more Cronenberg-inspired monstrosities that give the game that distinct horror edge.
On the topic of level design, Valor Mortis nails its approach to creating an interconnected world, with most areas of the game featuring shortcuts and secrets that allow players to retreat to the safety of the lantern, One More Level’s answer to the bonfire system. Similarly, combat in Valor Mortis feels satisfying and nuanced, with both melee and ranged weapons carrying a nearly equal weight in their utility during fights.
Weapon variety includes your trusted sabre and pistol to start off the adventure, both of which emphasize a more methodical approach to combat, with parrying and defensive strategies taking priority, while later on in the game, players will come across weapons like the rapier and blunderbuss, which shift the focus to a more aggressive playstyle.
Additionally, William has access to alchemic magic that grants him powers like fire and a bramble-like scourge attack, which can effectively be used to do DPS AOE-style attacks in addition to proving their worth in solving environmental-based puzzles. Many enemies in Valor Mortis also feature decaying pustules of rot and mutation, something that acts as weak points for the player to exploit. At the same time, ranged weapons can make short work of them — melee gear like the rapier also gives players the ability to save on ammo, making it worthwhile for weapon experimentation, even if you prefer the default style.
Weapon buffs, special ammo types and other augmenting items can be found strewn about the game world, something that should feel familiar to Soulslike vets, while also fitting the vibe of Valor Mortis organically, making it feel like a welcome addition that can sometimes make the difference between life and death during a boss encounter.
In other words, Valor Mortis is a blood-soaked love letter to Soulslikes. The game is not perfect, however, with some enemy patterns sometimes feeling delayed, making it hard to parry or time a dodge correctly, made worse by an awkward respawning mechanic when not taking fatal damage. What I mean by this is that when falling off a cliff or large precipice, the game will not outright kill you, which on paper is a nice change compared to other games that follow a similar structure, but due to the game guess-timating where to respawn the player, this can lead to awkward moments where you are placed in an out-of-bounds location, forcing you to kill yourself.
“Valor Mortis is a blood-soaked love letter to Soulslikes.”
I also experienced a few instances in which I got stuck in the geometry, forcing me to respawn, including an instance during the first major boss fight of the game, where after completing the first phase of the fight, I found myself stuck inside its transitioning animation, resulting in a quick death that otherwise could have been avoided. Thankfully, One More Level has promised a patch to address some of these issues that should help players on Day 1, but as I can only report on what I’ve played, it’s hard to say just how much of the game will be fixed for launch.
Another area that I hope gets addressed for PC players is the number of times I found Valor Mortis forced a shader compilation loading screen during my time with the game. Generally, I expect some downtime during first boot to give a game the time it needs for its shader compilation runtime sequence. Still, in the case of Valor Mortis, I found this happening every time I got to a new area of the game, making it almost feel like a much older game, with load times reminiscent of physical disks.
And even with the excessive shader compilation sections, I found the gameplay to sometimes feel stuttery and less than ideal, even on my 7900XTX, something that I hope applications like SCSKiller can tackle once the game becomes widely available.
Overall, despite some fraying edges, Valor Mortis is a bloody good time and one of the best interpretations of the Soulslike formula to date, making it a must-play for those who like a challenge.
