Valor Mortis is a first-person action soulslike from One More Level, the studio behind Ghostrunner, releasing Oct. 13 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for $39.99. It also launches the same day on Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Plus subscribers can try a 90-minute trial before deciding whether to buy. This Valor Mortis review covers how its combat, exploration and performance hold up over a run expected to take about 20 hours to finish. [REVIEWER: one-sentence verdict after completing the campaign]
Valor Mortis At A Glance
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
- Release date: Oct. 13
- Price: $39.99
- Developer: One More Level
- Also available: Xbox Game Pass (day one), PlayStation Plus 90-minute trial
- Score: [REVIEWER: score out of 10]
Players take on the role of William, a soldier who died fighting in Napoleon’s army and gets revived after a plague turns his fellow soldiers into monsters. The game is set during the Napoleonic Wars and leans into a nightmarish 18th-century aesthetic rather than a straightforward historical setting. William fights with a mix of supernatural powers, melee weapons including a cutlass, and ranged attacks, parrying and dodging his way through enemies wielding weapons at both short and long range.
Progression comes from finding Catalysts and Ambers scattered through the world, which unlock skills and let players adjust William’s stats. Side quests exist mainly for flavor and added mystery rather than to move the main story forward.
What Works
[REVIEWER: How does the parry and dodge system feel once the full moveset is unlocked? Does the mix of melee and ranged combat stay fresh across a full playthrough?]
[REVIEWER: Describe how exploration and the Catalyst/Amber system reward backtracking or build experimentation.]
[REVIEWER: How does the Napoleonic Wars setting and 18th-century aesthetic come through in level design and atmosphere?]
What Doesn’t
[REVIEWER: Detail any performance issues encountered on your platform, including stability, bugs or technical hiccups during the 20-plus hour run.]
[REVIEWER: Assess whether the story premise pays off by the end, or if it feels thin compared to the combat and exploration.]
[REVIEWER: Note any balance issues, particularly whether certain stretches of the game feel disproportionately difficult.]
What Critics Are Saying
IGN reviewer Travis Northup spent more than 20 hours with Valor Mortis on PC and described it as blending BioShock and Dark Souls influences into something he found uniquely cool. In his video review, Northup said, “Valor Mortis is what you’d get if a truck filled with used copies of Bioshock crashed into a GameStop warehouse filled with used copies of Dark Souls,” according to IGN. He also flagged bugs, technical issues and a story he felt lacked substance.
Game Informer’s reviewer called the game largely successful both as a new release and as a distinct first-person take on the soulslike genre, pointing to combat and exploration as an enticing foundation, according to Game Informer. That reviewer also reported brutal balance problems in the first half of the game and said the story’s compelling premise lands on an underwhelming payoff, dying more than 100 times over the course of the playthrough.
Verdict
[REVIEWER: Final verdict on whether Valor Mortis delivers on its premise, and who should buy it given the combat, exploration, performance and story tradeoffs described above.]
Those on the fence can test the waters through the free 90-minute PlayStation Plus trial, with any progress carrying over to the full game if purchased, according to Polygon. Xbox players already subscribed to Game Pass can jump in at no extra cost on launch day, and physical pre-orders are available on both PlayStation and Xbox, with the Xbox disc including Play Anywhere access to a digital license. Readers tracking this week’s other Game Pass additions can check out our coverage of the Battlefield 6 Xbox Game Pass debut and the full Game Pass October 2026 lineup.
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