Mortal Shell 2 Launches August 20 on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC

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Follow-up Soulslike Mortal Shell 2 is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 20, and I'm encouraged by the variety of disgusting bosses shown off in its new trailer.

Developer Cold Symmetry released a new trailer locking in the date and showing off the sequel's upgraded, grisly combat. Like the original game, Mortal Shell 2 is a third-person action RPG where you melee, parry, and now shotgun your way through hordes of Gothic enemies that are equal parts gross and majestic. As you explore a world that's said to be much larger this time around, you unlock eponymous Shells to equip on your primordial hero, changing their abilities and fighting style dramatically, a bit like channeling the spirits of past warriors.

The original Mortal Shell played and performed fine enough – that is, fine enough to give Cold Symmetry space to make a much more ambitious sequel that, so far, actually feels a lot better. The open beta (really, the demo) for Mortal Shell 2 is still available on Steam, and I was quite taken with it when I gave it a shot. The best demo experience is one that makes you hungry for the full game, and I was certainly disappointed when I remembered I was only playing a vertical slice.

In its early hours, Mortal Shell 2 sheds much of the clunk that saddled the first game and injects ranged weapons that make combat feel more dynamic. I'm the kind of Soulslike glutton who will clear just about anything with a half-decent parry, but I'm properly looking forward to this one after some hands-on time. More polished combat was basically all I was looking for, so if the game also bears out Cold Symmetry's bold promise of a gigantic, dungeon-filled world, this could end up being something special. It helps that it's only $50, too.

The "final game" from Half-Life 2 and Dishonored's late art director has been revealed: "The world's first Soulslike FPS," an apocalyptic Western at "the end of America."