New Polish soulslike surprises: it plays like Bloodborne, but from an FPP perspective and with a saber in hand

One must be brave and creative to do what the Krakow studio One More Level, authors of the acclaimed Ghostrunner, have decided to do. Their new game, just announced Valor Mortis, is a soulslike FPP set in the realities of the Napoleonic wars. And although, when you read this, you might exclaim in surprise: "What?!", I want to inform you that I had the pleasure of playing it and I can honestly say: Poles know what they're doing, and Valor Mortis promises to be an extremely interesting, engaging, dark production, in which there is no shortage of challenges.

Ninja at Waterloo

Although the code name of the game, Project Cyber Slash, could suggest Ghostrunner 3, it turns out - luckily! - that the developers needed a change. The plot of Valor Mortis tells an alternative history of the Napoleonic wars, where Napoleon rules Europe. During the march of his famous Great Army to the east, something inexplicable happens that stops it. Our comrades in arms are turning into soulslike zombies, and we are trying to survive, traversing battlefields, forests and woods, forts and villages full of corpses. We do not know if the horrors we encountered caused us to lose sanity, because we hear Napoleon's voice in our head. Something is very wrong here.

Related:Dark, first-person soulslike game set in the Napoleonic era. Valor Mortis is a new game from the creators of Ghostrunner

The choice of setting deserves praise - rarely do we reach for the times of Napoleon in games other than strategies, and here we have a soulslike, moreover in FPP. It turns out that the characteristic coats and firearms fit perfectly with the genre, effectively emphasizing the mystery. The aforementioned battlefields, which I encountered many times in the demo, of course remind me of memorable locations from such titles as A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem. But above all, they remind me of... military and historical art. Especially since at times the developers consciously play with light, emphasizing the plasticity of the scenes. So we feel a bit like we're walking through the paintings of Wojciech Kossak.

This soulslike gave me a weird look

A good setting, emanating mystery and originality is one thing, but One More Level decided to go for a combination that had no right to succeed. A soulslike with a first-person view is still innovative, however, the developers of Ghostrunner have used their experience in such a way that surprisingly everything makes sense. The game is responsive and from the very beginning we don't feel like we're struggling with the controls. On the contrary, experience from other soulslike games come in handy and after a moment we are already parrying and countering opponents. Valor Mortis is slower than the previous works of the studio, because we are not controlling a cybernetic shinobi here, but a terrified and lost soldier, although it is impossible to deny that the game's dynamic. Of course, due to the choice of perspective, there are no fancy tricks known from TPP soulslikes, but side dodges, blocking and ripostes are definitely here.

In one hand we hold a saber, in the other a pistol or wield... "magic" (in the demo it was possible to cast flames), the existence of which will probably be explained in the course of the story. We won't be able to block all attacks with a saber, but similar to Bloodborne, there is a health regain mechanic here, so when an enemy deals us damage, we have a narrow time window to attack and recover at least some of the lost health points. Ripostes done on ordinary enemies kill them immediately in a spectacular way (I hope there will be a lot of these finishers), but in the case of bosses or more dangerous enemies, parrying their attacks fills up an additional stagger bar (knocking them off balance). So sometimes we have to parry like in Sekiro - especially the bosses. There are also "red" attacks, which cannot be blocked, only avoided, and there are those that need to be jumped over. Of course, there is a surprise attack from behind, and everything works well, even perfectly - contrary to my fears, which I had when I heard that it's a FPP soulslike.

Of course, a soulslike has to have bonfires and character development - and all of this is also here. We rest by lanterns which respawns enemies and allows us to develop our soldier. However, there are no attributes - we rather invest in passive skills, for example by increasing the level of stamina or health. During exploration, we also come across special stones, which in addition to passives, can grant us new abilities. One of them, for example, allows for slowing down time after a dodge, which greatly facilitates gameplay (we then have more time to aim the gun at the bosses' weak points - glowing boils on their bodies).

Not so silent and enigmatic soulslike

Exploration is no longer about running on walls and somersaulting in the air, but about classic traversing of levels, although - as already mentioned - there is jumping. There seems to be little left of parkour (at least in the demo), but I did manage to jump across branches over an abyss. I also encountered obstacles that I could go back to after acquiring a pistol.

I haven't seen so many enemies; most of them were French soldiers at various stages of zombification, including ranged units. Some ran on all fours like dogs, but others - let's call them "undercover mini-bosses", who are likely regular enemies at later stages - could cause a lot of trouble. The boss ending the demo is a two-stage, monstrously overgrown beast. Although I didn't manage to complete its second phase - truth be told - I don't think it would pose a great challenge if done normally (at home, at your own pace). The game gives the impression that it could be difficult, but of course, each subsequent attempt after death prepares us for ambushes and hidden enemies.

The world is not as "silent" and enigmatic as in the productions of FromSoftware studio and we do not have to reconstruct the plot from item descriptions. We hear Napoleon's voice in our head, and our character also speaks up and comments on what is happening. We also find scattered notes or letters and meet NPCs who assign side quests (there is a quest journal!). So there is a chance that we will understand something from this soulslike without studying the fan-made wikipedia.

Soon

What I saw during that hour put me in a positive mood and the only thing I regretted after the game time passed was that I couldn't take the demo home with me. I like this world and the Napoleonic setting. The plot promises to be interesting enough that it may provide a significant drive for motivation to play, but above all, the soulslike combat in FPP simply... works. It is possible to do it feel smooth, responsive and satisfactory. We will be able to play the full version of Valor Mortis in 2026 (but playtests are coming soon!) and so far everything indicates that the Polish gamedev will deliver another good game, hopefully appreciated in the West, too.

Valor Mortis

2026

Want It!

• Overview

• Polish games
• One More Level
• share-based FPP games
• soulslike
• gamescom 2025