We’re on the cusp of a new era of the Soulslike, as more studios start to diverge from trying to follow in FromSoftware’s footsteps. With the likes of Lies of P and Phantom Blade Zero, many games are taking the right elements from Dark Souls, but applying them to wildly new ideas. You can add Valor Mortis to that list, a wild-looking new Soulslike from One More Level, the studio behind the adrenaline-fueled Ghostrunner games. It’s a fascinating grimdark take on a time period that’s long been overlooked by gaming, pitting you against the mutated forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. And while Valor Mortis is being called a Soulslike, director Radoslaw Ratusznik is quick to clarify that it’s still the kind of high-speed action game the studio specializes in, tinged with Souls elements.
“People can be easily connected with the Soulslike genre. But we’re not blindly copying everything the Soulslike is doing, right? It’s more like taking some crucial elements that fits into our direction, into our vision for this game, to make something unique,” Ratusznik tells Inverse, “If you’ve played Ghostrunner you know it’s a mix of things — a mix of mechanics that players recognize from different titles. But when you are doing this combination, it feels refreshing. [In Valor Mortis] the shooting changed a lot the approach to the enemies.”
According to Ratusznik, the team at One More Level had long wanted to do a game in a historical 19th-century setting, with ideas for both the Napoleonic and Victorian eras. In the end, the Napoleonic era won out, as the team felt it was a fascinating period of time that largely has been unexplored by video games, outside of a smattering of strategy titles.
“We thought, what if we can turn it into something cool, to be honest. Let’s add the supernatural aspect, this horror aspect to it. And this combination sounds really reasonable for us. And, of course, Napoleon as a historical figure, he’s a fascinating person, and we wanted to dive deeper into it,” Ratusznik says, “But it’s not a historical game. It’s fiction. There are some historical figures and historical events that are mentioned in the game, but then there’s events that change the world, and that’s what we are telling in the game. History is different.”
One of the major themes Valor Mortis seeks to tackle is the nature of war itself, and how in war “there are no winners.” You play as a British soldier named William who joins Napoleon’s forces after being inspired by the figure and a patriotic ideal of spreading freedom throughout the world. But they quickly learn those hopes have been misplaced, especially after an enigmatic substance called Nepthoglobin starts transforming soldiers into hideous monstrosities.
Nepthoglobin will mutate both humans and animals.
Lyrical Games
In Valor Mortis, you’ll have to make your way across a twisted version of war-torn France, fighting your former allies in Napoleon’s army, including the terrifying fencers that are part of the conqueror’s Eternal Guard.
It’s easy to see how that’s a compelling setup for a Soulslike, but Valor Mortis definitely straddles the line of what we know the genre for. For one, it’s entirely in first-person, but after seeing some gameplay it’s clear this is much faster than your average Souls game. Ratusznik says Valor Mortis isn’t quite as fast as Ghostrunner, but the studio really wanted to lean into its expertise for fast-paced combat systems.
To that end, Valor Mortis integrates Metroidvania elements, but doesn’t have a world map — encouraging you to conduct your own exploration. During combat you can use sabers, pistols, muskets, and a wide array of other weapons, with a large emphasis on parrying and staying agile. You’ll also gain access to transmutations that unlock supernatural powers, like a blast of flame. The best comparison I can think of is the Plasmids from BioShock.
But part of what’s really interesting is how you can dual wield a sword and a gun, giving you a complex array of options for how to approach enemies. Speaking of enemies, there are some truly grotesque creatures already on display.
Ratusznik says “of course” Valor Mortis will feature climactic, multi-step boss battles.
Lyrical Games
One particularly terrifying boss is an army captain morphed into a Resident Evil-esque monstrosity, with three arms sprouting out of its back to hold pistols, while it wields a saber and a flag in its twisted claws.
One of the more interesting parts of Valor Mortis’ gameplay is how Ratusznik says building your character will work. There aren’t the same kind of “builds” that you might expect in a typical Souls game, with the game instead letting players focus on specific weapons or aspects of combat. It was important the team nailed the feeling of combat, and then sprouted off from there. Through perks and abilities you’ll be able to focus in on how you want to play. Maybe you want to be a hulking melee brute that occasionally fires off a shot with your pistol, or a magic wielding menace that has a sword, just in case.
The story of Valor Mortis will feature enigmatic elements, but you won’t have to “watch an hour lore video” to understand things.
Lyrical Games
Despite the dull and dreary greys of battle-ridden France, Valor Mortis does indeed look like a breath of fresh air. It’s hard to think of another first-person Soulslike, and the game’s Napoleonic setting is a prime opportunity for body horror. It’s undeniable that people, myself included, are starting to feel fatigue from this genre, but games like Valor Mortis might be the breath of fresh air that’s needed — and Ratusznik seems to knows that.
“I’m aware there’s a lot of Soulslikes right now, but if you stand out from the crowd, players will look at it,” Ratusznik says, “I think most people when they hear Soulslike, they think of a third-person game. We can stand out even just by looking at the game, when you see how it plays, combining the dual-wielding with Soulslike mechanics. I think it’s a chance to push this genre further right now.”
