New Elden Ring Meets Dishonored Action RPG on Steam Just Sold Me on First-Person Soulslikes

I’ll admit, for a while there, I thought I was completely done with soulslikes. To be fair, they just kept showing up, as it seemed developers were only interested in making them and didn’t want to make anything else, and as a fan of the subgenre, I couldn’t resist playing them—to my own detriment, I guess. That oversaturation left me feeling burnt out on the formula and wanting almost nothing to do with it. However, after a considerable break, I’ve found myself itching for another great soulslike to play, even after Mortal Shell 2 dug its claws in me and scratched that itch really deep. Fortunately, after spending some time with its demo on Steam, I’m confident there’s another soulslike with massive potential lurking around the corner, as One More Level’s first-person action RPG, Valor Mortis, is set to launch on October 13, 2026.

Valor Mortis is what I can only describe as a cross between Dishonored and Elden Ring, with the Dishonored side of the aisle handling the first-person combat, traversal, visuals, and animation, as well as its grim alternate-history European setting. The Elden Ring comparison, on the other hand, comes from its soulslike gameplay loop and atmosphere, with traditional checkpoint-style resting, respawning enemies, resource recovery after death, challenging bosses, backtracking, shortcuts, and more. It’s not open world like Elden Ring and is structurally more akin to Dark Souls, but it feels more like Elden Ring than Dark Souls, and that, to me, is the more important part. But comparisons aside, just a short time with two of Valor Mortis‘ story chapters sold me on first-person soulslikes, and if that piques your curiosity, you can try the demo out for yourself right now on Steam.

Valor Mortis Makes First-Person Soulslike Combat Feel Surprisingly Natural

Check Out Valor Mortis’ Demo on Steam

One thing I will say is that, getting into Valor Mortis, I wasn’t sure how the standard third-person soulslike combat would translate into a first-person perspective. One of the most important unwritten rules of the soulslike genre is spatial awareness, as it’s incredibly easy to get overwhelmed if you’re not carefully observing your surroundings. However, Valor Mortis handles that lack of spatial awareness in first person with visual and audio cues that offer just the right amount of assistance without ever making it feel like it’s outright holding your hand.

For example, when an enemy is approaching from the side, a faint, glowing directional marker appears on the screen to inform me of the impending danger, and since Valor Mortis has an extremely efficient dodge ability, I can get out of harm’s way in a heartbeat if I don’t turn to block or parry the enemy instead. But then there’s also an audio cue when you’re about to be fired at from range that’s probably one of the game’s more ingenious mechanics, and it’s quite intuitive at that. Even with it hinting that an enemy is about to attack me from afar, timing is still very important. I can’t just relentlessly dodge due to how quickly it consumes my stamina, and if I don’t time it right, the enemy is going to hit me anyway. It’s honestly one of the most satisfying mechanics I’ve ever experienced in a soulslike.

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the dual-wielding side of Valor Mortis‘ combat, because that’s a large part of what makes it so satisfying. As expected in an alternate-history European setting, your right hand wields a surprisingly effective saber useful for dismembering enemies or blocking and parrying their attacks, and the game’s seventh chapter even gave me a rapier for a different style of melee combat that specializes in targeting enemy weak points but can’t block as efficiently as a standard saber. In your left hand, though, you can equip either a ranged weapon (like a pistol) or a special Nephtoglobin transmutation power that is essentially Valor Mortis‘ take on magic and very BioShock-like in its execution.

The game’s first chapter equipped me with a fire transmutation that allowed me to ignite enemies and burn through unbreakable walls. Naturally, in typical soulslike fashion, I had to immediately backtrack upon acquiring the skill, as I had already passed by several of those unbreakable walls leading up to that point. Of course, that opened me up to an optional boss who managed to kill me several times before I finally brought him down, but that made his demise all the more satisfying. Using the fire transmutation to burn enemies was effective as well, especially when I was facing multiple enemies at once.

Valor Mortis‘ seventh chapter, on the other hand, gave me a shield transmutation that, when activated and held, would put a protective barrier in front of me to block enemy attacks. I could then release it after defending an attack to send a damaging wave in front of me as a counter. That transmutation was particularly effective with the setup the game gave me, as the rapier in my right hand was great at parrying attacks but terrible at blocking them. Chapter 7 also gave me a two-handed long-range musket I could use to take out individual enemies from a distance, and I can’t express just how immensely satisfying that was to pull off. That being said, its ammunition was even more limited than the pistol, so I had to choose my targets wisely.

Valor Mortis also has a fairly straightforward progression system that should feel immediately familiar to anyone who has spent much time with a soulslike. Defeating enemies rewards you with Catalyst, which can then be spent at the game’s lantern checkpoints on a skill tree containing upgrades to things like health, stamina, and different aspects of your combat abilities. Some upgrades are locked behind others, so there is at least a little commitment involved in deciding which direction you want to go, and progressing far enough also unlocks Amber slots that can change the way you play even further. The seventh chapter gave me a much better look at what those can eventually do, with effects capable of encouraging different playstyles rather than simply bumping up a few numbers. It’s not an overwhelmingly complicated progression system by any means, but between the skill tree, different weapons, transmutations, and Amber effects, there looks to be plenty of room to customize the way you prefer to fight.

Valor Mortis’ World Might Be Just as Much of a Selling Point

But while Valor Mortis‘ combat is undeniably solid, its world might be just as much of a selling point. For starters, the environments are incredibly detailed and immersive, to the point where I honestly had to remind myself on more than one occasion that I was playing an indie game. Valor Mortis looks far more like a AAA production than I expected it to, with gorgeous lighting, dense environments, and an incredible amount of detail packed into almost every scene. Buildings look worn down by years of war, bodies and abandoned equipment litter the landscape, and even the quieter areas have this thick, unsettling atmosphere hanging over them that constantly made me feel like something had gone horribly wrong there long before I showed up.

Put the consoles in the correct order.

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Of course, something has gone horribly wrong, because Valor Mortis isn’t exactly interested in giving players a historically accurate tour of Napoleonic Europe. You play as William Dowsett, a soldier of Napoleon’s Grande Armee who has somehow been brought back from the dead after being buried on the battlefield. Unfortunately for William, the Europe he wakes up to isn’t the one he remembers, as a mysterious plague has spread across the continent and transformed Napoleon’s forces into horrifying abominations. William hasn’t exactly escaped that plague either, as the same corruption now runs through him and is responsible for the supernatural abilities he can use in combat. From there, much of the story revolves around figuring out what happened, why William was resurrected in the first place, and what exactly is going on with Napoleon and his Eternal Guard.

It’s a really cool premise, but I think what sold me on it more than anything during the demo was how well the world itself communicates it. Valor Mortis is absolutely dripping with atmosphere, and there were plenty of moments where I slowed down simply because I wanted to look around. There is this grim beauty to everything, where it all somehow manages to look gorgeous even when what I’m staring at is objectively terrible. The first-person perspective helps quite a bit with that too, because instead of watching a character move through these environments from several feet away, I’m right there in them, and that makes some of Valor Mortis‘ more impressive sights feel even bigger and more imposing.

Interestingly enough, exploration itself was fairly light in the two chapters included in the demo, at least compared to a lot of other RPGs that seem determined to hide something shiny behind every other rock. There wasn’t a ridiculous amount of loot scattered around for me to grab, and I actually appreciated that because Valor Mortis doesn’t really seem interested in making exploration about constantly feeding me rewards. I would occasionally find useful items or additional ammunition for my ranged weapons, which was especially welcome considering how limited some of that ammunition could be, and notes scattered throughout the environment would give me little bits of lore to chew on. One note I found even unlocked a side quest for me to complete, so there was still plenty of reason to poke around beyond the main path.

Then, of course, there were the optional bosses. The one I stumbled into after backtracking with my fire transmutation absolutely destroyed me several times, so wandering off the beaten path can very quickly become a problem if you’re not prepared for what might be waiting there. Still, what I appreciated most about Valor Mortis‘ exploration wasn’t necessarily what I found at the end of a side path but the fact that I wanted to take that side path in the first place.

I spend so much time in games wandering away from the objective because I know there is probably a weapon, armor piece, crafting material, collectible, or some other reward waiting for me, but Valor Mortis gave me another reason to do it. Sometimes, I just wanted to see the world. I wanted to know what was around the next corner or what a distant structure looked like up close, and with environments this detailed, I never really felt like I was wasting my time when there wasn’t some big reward waiting for me there. Valor Mortis is an absolute feast for the eyes, and if you’re the type of player who likes slowing down and actually immersing yourself in a game’s world rather than sprinting from objective marker to objective marker, I have a feeling you’re going to get a lot out of simply being there.

Valor Mortis Has Me Ready to Give Soulslikes Another Chance

Considering how burnt out I was on soulslikes not all that long ago, I didn’t really expect Valor Mortis to be one of the games that reminded me why I fell in love with the subgenre in the first place. A lot of that comes down to how different it feels in first person, but I also think One More Level has simply put together a really satisfying combat system here. Parries feel great, perfect dodges are rewarding, ranged weapons actually have a meaningful place in combat, and the transmutations add just enough variety to keep encounters from feeling like the same sword fight over and over again. Throw in a progression system that already looks like it has plenty of room for experimentation, and even the limited slice I played gave me quite a bit to look forward to.

More than anything, though, I just came away wanting to spend more time in Valor Mortis‘ world. The demo didn’t overwhelm me with loot or give me a hundred reasons to check every corner, but I kept checking them anyway because I wanted to see what was there. Between its gorgeous environments, thick atmosphere, strange alternate-history premise, optional encounters, and the way first person pulls me so much closer to all of it, Valor Mortis feels like one of those games that could end up being far bigger than I initially expected. I went into the demo curious whether a first-person soulslike would even work for me, and I came out of it completely sold on the idea. October 13 can’t get here soon enough.

Released

October 13, 2026

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language

Developer(s)

One More Level

Publisher(s)

One More Level, Lyrical Games