Valor Mortis – Preview
La vie en Souls
It's well known in my group that I'm a fan of soulslike games. It's not necessarily the combat that attracts me, but rather the complex world that developers build. After a few years of exploring the genre, I've seen pretty much everything it has to offer: fallen kingdoms, representations of antiquity, and collapsed grand cities. Given the market's saturation, I didn't think I'd encounter another title that would pique my interest or keep me glued to the monitor. It seems, however, that I was wrong, and developer One More Level has shown me that original ideas and creativity still exist in this genre.
Valor Mortis was the only game from gamescom 2025 that stuck in my mind, even though it was presented in the preshow section, i.e., before the main event! The first moments made me think it was just a dark strategy game, but that impression turned out to be completely wrong. The initial presentation reminded me of Dishonored, Dying Light, and the original BioShock, but what truly attracted me was the narrative setting. I wasn't facing another dying medieval realm, but a 17th-century theatre of war. And not just any, but one inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte's campaigns!
As soon as I learned about a playtest, I signed up and suggested to a few colleagues from the GRIND community that they join me. Not for any other reason, but I wanted to form a small battalion and "hunt" Silviu Tănase from MovieNews.ro on the front. To my great disappointment, Valor Mortis doesn't have a multiplayer mode yet, so my wish remained a fantasy… Anyway, the great French emperor smiled upon me and my request for playtest access was approved. At dizzying speed, I started downloading the demo on Steam and eagerly awaited joining the elite force, the Grande Armée.
The first moments were typical of the genre: I woke up in an unknown world, surrounded by corpses and full of questions. However, I didn't have a moment's respite, because le petit caporal was ordering me to rise, for the glory of the country! The protagonist, a simple soldier named William, served Napoleon, died for him, and now seems to have been brought back to life to once again fulfil the will of the famous tactician. Without wasting time, our hero set out in search of answers, but what he discovered seems to be a different Europe than the one he left behind when he walked the path of the righteous.
His comrades, simple men alongside whom William gave his life in the name of the homeland, have also returned. Unlike the protagonist, however, they seem to have returned only physically. Behind their glassy eyes, there is nothing left, not even hatred, just a hungry void…
Personally, I had no problems with the gameplay. For the most part, it felt familiar, and unlocking a magical power that allowed me to summon flames from my palm radically simplified the battles with the walking corpses on the front. I noticed that, although the world seemed vast, everything was designed as a longer corridor, along which I encountered various enemies, each inspired by different army ranks.
The demo ends with an intense battle against General Lothaire, the bearer of the Eagle, more precisely, the imperial standard. This grotesque enemy is an amalgam of corpses that fights using the flag, a sword as big as the protagonist, and about three flintlock pistols. I honestly expected a simple confrontation, given that the demo seems to be the introductory section of the game. The battle was anything but simple. The developer broke one of the unwritten laws of the genre and decided that the first boss in Valor Mortis would have a second phase, which activates after he is defeated, just like the Guardian Ape in Sekiro.
After a few fierce battles, I finally managed to take down the general and was greeted by a message from the developer, thanking me for my time. In total, I spent about an hour in this fascinating world and I can't wait to see what other surprises One More Level has in store for us with the project's launch in 2026.
Played on: PC
Release date: 2026 (PC)
Developer: One More Level
Publisher: One More Level, Lyrical Games