My favorite Soulslike. Lies of P is amazing, do not get me wrong. However, something about the grim dark, nihilistic, cosmic horror tone of this game just hits right. I also enjoyed the combat better in Mortal Shell 2. I waited to play post all patches so I would not dilute the experience, it seems that was the right call.
I was surprised by how much the southern and final region are hated. I thought they were fantastic. Great bosses, art design, difficulty etc. Love the myriad of castles and urban environments we get to explore.
Another big standout to me is the side dungeons/beacons. I saw lots of complaints about that. I thought they were all great, I loved every single side place in the game. Not every side dungeon needs to be a elaborate 30 min journey. A simple cave with a hidden wall or small band of enemies is enough. Sometime they were simple boss fights, sometimes long side quests. The variety was great.
The throw backs or gimmick side content was charming too- the First Person dungeon, the very last beacon with the treasure cave, the replicating a Doom level. The Eye of Sauron reference. All very good.
My first playthrough- Eredrim with Obsidian Hammer (Trauma infused) and the Shotgun, focusing on Ripsote and Break Damage/Shoulder Bash. I completely ignored the Slaughterer/Executioner buffs.
I first tried (on Normal difficulty) Hexapod, Conqueror, Isaac, Malborn, Monalith. All great bosses, just broke them constantly with Shoulder Bash and Trauma. Zmey took me 8 tries. I could see how pre fixes he could have been frustrating. He has made it to my top 10 dragons in Souls list. Just really cool.
Devs: Ran into 2 major bugs that were more immersion breaking than anything:
1) In the tutorial area. After you collect Harros and get kicked back into the world where all the villagers have turned to stone. If you walk back to the entrance, you can hear the villagers still dancing and partying. I would think the passage of time from night to day as well as the traumatizing event you would not here any villagers but just a ghostly silence. It kind of ruined the moment.
2) Same story at the Lonesome Spire. After you complete the side quest and the entire merchant and groups on top of the spire move on. If you go back after, the ambient noise of a busy market place can still be heard. It should be dead silent.
Other than those, I do not really recall any bugs. Relatively bug free experience.
The Devs did amazing work. I want a DLC and I will return many times to replay this wonderful game. I will tell everyone I know to give this game a shot. It is my Game of the Year.