And one more port in my toy library! Since the release of the Next-gen, I take pleasure in going back to the titles of the previous generation to see what the publishers are concocting for us for a new checkout. And the observation is often the same: we take the same game, whether we upscale to native 4K and/or 60FPS (sometimes 30 frames/second or dynamic resolution to maintain 60), we add a little DualSense support with the triggers adaptive that are going well, and it goes on sale. We are essentially on comfort, it is true, but we benefit either from the free upgrade or from a not too crazy price which motivates the checkout.
Mortal Shell : Enhanced Edition increased the bill by 5 euros (for its physical version), bringing the cost on Xbox Series and PS5 to 39,99€, a rather honest price and far from the fabulous 79,99€ that the headlines published and to come on the blinds. As expected, we benefit from a graphic upgrade on this version: 4K / 60FPS, the duo responds present and does not weaken at any time of the adventure. Souls-like enthusiasts will necessarily appreciate the addition, which breathes new life into the adventure, so far confined to 30 FPS on PS4 and Xbox One. In addition to that, the game sees its textures being refined. Small disappointment, however, on the loading time part. This is for me one of the revolutionary contributions of the next-gen, and although considerably reduced, the latter remain very perceptible, reaching a good dozen seconds on average. It's not huge, but it's enough to break the rhythm of the adventure, especially when you have taken a liking to this type of addition. On the DualSense side, the studio unfortunately joins the category of those who do too much. The vibrations are too intense and create more annoyance than anything else, and the speaker of the controller is constantly solicited, which prompted me to deactivate it after a few minutes. At the level of the adaptive triggers, nothing to report, they are exploited just as it should be.
We begin the adventure in a semblance of a body without skin.
As for the game itself, not being a very big Souls-Like player, it kind of caught me off guard. Contrary to Nioh et Dark Souls, I was still able to advance further in the world of Mortal shell, thanks to a welcome addition: the ability to harden your body to parry a blow. Said this way, it doesn't seem like much, but it brings a whole new dimension to the fights. Note that the use is a double-edged sword: poorly calibrated, it is the assurance of eating a blow which, like, will not leave you unscathed. In addition to these additions, we can also unlock other characters and choose the archetype that suits us best. Sodzounet's overview explains all this much better than I can.
In terms of the story, I admit I was not particularly conquered. The game aims to be cryptic, yet another inherent trait of the genre, but it isn't cleverly so. Where the narration of a Dark Souls oozes everywhere and knows how to captivate, that of Mortal Shell is done by reading steles and talking to NPCs who tell stuff more convoluted than each other.
A photo mode is present, always good to take. Unfortunately, the colorimetry of the environments will not make you dream.
Without necessarily ticking all the boxes for successful porting, Mortal Shell : Enhanced Edition gets away with it honorably and is a version to choose if you haven't had the opportunity to play this Souls-Like yet. Admittedly, it clearly does not achieve the mastery of a From Software title, but can be a convincing gateway for players wishing to embark on this particular genre.
- Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S - 29,99€
- PlayStation 4 & 5 - 29,99€
