Last Updated on Aug 31, 2026 @ 22:20:08 PM.
First-person Soulslike games are kind of One More Level’s speciality, having honed their craft with both Ghostrunner and Ghostrunner 2, where players take control of Jack, the cyber-samurai freerunner. It’s fast-paced, hard as nails and all good fun. Three years after the last release, One More Level are bringing us another first-person Soulslike in Valor Mortis, but this time, you’re playing as William, a resurrected British soldier being put to work by an ethereal Napoleon whispering in your ear the entire time. What is it with One More Level and resurrected and controlled protagonists?
At the beginning of my hands-on, the landscape around me is one of a battered battalion, dead and destroyed comrades, limbs scattered and surpassed only by the sheer amount of blood present on the battlefield. The first thing I couldn’t help but notice was the darkly beautiful scene in front of me. That sounds like a psychotic thing to say when I’ve just described a bloody battle during the Napoleonic Wars, but every single frame is gorgeous to look at. Bodies stacked up, lush vegetation, war machines scattered around. It all just looks beautiful.
There are some pretty clear through lines from Ghostrunner to Valor Mortis. Both protagonists are working against their will to a degree, both use melee weapons, and both are kickass. That’s right, William might not be free-running and jumping across Cyberpunk landscapes, but he instead can wield magic and use it to put the demonic beings inhabiting his former comrades and friends back in the ground.
Before we get to the magic of it all though, the combat. The combat is intentionally heavy, making you pick and choose when you’re attacking. If you go all guns blazing, so to speak, you will end up outgunned, outfought, and dead. You have to choose your attacks, who you’re attacking and how/where very carefully, at least in the slice I picked. Blocking takes stamina, as does swinging your sword, further leaning into the Soulslike of it all, and I have to say, early on I learned my lesson the hard way and died several times, but after a little while and once I’d gotten to grips with the ‘feeling’ of combat, I was somewhat able to predict, plan and make my way through small groups, although it was still easy to get overwhelmed and die.
All of that before I even unlocked/found my first magic ability, which allowed me to cast fire from my left hand. This immediately made me feel like Pyro, thesometimes hero, usually villain from the X-Men, and even looked similar with how One More Level had animated it. It looked like I was shooting real fire out of my hands, and was such a power trip I ended up frustrated with the magic meter not refilling quick enough. It was equals part satisfying and frustrating, something kind of synonomous in the Soulslike genre.
Magic isn’t just for attacking enemies though. You use it to traverse the world, with some puzzles requiring it, magic doors only allowing you to progress when shot with the right magic, and more. Plus, with the sort of Metroidvania level design, where new areas are unlocked via new skills you find, you’ll always need to be mindful of where you are, what you’ve found and what you need. It’s a Soulslike, Metroidvania mash-up.
There’s also a pretty in-depth skill tree that’ll allow you to purchase different skills and abilities, although that was less of a focus for me during the hands-on, instead desperate to get to the end and make quick work of the enemies in front of me.
You’re probably still thinking “But what’s brave about it?”. Well, in short, releasing a completely new IP that is so unique and out there in a relatively unfounded genre (first person Soulslikes) to this quality is brave, especially when aiming for mass appeal but not compromising on the studio’s vision. It’s commendable, and for the most part, it’s pulled off.
I could speak about Valor Mortis for a lot longer, and repeat a lot of what I’ve already said, but as someone that loved both One More Level’s earlier attempts in the genre, the most surprising aspect of Valor Mortis isn’t the quality of the combat, eye for detail in the world or the beauty of it, but the fact they chose to deviate so heavily from the Cyberpunk aspect of its predecessors, and strike out so wildly with a French-setting, Napoleonic Wars set Soulslike filled with magic, bosses and hard-as-nails bosses. I love it. Bring on the release date.
Valor Mortis releases on October 13th on PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC.
For your next read, don’t miss our Stranger Than Heaven Gamescom hands-on, or how plans for A Plague Tale 3 may not come to fruition.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
