Valor Mortis Review: An Incredibly Fresh Take On A Saturated Genre

Published Oct 12, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT Making a drastic departure from their previous work, Valor Mortis is a testament to the gameplay potential of the genre. Valor Mortis Is Proof The Ghostrunner Devs Haven’t Lost Their Sauce Out of all the games I’ve played so far this year, few have had me as emotionally invested in their worldbuilding and gameplay loop as One More Level’s Valor Mortis. Having loved the team’s Ghostrunner games, I had high hopes for Valor Mortis, but those expectations were blown away by the grim spectacle and how the in-depth Soulslike gameplay mechanics intertwined with its haunting narrative. While I was a little skeptical about how much could be done within the confines of its alternative take on 19th-century Europe compared to an expansive sci-fi universe, Valor Mortis takes full advantage of the fresh setting to create one of the most unique Soulslikes I’ve had the pleasure of playing, which doesn’t overstay its welcome as a relatively short, single-player narrative. A Grim World Dripping With Detail From the moment I started up Valor Mortis, it was obvious I was in for a treat thanks to an introduction that perfectly sets the tone for what to expect from the rest of the experience. Playing as the loyal soldier William Dowsett, who awakens in a field of corpses with a chunk of his memory missing, the core story of Valor Mortis revolves around trying to reconnect with your lost forces and uncover the mysteries behind the brutal war tearing across the country. While I initially had several problems with performance drops or stuttering in some areas, the pre-launch updates and game-specific Graphics Drivers seemed to fix a vast majority of these issues. Picking up your sabre and going face-to-face with the risen forms of allies and enemies alike, the monsters of Valor Mortis are just as fierce to fight as they are horrifying. Becoming progressively stronger or more disturbing the further you go, even the weaker monsters can pose a significant threat if they manage to catch you off guard, while some grotesque mutated hybrids like the Howlers wouldn’t be out of place in Resident Evil. Putting aside the legions of dead and mutated soldiers keeping the war machine fueled, the horrors of the paranormally enhanced conflict are felt throughout the entirety of Valor Mortis, with the first few areas alone having you walk across literal mountains of corpses to progress, reinforcing the consequences of the ongoing conflict. It isn’t all death and guts, though, as there were several times while playing Valor Mortis when I had to sit back and take in the beauty of its detailed countryside, before being dragged back to the realities of war through the crackling fires and eerie sounds of ongoing battles. An Arsenal Fit For An Emperor Getting into the meat of the combat, the main way that Valor Mortis makes a name for itself in the Soulslike genre is through its first-person perspective, which helps make the fast-paced close-quarters combat feel far more personal than a traditional approach. Your main method of facing off against the army of risen foes is through melee weapons, such as the Sabre and Rapier, that you’ll use to either chip away at their health or deal damage quickly enough and parry their attacks at just the right moment to stagger them and launch into a lethal critical attack. On top of bladed options, you’re also able to dual-wield with either a ranged firearm or magical powers that you can unleash with your offhand. These attacks are also great to use in tandem with your blades to soften up enemies, take advantage of specific weaknesses, or apply various status effects during combat. Some weapons require two hands to hold and prevent you from using a ranged and melee weapon simultaneously Several of these abilities also interact with the environment in meaningful ways, making it just as vital to take in your surroundings before and during combat. Whether it’s activating a trap from a distance, igniting a pool of oil, or sneaking around enemies for a stealth attack, Valor Mortis regularly provides you with creative ways or alternative options for going about each encounter depending on your playstyle. Plenty Of Freedom To Express Your Fighting Style Although Valor Mortis is a bit limited compared to a traditional Soulslike by having a set arsenal of weapons to pull from as opposed to creating your own highly specialized class, you’re much better off mixing and matching your tools to fit the situations rather than sticking to one single set of weapons for the entire game. Even with the more limited number of weapons compared to other fantasy RPGs, Valor Mortis has plenty of opportunities to lean into your gameplay style, which can be fleshed out further thanks to the unique abilities granted by the Ambers scattered throughout the game world. These include some of my favorites, like Marksman’s Bane and Volatile End, which let you parry bullets and add them to your inventory before unleashing them against an enemy’s weak point for a damaging explosion. Putting A Unique Spin On The Souls-Like Genre Several hallmarks of the genre, from physical checkpoints in the form of Lanterns, health-restoring Ferro Flasks, and Catalysts as currency that expires upon death, will be familiar to Soulslike fans, with a few quality-of-life features added that make it easy to jump into for anyone without any experience in the genre. Helping to mix things up, Valor Mortis also takes plenty of inspiration from the Metroidvania side of things as well, just like its Souls inspirations, with each area in its relatively linear story having plenty of room to explore for secrets, items, and side quests to help learn more about its world. Several upgrades you’ll unlock further in the story also heavily encourage you to revisit previous areas, opening up entire sections of the game or additional rewards that are well worth exploring. The only roadblock I had with Valor Mortis was that some of the quests or areas were a bit of a struggle to navigate at times without any waypoints or specific guides, which became more confusing as some quest descriptions literally had me going in the wrong direction for an embarrassing amount of time. Of course, it wouldn’t be a cinematic Soulslike if it weren’t for iconic bosses, which Valor Mortis has in spades with its uniquely mutated combatants. From distorted weapons of war, dozens of soldiers smashed into one monster, and completely unrecognizable masses of flesh, almost all of the main boss encounters manage to stand out. Despite Valor Mortis starting off with some of its strongest fights early on, not all of the bosses have quite the same level of quality as the rest, with a few standout encounters tending to overshadow the easier ones with comparatively simpler attack patterns or movesets. Creating An Experience That’s Hard To Put Down While each individual aspect of Valor Mortis is great on its own despite a few flaws, they all work together to craft a formidable gameplay loop that makes it hard to step away from. Valor Mortis also boasts some impressive voice acting from its cast, with stars like Vincent Cassel as Napoleon and Jennifer English as the leader of the rebels, each desperately trying to convince you of their clashing ideologies. Despite the drastic change in setting, a few remnants of One More Level’s previous Ghostrunner games are still readily apparent throughout Valor Mortis as well, with fast-paced combat, parkour mechanics, and (thankfully) a grappling hook thrown in for good measure. Although the overall experience is still a bit slower-paced, combat is still incredibly satisfying once you get into the right rhythm and start brutally dismembering enemies. Valor Mortis also still managed to keep surprising me every time I felt the enemies were getting a bit repetitive, all while becoming more invested in the severity of Napoleon’s war and its side effects on the inhabitants of the game world. Although there is some room for improvement when it comes to refining a few of the technical aspects of the game, Valor Mortis is still a thoroughly engaging experience that left me more than satisfied with my time going through its story and learning about its world. I’m absolutely ecstatic to see what else One More Level has in store for Valor Mortis, and I will definitely be one of the first in line to return for its promised story expansion and New Game+ mode. Released October 13, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language Developer(s) One More Level Publisher(s) One More Level, Lyrical Games Genre(s) Soulslike, RPG, Action, First-Person Pros & Cons Incredibly immersive narrative with emotional stakes Satisfying combat mechanics that reward experimentation Souls-like gameplay loop that feels fresh and inspired Boss difficulty and complexity can feel a bit inconsistent A lack of navigation systems makes exploration frustrating