Valor Mortis Reviews Land at 80 as First-Person Soulslike Launches
One More Level, the developer behind Ghostrunner, has launched its first-person soulslike Valor Mortis, with media reviews going live on October 13. The game arrives on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S at $40 (~¥290), and currently holds a media average of 80 on OpenCritic. The title offers a rare take on the soulslike formula, played entirely from a first-person perspective, and pairs its action with a Napoleon-era setting centered on a soldier named William.
Valor Mortis keeps classic soulslike foundations intact. Enemy placement is described as carefully designed, levels carry a strong labyrinth feel, and the save system is compared to Dark Souls’ bonfires. Combat blends Ghostrunner’s precise action with BioShock’s power-and-gun framework. Players control William, a soldier in Napoleon’s army, freely combining melee weapons, firearms, and spells to chain parries, shots, and magic combos. Keyboard-and-mouse controls reportedly feel even better than a controller, and elaborate level design supports building varied combat styles.
Despite the combat strengths, reviewers flagged clear weaknesses. The story and worldbuilding are described as flat, the protagonist comes across as thinly drawn, and voice acting quality fluctuates noticeably. These narrative shortcomings stand out against the otherwise tight action. The saving grace is the close, fast-paced combat and inventive level layouts, which reviewers say give the game a fresh identity within the genre.
The PC version suffered from rough optimization at launch, with frequent stuttering that could interfere with high-difficulty fights. A later patch improved performance, though some bugs reportedly remain. Taken together, the tight combat and clever level design make Valor Mortis one of the more novel soulslikes in recent years, while the plain storytelling and uneven PC polish are worth noting before purchase. For genre fans who prize combat over narrative, the core action may outweigh those rough edges.
