Mortal Shell 2 Review Roundup – A Bigger, Better Soulslike With Shotguns

Mortal Shell 2 is out now, and the early critical consensus is clear: Cold Symmetry's sequel improves on the 2020 original in almost every meaningful way. Reviewers put the runtime at around 25–30 hours — compact by soulslike standards, but packed with multiple biomes, dozens of bosses, and an abundance of dungeons to comb through.

The core shell-swapping mechanic returns and is significantly expanded. Where the first game differentiated its shells mostly by health pool size, with nuance buried in passive unlocks, Mortal Shell 2 gives each shell distinct active abilities on top of a reworked, more generous progression chart. Standouts from the new roster include a ferocious cannibal, an armor-clad alien, and a time-stopping cultist. The nimble Tiel can now vanish briefly to stealth past enemies and land a backstab, while the hulking Eredrim can shoulder-charge a single target or clear groups with a wide blast. The overall shell count has roughly doubled compared to the first game. Push Square highlights the game's "sparks of ingenuity" layered over familiar soulslike foundations — tough combat, an interconnected world, and a hands-off approach to exposition.

Mortal Shell launched in 2020 as a deliberately scaled-down soulslike — shorter, tighter, and less sprawling than the FromSoftware games it drew from. IGN's original review scored it an 8, praising its clever body-swapping and playstyle diversity in a compact package. The sequel keeps that identity intact while expanding the scope, which was exactly the concern going in: bigger doesn't automatically mean better. Based on early reviews, Cold Symmetry has threaded that needle, though critics do flag rough edges — some technical oddities and balance issues that surface toward the end of the campaign.

The overarching story is still described as a cryptic mess, but the individual shell backstories, fleshed out through a bonding system involving a special collectible and "a very large woman," add grounded character moments that help anchor the weirdness. If the first game left you wanting more, Mortal Shell 2 appears to deliver exactly that.