Valor Mortis Preview (Hands On)

Everything is a souls-like these days. When genres becomes watered down, it becomes harder to stand out, unless you are doing revolutionary things and that’s exactly what Valor Mortis is doing both literally and figuratively (French Revolution setting).

After going hands on with Valor Mortis, it shouldn’t have a problem capturing attention when it launches in 2026, so let’s look at what makes it unique and intriguing, what we thought of our time with the game and areas that will hopefully be worked out by the time Valor Mortis releases.

VALOR MORTIS PREVIEW

Even before discussing the why of Valor Mortis, it’s equally as important to discuss the who. Valor Mortis is the new souls-like being developed by One More Level, the studio behind the Ghostrunner series and published by Lyrical Games. Lyrical Games was founded in 2025 as a counter argument to where gaming was heading with live service, free to play and uninspired releases. Lyrical Games is composed of former members of Private Division, Devolver Digital and Humble Games, who have all seen how tumultuous the industry can be, but can also bring their knowledge about how to avoid problems and what resonates with players. You needn’t look further than their missions statement, which sounds promising “We are not building a live service, a billion dollar empire. We are not chasing quarterly earnings. We back exceptional games”

It wasn’t long ago that the easy way to market your game was to say it had RPG elements. This has now been replaced with the flavor of the week, which is fromsoftware style games or souls-likes. The problem is, too many games borrow the moniker with only a slight resemblance.

Valor Mortis is the definition of a souls-like with textbook examples: Instead of souls to gain and lose, you collect blood catalysts. Lanterns to rest at, upgrade skills, but also to respawn enemies. Extremely high level of difficulty. Grotesque and larger than life bosses. Stamina based battles that are punishing but fair. Combat that requires proper timing and patience. Dark and oppressive world with interconnected designs and just about everything else you expect from in a fromsoftware title.

However, after being fortunate enough to get an invite to the play test and spending a few hours with the game, it’s clear that Valor Mortis is much more than just another souls-like. The most obvious difference is the first person perspective as Valor Mortis continues with studio strengths as it provides a much more visceral and immersive experience than your average souls-like as decapitations and dismemberment aren’t uncommon. One More Level has traded in their cyberpunk katana from Ghostrunner and swapped it with a sabre from the French Royal Army. There is noticeable difference in speed as Valor Mortis uses a slower and more methodical approach to combat.

Since we already know that the studio knows how to craft a visceral first person experience, the more compelling aspect of Valor Mortis is the backdrop for the experience. In Valor Mortis you play as a young British soldier named William, who got swept up in Napoleons promise to free Europe from the monarch rule. In support of this William left the United Kingdom to join Napoleons army and fight for the cause. Shortly after enlisting, William meets his demise, but this is not the end as you find yourself part of the living world once more through the power of Nephtoglobin

After becoming reanimated, William vows to uncover the truth in this dark, supernatural tale that is interwoven with of one of the most important eras of history. William awakens to hear the voice of Napoleon in his head as well as the power to see events that have transpired on the battlefield. Through the narrative and excellent voice acting, you are immediately invested in Williams quest. Why is he immune to this plague spreading across Europe? What conspiracy lies underneath all of these death and what does William have to do with it all?

That mysterious substance Nephtoglobin that is spreading across the lands is corrupting loyal soldiers called, but instead of turning you into an atrocity, it has provided you with a new lease on life as well as supernatural abilities. Although you begin your quest with a sword and a pistol, you quickly learn the how to harness otherworldly powers similar to Bioshock and can now shoot flames from your off hand.

The Napoleonic Era and French Revolution provide a rich setting that few games have explored. One More Level isn’t going for historical accuracy, but it gives the studio a unique palette to create enemies and craft the narrative. The chaos and disorientation the battlefield feel extremely well representative of the period with fog, destruction and bodies littered everywhere.

CRITICISMS

Being as far removed from release as we are with a pre-alpha play test, it means that Valor Mortis is largely a major work in progress. There might be some minor performance and visual hiccups, but the foundation is solid, which is a good indication for a build this far in advance.

Areas that are subject to criticism largely revolve around design choices. The infantry soldiers that will be the majority of the enemies that you encounter felt too similar and lacked visual variety. Attack patters were mostly similar as well as their visual identity. One of the immersive aspects was the visceral combat and dismemberment associated with using a blade as your main weapon. Providing a few more finishing animations or even the occasional real time combat dismemberment would be truly engrossing.

The play test culminated in an epic boss fight, which was equally disturbing as it was difficult. Unfortunately, the experience felt a little flat as it was lacking a score to pair with the grandiose nature of the arena and the battle. I also did have any difficultly with timing dodges, block and parries during the entirety of the demo with the exception of the boss. He had some attacks that seemed to lack proper audio and visual cues.

There were some areas that required platforming, but they lacked proper identity as I was never sure if it was meant to be. Finally, it didnt seem fair that damage is taken during a block. I can understand if I guard against too many blocks that it whittles my stamina down and then damage could be applied, but with full stamina, taking damage with full stamina didn’t feel right.

VALOR MORTIS PREVIEW FINAL THOUGHTS

The playtest was short and only featured a condensed version of the first level of Valor Mortis, but in just a small sample, it accomplished two things. The first was proving the viability of the souls-like in first person as the change in perspective translated perfectly, thrusts you into the shoes of the main character and increases immersion. The second was establishing originality as Valor Mortis blends the line between fact and fiction by setting the experience against a Napoleonic backdrop, which is a very interesting and important part of history. It seems like Lyrical Games have stayed true to their mission statement with Valor Mortis showing promise to be an exceptional game.