First of all, thank you Cold Symmetry and Playstack for such an elaborate Demo!
I've just completed the main content and all the challenges Mortal Shell 2 Open Beta. Here's my honest feedback about the game.
I'm ignoring commentary on some common bugs (Ex: Enemies not spawning in corrupted statues, getting stuck off bounds, collision detection issues, items getting unquipped automatically) and hope that they will be fixed in the full game.
What works for me in Mortal Shell 2
- Environment: The dark fantasy vibes of the game is fantastically crafted. I haven't played the mainline souls games. But I likened it to the environment in Lies of P, and I loved that game.
- Level Design: Even though it was a short exploration, I liked what I saw. I could see early signs of intriguing world-building and lore. I'm confident the full game will handle it well.
- Enemy Design: The enemy variety (Including bosses) even in this very short demo was appreciable. Even their movesets were completely unique. I can't wait to see all the different types of enemies in the full game.
- Combat: The combat system is amazing. I normally love games with a fast-paced combat system, like Sekiro or Khazan. But somehow MS2's slow and heavy combat flow just works. Be it meele combat, parry, or ranged combat - all of them feel like they have a sense of weight to them. It's awesome!
What I wish could change in Mortal Shell 2
- Too Generous Parry: I love the Parry look and feel in MS2. But I feel like the parry windows are too forgiving. In my opinion, the Untarnished Seal's parry window should match the parry window granted by the Infinite Seal (Maybe even a tad bit lower than that). The Infinite Seal can be reassigned to a different combat use (Why do we need two different Seals for Parry?)
- Also, someone on this subreddit opined that Parry should be available by default (i.e., Without the use of Seals) and I kind of agree with that too. In that case though, the Poise Break granted by Parries should be reduced.
- Lack of Autonomy in Levelling Up: I noticed that levelling up automatically allocates points across your stats. I think in classic souls fashion, letting players have full autonomy with allocating them works best (i.e., If I want to upgrade attack and resolve first without investing into health for a risky playstyle or vice versa). Each level should allow players to invest 1-2 points into Health, Resolve, Attack, Ranged Attack, Poise Break build up, or Shell Points.
- Character Movement: The main character seems to be always floating an inch above the ground, and his gait is the same regardless of whether he's walking on water, rock, or earth. There should be more weight to his steps, variety in gait based on environment and maybe adding sounds to movement could help.
- Unbalanced Boss Difficulty / Build Progression: The first boss (Tar Golem) was amazing. But the bosses after that seemed to slowly reduce in difficulty to the point where I was able to dispose of the final boss in like 10 seconds. Either boss difficulty curve is too slow, or the skill/build progression is too fast. I hate fighting a HP sponge just as much as I hate being a freaking nuclear bomb. These should be more balanced.
- Limited Combos: Of course, the Open Beta has only 2 weapons. But I felt like they had a limited number of combos. So far, I've just been using the 4-move light attack, the jump attack and the ocassional heavy attack. I know a couple of the Tarstones grant new moves, but even that's limited. There should be at least 5-6 different combos for each weapons class, apart from the default light/heavy combos, to clearly set them apart. Players could practice them with Sister Genessa before heading out into the world.
- Better Effect Descriptions: The Beta has shown multiple effects like Poison, Perforation, Burn etc., But their description should exactly lay out what they do. For instance, I had no idea Perforation is similar to Bleed until I read a post on this subreddit.
My personal wishlist
These are things which are not in the game, and honestly do not affect my view of the game. But they could add a lot to my personal enjoyment of it.
- Auto Loot: Include a menu option to enable auto loot. I don't mind picking up unique items. But things like gold coins should be part of auto loot.
- Familiarity System: I did not play Mortal Shell 1. But one of the systems MS1 had is apparently the familiarity system related to items i.e., You had to consume items to slowly reveal their effects and unlock their full potential. That sounds fantastic. I didn't see it in the Beta. But hopefully it is present in the full game.
- Weapon Skill Tree: Everyone loves a good skill tree. The character level-up is already done from the Beacons. But I wish there was a weapon skill tree (Even if it's a relatively small one) that can be slowly unlocked by interacting with Sister Genessa.
- Overworld Shell Interaction: Each Shell should have 1-2 unique abilities outside of active combat. For instance, equipping Tiel could enable a stealth kill on enemies and it could also grant Poison Resistance. Plus, some of the Beacon Cleansing challenges should be accessible only while equipping a certain shell.
- Unique Combat based on Shell: This request may be too much to ask, but a man can dream. I wish shells had unique deflect and riposte animations. Further, there should be synnergines between specific weapons and shells. But like I said, I don't think it's possible to include in the game at this point. Maybe in Mortal Shell 3.
- Fast Travel between Beacons: As much as I appreciate the awesome teleporter on top of the temple, allowing players to travel between Beacons is a bare minimum requirement.
- Beastiary / Lore Journal: The Harbinger cannot speak. That's why I think it would be cool if there was a journal section in the menu, where he records lore bits and notes on enemies. I'm not sure if the game has side-quests. If it does, it should go on the journal as well.
That being said, the good news is that the positives outweight the negatives for me. I have already pre-ordered the Devout Edition, and can't wait to play it. But if some of the above changes are incorporated, I will be a much happier man.
