Today saw the release of a new trailer for the upcoming action-roleplaying game Valor Mortis, made by the Polish developer One More Level, this time showing off more exciting gameplay.
We open to a dreary and battle-ruined scene, with bodies, artillery cannons, and torn flags littering the landscape, inspired by wars of the 19th Century. The player, with cutlass and pistol in hand, takes on enemies who appear to be afflicted with some sort of disease or corruption- very well could be inspired by the plagues and diseases that spread rapidly across troops in older conflicts. Besides the aforementioned enemies, the player also takes on monstrosities that look like something out of Elden Ring with a Napoleonic flair, possibly bosses you’ll take on in-game. The gameplay seems to show three different ways of fighting enemies, including blasting fire from one’s hand (referred to as “transmutation”), cutting them down with a cutlass, or shooting them with ranged armaments like a musket or flintlock pistol.
In terms of mobility, you have your usual FPS movement mechanics, including dodging and sliding, as well the ability to swing across landscapes through some sort of magical tether. You can shoot enemies mid-air, slow down time, and also blow up explosives thrown at you by enemies. Although the game is meant to be Soulslike, I found parts of the gameplay shown in the trailer to be reminiscent of the likes of Doom Eternal, and the cyberpunk-title Ghostrunner, another game made by One More Level. Overall, the trailer had a great presentation, showing fluid and fast-paced gameplay in a setting with incredible 19th Century visuals.
The game also is accompanied by an intriguing narrative, one where the Napoleonic Wars led to the unleashing of a supernatural plague, hence the infected enemies you see in the trailer. You play as William, a British man serving in Grande Armée who has been resurrected by Napoleon, leading him to try and find the truth surrounding his own resurrection and the plague afflicting William’s former comrades. Although not much else is known about the story, what has been shown so far feels promising, accompanied by compelling gameplay and visuals, sure to appease both history-lovers and fans of both FPS’s and Soulslike games.