


Here’s an example that you can find within your first hour in Mortal Shell. There is, of course, some variation, and things can always go haywire, but keeping a level head and executing proven strategies leads to victory. Almost without fail, if you use the same successful strategy against the same enemies in the same areas, you’ll get the same results. In the moments that you find yourself most frustrated, remind yourself that you’re really just practicing for your best run, and practice makes … well, if not perfect, then it makes you better. Assume that nobody will because nobody’s supposed to. It’s fine if you don’t finish the song your first time through.

If Mortal Shell is a rhythm game, then it’s Guitar Hero on Expert difficulty. If you think of encounters as dance steps, then it won’t be a stretch to think of Mortal Shell as a rhythm game. Put differently, we’ve often referred to FromSoftware-inspired combat as “the dance,” by which we mean that there is a prescribed way of approaching enemies. Learn their patterns, and respond at the right moments. They telegraph their moves before attacking (usually slowly, usually drawing from a well of three or four possible attacks). At any given moment, you’re watching what’s happening now, thinking about what just happened, and finding repeatable patterns to anticipate what’s coming next.Įnemies in Mortal Shell aren’t all that different in concept. Your job in Guitar Hero or Rock Band is to do the right thing at the right time. Take your time, pay careful attention to what your foes are doing and have just done, and you can attack and defend with confidence.Īnd that brings us to rhythm games. You have a unique human advantage over the enemies in Mortal Shell: You can identify their patterns. Soulslike games are notoriously difficult, but they’re also fair - and slower than they seem at first (after you stop panicking). We've been giving this advice for years, and it remains as relevant as ever.
#BAGHEAD MORTAL SHELL PC#
Whether you’re playing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC (where it’s an Epic Game Store exclusive for now), Polygon’s Mortal Shell beginner’s guide will introduce you to the basics of playing this stubbornly tight-lipped game, with tips on combat (check out our in-depth Mortal Shell combat guide, too), exploration, and understanding the items you find. You can do it, if you’ve got wherewithal and knowledge. They’ll also be worth the sweaty palm stress, because Mortal Shell is also fun and fair. Your first few hours will test your skill and your patience. The developers at Cold Symmetry created a game that stand toes-to-toe with the developers of Demon’s Souls, the Dark Souls series, and Bloodborne.Īs anyone who’s ever played one of those games would expect, Mortal Shell is at once evocative, confusing, tantalizing, brutally difficult, and frustrating. Mortal Shell’s first hours do something pretty incredible: prove that the soulslike formula isn’t limited to FromSoftware greatness.
