Valor Mortis Preview | Everything to Know Before the October 13 Release

With October 13 fast approaching, developer One More Level (the Polish studio behind Ghostrunner) and publisher Lyrical Games are getting ready to drop Valor Mortis.

Having spent time with the Steam demo earlier this year, I can tell you firsthand that this game brings something uniquely fresh to the table. If you love dark historical fantasy, intense first-person combat, and deep storytelling, here is the full rundown of what you need to know before stepping onto the battlefield.

What to Expect: Dishonored Meets Dark Souls

The best way to describe Valor Mortis is a mix of Dishonored-style atmospheric exploration and pure Soulslike combat, set against a dark, plague-ridden 19th-century Europe. It’s a combination that doesn’t come around often, and the demo gave me a clear sense of how the two halves fit together.

The Story: You play as William, a British soldier who volunteered to fight for Napoleon, was left for dead after a great battle, and is awakened by the voice of the Emperor himself—voiced by César Award-winning actor Vincent Cassel.
The Supernatural: An infection called Nephtoglobin (also referred to as the crimson plague) flows through your veins, giving you dark magical powers and “transmutations” like launching fire blasts, setting up shields, or freezing enemies in their tracks. Rather than being a simple curse, the plague doubles as your toolkit, which gives the supernatural side of the game a real mechanical purpose.

The Resistance: Beyond the imperial loyalties, your journey intersects with a mysterious rebel leader known as The Shrike, whose true motives and trustworthiness remain a central narrative mystery. Who to trust is clearly going to matter here, and the demo left me wanting to know more.

Emotional Depth: There’s an emotional side to all of this, too. Beyond the heavy combat, expect some surprisingly heartbreaking moments—like a stand-out side quest in the demo involving young kids that really sticks with you.

Combat Breakdown: Cold Steel, Gunpowder & Parries

Unlike most third-person Soulslikes, Valor Mortis plays entirely from a tight first-person perspective.That shift changes how every fight feels, putting you right up against the enemy and making each strike, block, and dodge feel more immediate.
Brutal Parry & Posture Mechanics: Button mashing won’t work here. You have to rely on timed directional parries, blocks, and dodges. Careful stamina management is critical as you combine light and heavy attacks to break an enemy’s posture bar for incredibly satisfying execution finishers.
Weapon Variety: Your primary hand wields swords—from heavy claymores and classic sabres designed to target weak points. As you progress, you’ll acquire new melee and ranged weapons that vastly expand your capabilities and give you room to shape your own playstyle.
Off-Hand Firearms: You can pair your blade with flintlock pistols, short-barreled shotguns, blunderbusses, and rifles to interrupt enemy attacks or hit critical spots. Every weapon and power you acquire can also be enhanced with materials scavenged throughout the world, which gives exploration a tangible payoff.

World Design, Traversal & Progression

Drawing on One More Level’s experience with Ghostrunner, navigation feels remarkably fluid. Movement is a strength here, and it’s one of the clearest ways the studio’s pedigree shows through.
Interconnected Metroidvania Levels: William’s journey takes him through war-torn villages, expansive battlefields, labyrinthine caves, catacombs, and towering laboratories filled with environmental puzzles, secret shortcuts, and hidden paths that reward exploration. Poking around every corner feels worthwhile, which is exactly what you want from a game built around discovery.

Lantern Checkpoints: Checkpoints take the form of glowing lanterns (functioning as your traditional “bonfires”) where you rest, reset enemies, refill health flasks, fast travel between locations, and spend Catalysts—rare resources dropped by defeated enemies.
Skill Trees, Ambers & Customization: Customization includes skill trees to boost your melee posture damage, gun efficiency, or magic siphoning. You can also equip Ambers—unique, build-altering modifiers rather than simple stat boosters. For example:
Butcher’s Carnage completely removes your ability to use healing flasks in exchange for a health bonus on every melee attack you land, Marksman’s Bane allows William to parry bullets, and Dilated Moment lowers firearm damage but slows time for precise shots when aiming down sights. Each of these changes how you approach a fight rather than just nudging a number, which is the kind of build variety Soulslike fans tend to love.

Are You Ready?

With a dark theatrical tone, a haunting musical score co-composed by Arkadiusz Reikowski (Silent Hill 2 Remake), and high-stakes combat, Valor Mortis is shaping up to be one of the most exciting action-RPGs of the year. The demo gave me plenty of reasons to be optimistic, from the posture-driven parry system to the Amber build options and the mystery surrounding The Shrike. Get your parry timing ready—October 13 isn’t far away.