Mortal Shell 2 dramatically improved in almost every way by first major update

On Saturday, Mortal Shell 2 unveiled its biggest update yet, barely a week after its launch. Cold Symmetry, the game's developer, seemed determined to tackle a multitude of criticisms with the patch, affecting virtually every aspect of the game. Available now on Steam and soon on PlayStation and Xbox, the update introduces new content alongside existing changes.

One of the game's most criticized features was its scarce economy, which limited players' ability to experiment with Shells, the game's premade classes and weaponry. The patch addressed this by adding new Tarstones, akin to rings in Soulslikes, granting passive and active bonuses. Additional Tarstones yield Tarcores, usable for upgrading broken Tarstones after a specific number of uses.

Previously scarce Glimpses, used to strengthen the bond with Shells, are now finite, allowing players to fully explore all Shells in a single playthrough. Moreover, players can now fully respec Shells using Mether's Severance, refunding all previously spent Glimpses.

The patch also rebalanced the entire arsenal of weapons and Shells, along with several major bosses, including those with missing moves. Moreover, Mortal Shell 2's world, rich in exploration, was criticized for uneven distribution of Beacons, serving as save and resting points. The patch rectified this by adding new Beacons across Fainweald and Mammon. Egon's Stone addresses the lack of Beacons within dungeons by ensuring players return to the dungeon entrance upon death, preventing soul loss.

The game's gameplay tweaks include revamped riposte mechanics. After parrying an enemy multiple times, a riposte can be performed, dealing high damage with unique animations. Previously, riposte damage did not scale with enemy health in late-game or NG+ and Night Mode. Now, players can expect a significant upgrade in riposte damage, along with wider and more consistent invulnerability windows when executing them.

While the patch addresses numerous flaws, it's worth noting that some issues remain unresolved. Nonetheless, Mortal Shell 2's compelling Soulslike action game hybrid has already made its mark, being compared to the genre's greats.