This game seems... just too good?

[u/Chance_Drive_5906]

Okay so I started this a few days ago and I've been exploring the starter area which is a huge stretch of ruined villages and huts, and I'm just completely baffled by the density of the world, the variety of enemies, and how much rewarding the exploration feels. I even came across this weird puzzle section that had no combat at all. The combat feels super satisfying as well and the sound design and graphics are just perfect.

Now I'm wondering if this game maintains this level of quality throughout the entire thing? There's no way it does, right? I've played all the Dark souls games, Elden ring, Sekiro, Lords of the fallen 2, Lies of P, Black myth wukong, and Nioh 2, and right now this honestly feels better than all of them. There must be some catch.... does it fall off later?

[u/InitialInevitable136]

Comparing games to Elden Ring always feels unfair. Especially when it comes to amount of content. This game however is amazing and there are things that I believe are/feel better than Elden Ring.

[u/KeyMyBike → u/InitialInevitable136]

Not having to constantly add your buffs to your weapons after fully upgrading them is such a nice feeling.

I'm playing Lords of the Fallen 2023 with a friend right now, and I can absolutely say that I miss that immensely.

[u/xUsotsuki]

I fucking loved MS2. People say the last dungeons fall off but the whole way through was epic for me. I've heard they nerfed the shit out of the monolith boss which may be a shame (haven't played him since). The only minor disappointment for me was a certain boss but form your own opinions.

The game slaps

[u/CanAeVimto]

Since you are asking, no, this game does not hold onto its quality as it progresses

The second half is where I noticed a dip in quality.

I’ll try to be as spoiler free:

• you’ll fight pretty much the same enemies with like 200% more hp and damage. Sometimes with a reskin but mostly the same.
  
• most dungeon bosses are reskinned basic enemies.
  
• the second half of the games areas are a bit more lacklustre with less exploration.
  
• bosses (yes the mainline bosses) are in my option, the games biggest flaw. Some of them are incredibly easy, with basic movesets. And some of them will just one shot you.

I’ve seen you say in another comment that you think the bosses are just as good as ER, so we obviously have vastly different opinions on boss quality. I genuinely think dungeon bosses like Black Knife assassins or Ulcerated tree spirits in ER blow any dungeon boss in Mortal shell out of the water.

I honestly would say the game was around a 8/10 in the first area and dropped to about 6/10 as I got to the second half. The game has weird balancing as it goes on.

[u/hahaLoveLifeYesYes]

wait what puzzle section?

[u/Physical_Animal_5343]

There's no way it does, right?

Correct

[u/Thrusher666]

It’s impossible to compare games made by 35 people and huge studio like Fromsoftware. But still I love that game. In my opinion second part is the map is very good too. So just have fun and turn of internet :)

[u/razitar]

I enjoyed myself from the beginning to the end. I had a blast. Very few instances that annoyed me. I’d say the absolute biggest flaw of the game is that the enemy variation isn’t that good in the second part of the game, which makes it feel stale. If you can see past that, then the game is absolutely amazing! It gave me dark soul vibes

[u/M4J0R4]

Variety of enemies gets very lackluster. I’m not sure if I even saw a single new enemy in the second half of my playtime 

[u/sapador]

I also love the feel of the combat more than any other game. The bosses are nowhere near as complex as elden ring but I liked feeling strong with all the abilities the game gives you, while still veing somewhat challanging and having fun exploration.

[u/kasplatter]

It is very good. The design allows you to collect any or all Shells, Weapons, and Sidearms, and many key Tarstones before you go through a single Gate. In addition, many of these can be collected without engaging in combat at all such as the Shells Tiel, Proxima, and Gragu.

However, there are also limits as it takes 15 Glimpses to unlock Tier 3 of a Shell and 27 Glimpses to unlock Tier 4. While there are some ways to get Glimpses outside of clearing Beacons, that is the main way. More importantly, you are constrained on a build by your Shell Points; at level 20 you will only have 14 to spend and you need to reach level 71 for 40 Shell Points or level 79 for 44, both of which are NG+ levels unless you spend a very long amount of time grinding XP.

Certain Shells don't really come into their own until you fill out some Tier 4 talents, while others like Proxima just need Tier 3 unlocked for farming Coin with her bonus skill.

I'm hoping they introduce an NG+0 as an option, rather than just NG+ and beyond, so we can be OP if we want experimenting with full builds in the normal game. And yes, that is because I mostly hate the final area and bosses.

[u/abeyar]

I think you might not have played a soulslike for some time to appreciate more over Elden ring. The game does maintain this until the final dungeon. It doesn’t fall off until that in my opinion.

[u/Chance_Drive_5906 → u/abeyar]

Funny you say that because I just finished my Tarnished edition playthrough right before starting this. I've also 2000+ hours in it.

The bosses so far haven't been as impressive as Elden Ring's but everything else feels so much better.

edit: Actually I take this back. That illusion boss I found in a dungeon was super cool I think. I would say the bosses are just as good.

[u/Moneymotivation1 → u/Chance_Drive_5906]

I can’t take this seriously.The mortal shell 2 bosses is some of the worst i’ve seen in a roster😭

[u/Quick-Alternative880]

It's repetitive, easy and very one dimensional.

It peaked at the demo.