The first Mortal Shell was a sleeper — a small studio's soulslike that punched way above its budget. The sequel isn't playing small anymore.
The drop
Mortal Shell II launches August 20 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, from developer Cold Symmetry and publisher Playstack. Grab the Devout edition and early access opens August 17. There's a physical Revered Edition too, though that one's PS5-only.
What changed
The big one: the stamina bar is gone. No more watching a meter to decide if you can swing. Combat's faster, with sidearms, deeper weapon upgrades, and eight playable Shells — the possessed bodies you swap between, each with its own build. The map grew too: a compact open world stitched from more than 60 dungeons instead of one linear crawl.
Why it matters
Soulslikes are a crowded room now — everybody's chasing what FromSoftware built. Cutting the stamina gauge is Cold Symmetry saying they're not here to copy the homework; they want their own combat language. That's a real risk in a genre where fans treat stamina management like scripture. If it lands, Mortal Shell II stops being 'the budget Dark Souls' and becomes its own thing.
The read
August 20 is close, and a stamina-free soulslike with eight body-swaps and an open map is either the freshest thing in the genre this year or a swing that misses the tension that makes these games tick. Either way it's worth watching. If you rode with the first one, the Devout early access on the 17th is the move.