I think my big problem with the proliferation of Soulslikes as a genre is twofold: one, that so many games get labelled as such despite not being such, and two, they’re all much too similar. There might be mechanical differences, but there’s no big thing that clearly sets them apart from what FromSoftware already does so well, not even an aesthetic overhaul. That’s part of why I quite liked Lies of P, and why I’m curious if cautious about Valor Mortis.
RPS’ own James got to go hands-on with the game not too long ago, and despite only getting to try out a tutorial and the game’s first boss, he did feel that it’s a game potentially worth keeping an eye on, first-person combat and all. The only problem is, I’m not James! And neither are you, but I’m sure you, like me, would possibly like to give Valor Mortis a try to get your own verdict on what a first-person Soulslike is, well, like. This is where I come in again to tell you that you can do that, actually, because there’s a playtest you can sign up to right now.
It’s not particularly clear if everyone that does sign up will get to try it, but it’s worth a shot if you’re even remotely interested. Apparently the playtest, which runs from October 6th to October 13th, will feature the game’s first chapter. That includes a mini-boss and a proper boss, and a taste of the upgrade tree and level progression. In any case, as James also notes, the devs behind it also made Ghostrunner, a quite good first-person action game or so I’ve been led to believe, so perhaps there’s not much to worry about.
Valor Mortis doesn’t have an exact release just yet, but it is supposed to be releasing in 2026. Let’s see if that comes to fruition in this delay ridden era we live in.
