Though I would never claim to be a Soulslike savant, I’ve certainly been an avid fan of the subgenre since it emerged with Demon’s Souls in the halcyon days of 2009.
Countless Soulslikes have arrived since then, but many have followed a familiar design throughline: third-person action, close-quarters combat and a heavy reliance on the invincibility frames provided by a well-timed dodge.
Coming from an unexpected developer, Ghostrunner studio One More Level, Valor Mortis looks set to do things rather differently. In the process, it could blow away some of the stale vapours that have been wafting around the Soulslike subgenre for a while.
Here’s how Valor Mortis is shaping up to be one of the most distinctive Soulslikes of 2026.
You could argue that FromSoftware has cornered the market on grimdark fantasy, grimdark Victorian horror and, well, grimdark Sengoku-era settings. One backdrop it doesn’t have dibs on, however, is the grimdark Napoleonic era. That is precisely where Valor Mortis butters its bread, or croissant, so to speak.
After protagonist William Dowsett awakens in a mass grave (it’s a Soulslike, where else would the game begin?), players are pitted against legions of corrupted French soldiers who have been fused with all manner of weapons and battlefield artillery.
These horrors and aberrations exist thanks to the corrupting influence of Nephtoglobin, a parasitic organism unleashed upon the Eastern European theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. It fuses flesh with steel and twists the flora and fauna of an otherwise picturesque landscape into a palpitating expanse of festering forests and hostile hills.
Awakening in a filthy grave after seemingly being killed, only to discover that you have also been infected by Nephtoglobin, might sound like a bad deal. However, this particularly odious set of circumstances gives Valor Mortis one of its most intriguing storytelling devices.
As William rises from the grave in an oddly altered form, he finds his mind invaded by two very different voices and apparitions.
The first is none other than Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Voiced by legendary French actor Vincent Cassel, Napoleon implores the resurrected hero to salvage his imperial crusade even as the Nephtoglobin corruption tears through his armies.
The other voice belongs to a mysterious woman known as the Shrike, voiced by popular games actor Jennifer English. A resistance fighter hell-bent on Napoleon’s destruction, she seeks to cleanse Bonaparte’s influence from the world entirely.
This dual presence gives Valor Mortis an unusual storytelling hook, helping to distinguish it from just about every other Soulslike on the market.
Arguably the most significant change Valor Mortis makes to the established Soulslike formula is its shift from the familiar third-person viewpoint to a refreshing first-person perspective. This is much more than a cosmetic choice, as it directly affects how the game plays.
The third-person perspective traditionally used by Soulslikes allows players to judge space and their distance from nearby enemies relatively easily. Both are crucial when evading attacks coming from multiple directions.
In Valor Mortis, broad, circular dodge rolls are replaced by subtler but swifter sidesteps, while precision parrying sits at the heart of its first-person melee combat.
If you’re wondering how the game handles encounters with multiple enemies, the answer lies in mechanics that suit both its perspective and darkly fantastical Napoleonic setting. Players can use an assortment of spells and trinkets to create distance from nearby foes, while a clever implementation of 3D audio helps them pinpoint where the next attack is coming from.
The first-person viewpoint also allows One More Level to draw on its substantial traversal expertise. William can wall-run at high speed, leap through the air and chain together aerial grappling moves in ways that would make almost any other Soulslike blush.
As you might expect, these white-knuckle traversal mechanics also complement the combat. William can use designated grapple points to launch himself into a group of enemies for a surprise attack or escape overwhelming aggression and reset his position, not unlike a certain Caped Crusader.
With Valor Mortis firmly ensconced in the Napoleonic era, rapiers and sabres are largely the order of the day when it comes to melee combat. They may also be the most conventional part of the game’s arsenal.
Rather than relying on traditional blocking, players are encouraged to master perfect parries, creating opportunities for devastating counterattacks and gory instant executions.
Alongside these piercing close-quarters weapons, Valor Mortis lets players wield pistols, flintlocks and muskets from the period. These firearms are undeniably powerful but laborious to reload, meaning they should be used only when a hit is all but guaranteed.
Players can make their shots even more effective by targeting the swollen Nephtoglobin boils afflicting many of William’s enemies. Successfully destroying these weak points can inflict enormous damage.
William’s resurrection has also given his left hand the ability to channel Nephtoglobin into powerful occult abilities, because why not, eh? By maintaining a supply of Nephtoglobin, replenished by killing enemies, using consumables and resting at checkpoints, William can weaponise the plague to produce jets of fire, kinetic barriers and more.
Finally, Ambers are a special class of socketable item that can provide an assortment of buffs, modifiers and passive bonuses. These include slowing time while aiming a firearm, converting healing potions so that they restore Nephtoglobin instead, and extending the parry window of the game’s various rapiers and sabres.
Enjoy Soulslikes but fancy something a little spicier and altogether more unusual? Valor Mortis looks set to be a perfect fit.
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