This is the only game I've ever played during which I've thought to myself "this is probably what it would be like to fight a dragon in real life."

From that thought, a lot can be gleaned about Dragon's Dogma. The animations and behaviours of its fictional fantasy creatures are remarkably lifelike, which bolsters its already strong immersive qualities, but the combat is arguably where it shines the most - and not just because its bows feel like semi-automatic rifles or because Arc of Deliverance is the single most satisfying move to use in any game ever made. Where a lesser game would typically have you fight a giant monster by whittling away at its ankles ad nauseam or some other comparably restrictive method, Dragon's Dogma lets you (among other things) climb onto it, knock it over, stun it, break off or cripple certain body parts, douse it in oil & light it on fire, lure it into a disadvantageous spot or environmental hazard, bring it crashing down to the ground while it's flying, send it flying through the air, freeze it, parry it, or jump off of it to reach a place you otherwise couldn't. It's like a power metal album cover come to life, with a soundtrack to match. It’s chaotic, it’s dynamic, and it’s absolutely drowning in techniques to try out.

That alone would be enough to set Dragon's Dogma above most other real-time combat systems, but what takes it to the next level is the genius pawn system. Few games offer satisfaction on the level of figuring out a golden tactic against a particularly troublesome enemy, watching your pawns become better and better at its execution over time, and being rewarded by other players for renting out your home-made killing machine to them. My mind was blown the first time I realised my pawn had learned to throw explosive barrels specifically when a tough enemy is near a ledge to kill them instantly, and almost a full decade later they continue to surprise with behaviours like this. There’s plenty else to enjoy about Dragon’s Dogma’s combat system, like the enormous playstyle diversity afforded by its classes or the chunky hitstop that provides great feedback on every attack, but it’s far from the only thing the game offers.

For one thing, Dragon’s Dogma sells the feeling of adventure very well. While not quite to the extent of in something like Breath of the Wild, you really do have to legitimately think about how to get from one place to another. Should I risk trying to clamber up that ledge or is it more practical to take the long way around, even if that means meeting more monsters? What time of day should I start my journey, or will it be short enough that I shouldn’t have to worry about all the beasties coming out when night falls? If night falls, do I have enough fuel for my lantern and is my character tall enough that it won't be extinguished by forging through bodies of water? You find yourself asking all these questions as you make your way to distant landmarks which you weren’t initially even sure if you could physically get to, which I think is enough to make the open world a net positive overall despite its blatant and unfortunate unfinished-ness. It helps that pretty much all of the dungeons in both Gransys and Bitterblack are rewarding to explore, with lots of goodies to find in hidden alternate pathways and enemy layouts which get dramatically overhauled in the post-game.

Beyond that, I’ll always stick up for the story of Dragon’s Dogma. Bingo Morihashi is seemingly cursed to always deliver well thought-out, thematically solid stories that everyone writes off as crap for some reason. Even if contextualising new game plus into it wasn’t rad as hell (and it is), the intentionally antiquated dialogue gives it so much character and it conveys such an immense, ambitious sense of progression in terms of scale. And speaking of scales (literally), Grigori is an all-timer in the realm of video game antagonists. Coupled with David Lodge’s masterful delivery, every line of his gives him such presence. He’s everything a dragon should be according to their traditional cultural depictions; not just huge, imposing and a fierce fighter, but also really intelligent and reserved to the point where it's not easy to classify him as a 'villain.' The fight against him having both style and substance in spades is just the cherry on top.

Daimon is also compelling, and his segment of the game is probably what’ll keep you coming back for more. Bitterblack Isle’s not just a wonderful, almost endlessly replayable DLC that marks a gold-standard for content density, it’s also a tantalising glimpse into Hideaki Itsuno’s full vision for Dragon’s Dogma. It was meant to have dozens of Bitterblack equivalents scattered throughout the world before its development was cut short, not the least of which included being able to travel to the moon and a massive MMO-like tower in which players could trade with one another and glimpse at each other’s worlds, endlessly stacked on top of each other. Had Itsuno and his team been allowed to carry out that vision, I’ve little doubt that Dragon’s Dogma would probably be my favourite game of all time. As it stands, it’s close enough already – all I think a hypothetical sequel would really need is for its open world to be more densely packed with content and a real-time healing system (outside of hotkeys and spells), like that of Nioh or a certain other ARPG series from the past decade or so that I hear is pretty popular.

It’s well known now that Capcom presented Itsuno with the choice to either develop Devil May Cry 5 or Dragon’s Dogma 2 a few years ago. Given the freedom that Capcom granted to him during the making of DMC5 and his recent teasing that his elusive new project is making good progress, I can’t help but have hope for the first time since release that aught is on the horizon. A Dragon’s Dogma sequel wouldn’t just be nice to see, it’d mark a victory for any and all game creators who want to see their vision fully realised.

Despite a number of balancing issues, Mortal Shell is probably the best of the Dark Souls impersonators to date, making it a must play for fans of the genre.

The Good:

Excellent combat - Challenging normal enemies keep you on your toes - Creative on the fly class switching - Healing system rewards skill - Nails the atmosphere

The Bad:

Becoming overpowered is too quick, makes bosses easy - Harden mechanic is too forgiving - Navigating the main hub can be confusing - All-important parry is not easy to get the hang of
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Recent years have seen a proper landslide of Dark Souls clones, more or less faithful to the formula, ranging from the ocean of amateur stubs (refer to Iron Pineapple on youtube for more), to the multitude of indie 2D ones like Salt and Sanctuary, Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, Death's Gambit and Immortal Planet (just to chip at the tip of the iceberg), boss rush ones like Titan Souls and Sinner, and a handful of fully featured 3D ones, starting with 2014's mediocrity Lords of the Fallen, the better performing The Surge and its improved sequel, and ending with recent efforts like Ashen, Code Vein, the unimpressive Hellpoint and Remnant from the Ashes, made by the same people who had previously turned Darksiders into a soulslike. It's in this context that Mortal Shell tries to break the mold by offering a budget-priced 10-12 hour experience that fans of the genre are likely to enjoy.

The first mention goes to the visuals presentation and art style, which absolutely hit the spot, to the point of being derivative: everything is immersed in the trademark dystopian shroud of dejection and despair that one has come to expect from Souls games. Similarly the sound design features a quality offering of punchy impacts, meaty slashes and chilling death rattles, coupled with the ominous toll of distant bells, growls of nearby creatures and a minimal, oppressive ambient soundtrack that adequately sets the mood. A special mention goes to the voice acting, which complements quality writing (sparse as it is in such games) with grim, convincing performances. It's not original, it's more of the same, so if that's what you've been looking for after the sci-fi and stylized romps from aforementioned games, Mortal Shell will deliver.

The twist in the gameplay department is that leveling is handled differently: instead of stats to dump points into you find and possess a handful of different "shells" (read: corpses) with different skills and fixed attributes. There is a quick one with little life and lots of stamina and whose skills are centered around poisoning enemies with toxic clouds, the brutish one that hits real hard but lacks stamina, the scholar which gains upgrade tokens faster and reaps grater benefits from items, and of course the balanced all-rounder which will be what most people go for. The equipped shell can be changed at the central hub, or even summoned on the fly using uncommon consumables. The ones still to be found are marked at the Firelink equivalent with memories that show you brief visions of where they are located. They are vague enough not to give it too much away, but sufficiently informative so that you'll be unlikely to miss the shells with a modicum of attention. The same happens for weapons: instead of hundreds of similar ones, Mortal Shell features a handful of radically different ones. These can also be tracked down via visions, but they require defeating optional bosses in a dream world before they can be wielded.

All games in this genre need to come up with some gimmick to stand out and here it's that instead of carrying shields (absent from the game) you can hold down L2 to indefinitely harden yourself, petrifying your body and becoming impervious to light ranged attacks and negating the effect of the first melee strike that reaches you while in this state. It's not unlike the tanuki suit from Super Mario Bros 3, only breakable and on a brief cooldown. It also can be used offensively, making your next swing hit harder or slamming on the ground with a plunging attack. This mechanic really makes the game a bit too easy, being too forgiving for its own good. It's too convenient to lunge at the enemy with a staggering jumping slash, then follow it up with a combo and then petrify to interrupt retaliation. Rinse and repeat since cooldown on the harden skill is so short (about 5-7 seconds depending on the shell). It's a good mechanic, but one that would need a bit of balancing, since it makes bosses an absolute breeze if used skillfully, which still requires good timing. Nothing that a good patch can't fix, but in the current state a decent player will have little trouble against foes which should prove to be progress stoppers.

Combat is what you've come to expect from such games: heavy stamina focus, lock on to the enemy, dash and roll dodge, short combos of fast attack and heavy attacks, overhead dashing slashes, enemies deal high damage and inflict frequent status ailments. It's Dark Souls. The equivalents of the bonfire are spaced enough between them that dungeons are tense and exhausting, in the best of senses. You will dread what lies ahead, since death means being sent back considerably. There is no estus equivalent: healing is left to ineffectual and slowly respawning mushrooms you find in specific places around the world, but mostly the game expects you to master and use the parry system, which allows for a quick riposte that heals a latrge (and upgradeably so) chunk of your health bar. The problem is that the parry window is very small, leading you to get smacked in the face and dying when you desperately need to pull a parry off in order to save your hide. It definitely rewards skillfull usage of the mechanic, but were the game difficulty harder as a baseline, this healing system could easily become an issue, leaving the player to rely on mushrooms.

Much like in Sekiro, Mortal Shell features the "die twice" system: instead of being sent back to a checkpoint, the minute your health reaches zero your soul form simply gets ejected from the shell it's inhabiting, at which point you can still fight, but a single hit will finish you off. Your hope at this point is to manage and retrieve your now empty shell for a full health bar and a second chance at survival. This can initially only happen once per life, while later on an expensive skill can be unlocked which allows to replenish the die rebirth token after killing enough enemies.

Unlocking skills requires two resources, aquired by killing enemies and looting chests and shinies: tar (read: souls) and glimpses, which are upgrade tokens of sorts, used to unlock each shell's skill set. Some skills will require only a couple glimpses, while other will demand massive amounts. This brings up another problem: since tar is plentiful and glimpses are initially not, the palyer will be wondering what to do with all this tar they cannot spend to level up until more glimpses are found. As such it will likely be used to purchase items from the (surprisingly well hidden) merchant, which sells rare upgrade materials you will need to boost the damage of your weapons. The problem is that this is supposed to be an expensive solution for superficial players who missed out on collectibles around the dungeons, but in practice it makes your weapon way too strong way too early. This means that bosses will be cut down way too quickly unless one has been spreading upgrade resources over too many of the multiple weapons available.

The final issue is tied to the design of the main hub of the game world: while not poorly designed by any stretch, it suffers from a lack of signposting, making it difficult to find one's way around, especially at first. It's nowhere near as infuriatingly mazelike as Hellpoint and the issue eventually mitigates itself with a bit more familiarity, but it's definitely there for a good chunk of the game. Maps are a no-no for this genre, of course, so the smart player may want to drawn one or, for the laziest among us, google one. There is no fast travel of any kind either, not until endgame anyway: once a single shell is maxed out, the NPC used to level up will tranform into an engame shop that trades directly in glimpses. Among other things, the shop sells an outlandishly expensive mask that allows for fast travel to every unlocked safe area in the game (a dozen in total). The alternative is using a tarnished mask, which sends you back to the last visited safe area, but at the cost of all of your glimpses, which is a nasty trade off.

In conclusion, Mortal Shell is definitely worth playing, despite being a bit confusing to navigate and a tad on the easy side for people used to games like Bloodborne. It's entirely possible to discipline oneself to not exploit the harden mechanic too much, and there is a monument in the game which allows to renounce all shells and play in spirit form for the ultimate challenge, so the hardest of the hardcore will find something to bite into even here.

first, i want to get this out of the way: the art is great, the music is perfect. most of the writing is good, and i appreciate that the dialogue options were often pretty varied in terms of what type of howard you're going to be. most of the real-world themes it tackles are handled with care, if not always gracefully, and i think all the concepts for its worldbuilding are cool, if not entirely unique. the blend of concepts, i feel, is pretty unique. there's a lot going on in the background.

this is a tricky one to rate, because there are sections of it that feel so at odds with each other. i respect the ambition in terms of how many topics and tones they touched on. i'm not sure it gels into a cohesive experience for me, but i really want to talk about all the sections. i'll keep spoilers to a minimum, but there's obviously structural spoilers since that's most of what i'm thinking about.

it opens as a detective adventure game, has two or three very short stealth sections (which are so easy you'd be hard-pressed to fail them on your first try). i like this section, it's very classic noir, and the mystery it sets up is pretty compelling. it takes you to some beautiful settings

after some time, probably halfway through my playthrough, it completely changes tone and gameplay. i think this starts out as an interesting change, but doesn't stick the landing toward the end. i really like the section in the camp, aside from having a popular twitter/streamer personality hanging out which kind of broke my immersion and felt a little out of place. not a huge deal. i really liked the focus on participating in a found community, and it treated the subject matter in a way i thought was humanizing without being patronizing necessarily. it's not perfect, but i appreciate that it went there and didn't fuck up.

after that, however, you go to a lab, where the scenes mostly take place in a single tiny room. by now the tone has shifted so drastically from where we started that i wonder where it's going, and if i'm playing the same game at all. not necessarily in a good way.

then there's the epilogue, which sets up what *i think could be a really interesting sequel. but is this game*, on its own, a satisfying and complete package? i can forgive a cliffhanger (and i am looking forward to a sequel, if they make one), but i feel like a lot of the plot threads lacked the closure they were owed.

i think my biggest issue here is that it feels pretty rushed toward the end. i only encountered bugs at the end, i found that the gameplay and setting were monotonous and sparse for the last couple hours, and it feels like the focus on setting up a sequel was to distract from not knowing how to wrap up the other plot points. the ending sequence, while beautiful, didn't really punch me in the gut like i think it wanted to.

do i recommend this game? yes, i think this is worth your time, just know it's an uneven experience and writes some checks that end up bouncing. i think there are sections that i'd rate 2/5 and sections i'd rate 4/5, so make of that what you will, but don't let a lukewarm review scare you away, this game has ambition and heart, and i really want to play a sequel someday.