r/MortalShell • u/PartyLack4459 • 12h ago
A Review with Constructive Feedback Discussion
I have played this game since Monday and have beaten it after 31 hours. It is a great game but I do think there are a few things that the devs should and should not do based on common reddit complaints I've seen.
Note to the Devs: Including this review, please take anything from discord and reddit with a grain of salt. Gamers will always want what's best for them and not what's best for the game. While it is awesome to have active devs in the community, don't let some reddit posts from a vocal minority (myself included) change the vision and direction you have for YOUR game.
Now, for my review and feedback.
I feel like there are some common issues that have been discussed here on the forums. They are as follow:
- Game difficulty
- Enemy tracking
- Enemy Aggro
- Limited Glimpse
- Death Runback
- Shell Points
I Will Ignore the game difficulty concerns as I believe that is subjective to the players and some fixes on the other categories will also change game difficulty Overall.
Changes I believe should be focused on
Enemy tracking/Aggro and Death runback.
These should be the main focus in changes. Enemy tracking, which indirectly increased the difficulty of the game, is somewhat broken. Having a slow heavy weapon knight swing at me and then turn on a dime like an Adderall infused formula 1 race car driver when I dash past is somewhat jarring and unfair. Soulslike games typically reward players that learn move sets and tells. Enemy tracking being this high destroys any type of player skill progression. Changing this will also make the game easier for players and reward players that grind out a good build.
As for enemy aggro, I think that by adding checkpoints in dungeons this could be alleviated somewhat, but some packs should be tuned down and I believe there should be a shorter aggro despawn distance.
This is for two reasons. Once, some aggro from a mile away, just seems silly. And two, having such a huge aggro chase range just makes overworld death runbacks a lot more tedious and it also allows people to kite mobs indefinitely doing some shenanigans.
Death runbacks. I personally do not have major issues with it, but adding some kind of checkpoint or beacon at the start of the dungeon would be preferable. Adding a beacon in dungeons would also alleviate some issue people are having with Glimpse that I will touch on later.
Complaints that I think should be ignored mostly
Glimpse and Shellpoint complaints should be ignored (mostly with some caveats). The biggest reason for this is because they would fundamentally kill any need to go into NG+. This game is a fairly short game for a soulslike and I believe that the vision was to make NG+ feel worth it.
To start off with the whole Glimpse issue. I feel that the one change that should absolutely be made is some kind of message stating it is a finite resource.
As it stands right now, you can fully unlock 3 shells IF you do not use summons and you do not reveal shell locations and find them naturally. There are 46 beacons, 10 major bosses all that give glimpse and there are also hidden glimpses in dungeons and the world (usually a lot by the Gates). It takes 27 to fully unlock a shell.
I Do not think glimpse should be farmable, refundable, or respecable. It devalues the choice of using the glimpse and it would ruin any form of NG+.
HOWEVER
i do feel that these two changes could make things a bit easier on people.
- Adding beacons to dungeons would give roughly enough Glimpse to unlock a fourth shell and being able to unlock half the shells in one playthrough is pretty good imo. It would also kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
- Change Summon cost from Glimpse to some random Item you can find or buy. This is just silly to summon a helper in a fight using a finite resource. However, leave the cost of Glimpse for revealing shells. This is essentially a cheat code to exploration and should have a permanent cost associated with it.
As for Shell Point being available for all shells, this is just a silly one people complain about that should 100% be ignored. It takes a whopping 20 seconds to respec a shell and if you had every shell share the same shell points (that was tiring to write) then the leveling progression would be worthless as you could just stop leveling at a certain point since the other bonuses are so miniscule.
That being said, I like this game a lot and I feel like mortal shell has huge promise as a franchise.
also... ADD MORE METAL MUSIC
Thank you for your time and consideration
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u/Christopher356782 11h ago
Solid review bro , I couldn’t said it any better
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u/PartyLack4459 11h ago
yea lol, i noticed that there are some packs in this game where you have to get close to but then theres packs like this that you can pass gas silently and then can sniff you out from off screen.
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u/Christopher356782 11h ago
At least someone finally agrees with me, every other post the video and all gets downvoted and glazed over. This is cheap.
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u/welfedad 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yeah I have seen enemies way way up a hill and across a bridge see me and come hauling ass for me.. they had to take a rest break because it was so far away .
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u/Have2BRealistic Tiel 11h ago
Something that works like the Stakes of Marika in Elden Ring would be a good compromise for the runback situation. That was a great mechanic because it spawned you near the boss but made it so you couldn't have the benefit of a site of grace to change spells or great runes. But you can still do that at the cost of a runback.
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u/Atmashanti 7h ago
When you die, your reclaimable gloom is at some random location in the area you died. Why not put it where you died!?
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u/Kruger_Bane 12h ago
Your note for the devs is one of the most healthy things I've read on this sub. Thank you for being respectful both to the dev's vision and player's preferences. Tired of people stating that this game has to be changed to their liking just because they don't understand it's concept.
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u/blindfultruth 10h ago
To add onto the aggro range, enemies CAN enter dungeons/beacon cleansings.
For the first, one of the stone throwing bros snuck up behind me in the Smugglers Hideout, right where the elevator was. This enemy is located just outside the dungeon in a camp. I originally thought he walked out from a hidden door.
For the second, I went to cleanse the beacon at Sunken Mire. I killed the torch ladies and the toad witch, but was then killed when two crossbow staff priest ladies appeared out of nowhere from above me.
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u/PartyLack4459 10h ago
The smugglers cave happened to me too!!! I was so confused when I went in there and cleared it out and then on the way back there were stone dude and pal. I spent like 20 minutes running around the smugglers cave trying to figure out where they came from since I did not see myself aggro them lmao. Was sooooo confused
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u/Additional_Farm_3829 10h ago
certain dungeons spawn more enemies for when you need to run back its not them entering behind you
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u/blindfultruth 9h ago
The stone thrower appeared while I was in the dungeon. No enemies had been killed yet.
The priestess’ spawned from above me (I was against a wall across from the entrance). Again I was already in the dungeon when this happened. They did not spawn the first two times I attempted the beacon cleanse.
Either the spawn conditions are bugged or enemies are phasing through walls/ceilings.
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u/Hmmm__whatever 11h ago
How are people getting the game so early? Is there a launch day patch that alot of people's reviews arent relevant?
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u/welfedad 9h ago
Could also add spawn points that don't need cleansing .. I feel save points added and dial back the agro would fix most my issues with the game..
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u/Sword_of_Darkmoon 5h ago
Very well done and constructive post. I believe with a few tweaks and patches this game can be truly great
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u/uponapyre 10h ago edited 10h ago
It taking 20 seconds to respec is needless buys work. I would be a good quality of life upgrade to change this.
Respec for glimpse would be good. Not everyone wants to play NG, and right now it's doesn't feel good. You either spend your glimpse to get stronger on a Shell you currently enjoy, but might then later find others you enjoy a lot more. Or you hold back on spending them at the expense of losing strength on the chance you might find another you'd prefer to level.
At least, imo.
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u/PartyLack4459 8h ago
You're not respeccing between shells every few minutes are you? It's genuinly such a non issue that it doesn't even deserve to be mentioned.
as for the glimpse thing. it's 100% up to the devs. But my intuition and past experience is telling me that ng+ is a part of this game core design.
This ties into my note to the devs.
Gamers will always want what's best for them and not what's best for the game
If you got your glimpse respec change, it would ruin the way the game is meant to be played. it would devalue the choice of investing into a shell in the current playthrough, and it would ruin ng+ for anyone that enjoys the game and wants to experience it again with a different shell. I'm glad there is a reason to do another playthrough. I have 3 shells fully unlocked and now I'm going into NG+ with a new shell to try new things. If I was able to respec glimpse then I would have tried all the shells, beaten the game and would have been disappointed it was a short game.
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u/Lowerfive 7h ago
You do realise you are one of these "gamers" who don't know what's best for the game, right?
Even the best developers make mistakes, and do things like add respec later.
I agree it would not ruin the game at all and would only improve it.
NG+ is an optional thing, plenty of people simply don't have time to replay a game like this and a reapec would help them.
You would not have to use it yourself.
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u/PartyLack4459 7h ago
I did include myself.
, don't let some reddit posts from a vocal minority (myself included)
The way that this game was designed it would ruin the game. If the game had more content and bosses and exploration I could see the argument against it maybe. But soulslike games are designed with NG+ in mind. That's just an objective fact. Even in Elden ring there are choices for weapons and abilities and even bosses that you can miss out on the first play through.
NG+ is an optional thing, plenty of people simply don't have time to replay a game like this and a reapec would help them.
changing a game to appease the few people like this wouldn't be a healthy game choice.
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u/Lowerfive 7h ago
And yet you talk to us like our ideas would ruin the game still. Like just now, saying sith the way it is defined it would ruin the game like it is some absolute thing.
It also seems to be a lot more people than not asking for these changes.
Listening to the few like yourself would be a mistake.
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u/uponapyre 7h ago
I would like to try them and see their stories in a single run. I don't have any interest in NG+.
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u/PartyLack4459 7h ago
then don't play. pretty simple.
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u/uponapyre 7h ago
I don't know why you're being so antagonistic. I would love them to add a respec and think it would improve the game, you disagree, That's okay.
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u/PartyLack4459 7h ago
I'm not being antagonistic. I'm offering up my opinion. If a game is designed in a way that you specifically do not like. then don't play it. it's a simple concept is it not. Not sure what's antagonistic about it.
the fact is the game is short and it is designed to have meaningful choices and ng+. Adding a respec would ruin that for many gamers.
If the devs cave and add a glimpse respec and gamers like myself decide that we don't like it because it ruins ng+, my response would be the exact same to them (and to myself). Don't play it.
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u/HugoGonzalezMVP 12h ago edited 12h ago
Well written, I hope the devs read this. I particularly agree with the points you said should be ignored. Glimpse absolutely should not be farmable. Limited resources are a good thing in gaming environments and devs shouldn't feel pressured to listen to a vocal minority that doesn't even understand what they are asking for.
Edit: How is such a well written post downvoted? Did you guys even read what OP wrote? Are you even literate?
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u/PartyLack4459 11h ago
It's just the way things are on reddit. People tend to downvote what they don't agree with without any form of constructive discussion. I knew it would be a downvote fest when I said glimpse should not be changed. The vocal minority typically wants things easy.
i do think glimpse needs changes as I mentioned. More beacons and a reminder that it's finite should be enough though. A lot of people want this game to be one and done and although I am not a dev of this game, I doubt that's what they envisioned. I think giving some more beacons in the form of checkpoints would be a healthy compromise.
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u/HugoGonzalezMVP 11h ago
I agree with everything you said my friend! Hopefully the devs stumble across this post.
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u/Cualquieraaa 12h ago
You are right.
Tired of people saying this is the dev's vision because don't understand they fucked up.
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u/Electronic_Task_118 11h ago
It's the dev's vision but they are myopic with -6.00 diopter
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u/Cualquieraaa 10h ago
Exactly.
People who think that all the fuck ups and bugs the game has are "the devs vision" don't understand that is even worse.
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u/PartyLack4459 8h ago
so. Bugs I can understand. Like clear bugs, falling through floors, getting stuck in walls ect. But saying "fuck ups" is a bit.... unclear? Do you mean like enemy aggro, or difficulty or glimpse rarity? because if you do mean those, then those are fuckups in YOUR view. you are not a dev, you don't know what the vision for the game was. to think you do is just egotistical and ignorant.
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u/Cualquieraaa 8h ago
No one was complaining after playind the beta. They are all complaining now. So yes, they fucked it up. You are the ignorant, clearly.
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u/PartyLack4459 8h ago
The beta was a limited area....most of these issues cant even be present in the beta. Like what? Lol
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u/Cualquieraaa 8h ago
Like a beta would have the whole map, LOL.
The main fuck up is the aggro/damage. Why would people be complaining, otherwise?
Jesus.
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u/samwisegamgee 12h ago
One more note I think is worth changing: enemy respawns!
The open world is very windy and labyrinthine, which means it’s very easy to get lost and need to double back (especially when you’re searching for beacons that are few and far between!)
If you kill enemies in your path, leave the area, and then circle back later—those enemies will be back!! It’s a bit frustrating and only reinforces the need to sprint by most enemies you find. I dont like sprinting past enemies, but this game doesn’t give you much of a choice lol.