By Online Games VIP Editorial
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Game Informer's Valor Mortis preview praises its powers, weapons, world and story, but warns uneven difficulty may undermine the Soulslike's best fights.
One More Level’s first-person Soulslike, Valor Mortis, has made a strong early impression in a preview build, but Game Informer reports that uneven difficulty is threatening to overshadow its best ideas. After spending more than 15 hours with the build and playing through its first four chapters, Game Informer’s Wesley LeBlanc found a game with distinctive combat powers, varied weapons, striking environments and a more narrative-focused structure than is typical for the genre.
Game Informer also reports that the preview build’s balance created serious problems. Bosses could remove most of the protagonist’s health in a single attack, while some ordinary enemies functioned like mini-bosses. The preview’s assessment is not a final review or OnlineGamesVIP hands-on verdict, but it identifies difficulty tuning as the main issue to watch before Valor Mortis launches on October 13.
Game Informer describes Valor Mortis as the next game from One More Level, the studio behind the Ghostrunner series. The project applies that team’s first-person action perspective to a slower and more deliberate Soulslike structure. According to Game Informer, the transition works better than expected, particularly because the genre is more commonly associated with third-person combat.
The preview covered the first four chapters and lasted roughly 15 hours, according to Game Informer. During that time, LeBlanc fought bosses, encountered new characters, explored the game’s environments and learned more about the central mystery. The protagonist, William, wakes after dying in the opening and does not understand what is happening or why Napoleon Bonaparte appears to be communicating with him telepathically.
Game Informer reports that William’s journey moves through decrepit trenches, battlefields, abandoned buildings and burned villages. The setting draws on 18th-century France after war, while supernatural growths and formations give familiar countryside and battlefield locations a more unusual visual identity. Game Informer characterizes the result as having a Remedy Entertainment-like quality, although the preview’s point is primarily about the game’s visual treatment rather than any confirmed connection between the two studios.
The story also appears to be a meaningful part of the experience. Game Informer describes Valor Mortis as an unusually narrative-forward Soulslike, with William’s connection to Napoleon and the source of his powers forming part of the early adventure. The preview does not reveal the full explanation for Napoleon’s presence, so the larger shape of that story remains unconfirmed.
Game Informer’s preview highlights a combat system built around supernatural abilities, guns and melee weapons. William gains powers in his right hand, including flames and an ability to freeze time. Game Informer reports that these skills are not merely decorative additions. Many enemies are weak to fire, and filling an enemy’s burn gauge can stun it. The time-freezing ability can also create an opening for heavy damage once an enemy’s freeze gauge is full.
This system gives Valor Mortis a way to connect its first-person action with familiar Soulslike ideas about enemy weaknesses and deliberate openings. That is analysis based on Game Informer’s description, not a claim of independent testing. The important player-facing point is that success appears to depend on recognizing which tool suits a particular enemy rather than relying on one weapon or attack pattern throughout the preview chapters.
Game Informer also describes meaningful differences between the weapons available in the preview. The saber is suited to general damage and blocking, while the rapier focuses on stabbing attacks against weak points and offers stronger parry stagger. The trade-off is that the rapier cannot block. A weapon wheel contains several unused spaces, and Game Informer says it is looking forward to seeing what other weapons eventually occupy them. The source does not confirm which weapons those spaces will hold.
That distinction between weapon roles could become one of Valor Mortis’ strongest foundations. Analysis: a saber that supports defense and a rapier that rewards precision suggest the game may ask players to adapt their approach instead of selecting a single universally effective option. However, the preview’s difficulty concerns make that promise harder to judge. If enemies deal excessive damage, weapon variety may matter less than simply finding the safest possible way to survive.
According to Game Informer, the environments provide more than a route from one battle to the next. The large spaces contain side passages, short puzzles and additional areas to explore. Game Informer found that these diversions helped maintain interest between combat encounters and kept the 15-hour preview from becoming a purely combat-focused experience.
The environmental design also gives the setting its own identity. French countryside, war-torn fields and ruined settlements are not new locations for games, but Game Informer reports that One More Level changes their character with otherworldly formations and growths. That contrast between recognizable historical imagery and supernatural corruption appears to support the game’s wider mystery without requiring the setting to abandon its historical foundation.
Analysis: these spaces may be especially important for pacing. A Soulslike can become exhausting when every stretch of progress is treated as a high-intensity combat test. Game Informer’s account suggests that Valor Mortis includes puzzles and optional routes that let players engage with the world in different ways. The preview does not establish how much optional content the complete game contains, but it does indicate that the first four chapters are not entirely linear combat gauntlets.
The 15-hour preview length also provides context, although it should not be mistaken for a confirmed final-game runtime. Game Informer says it suspects the final build contains much more game because the preview covered only the opening four chapters. The source does not provide a final chapter count, total playtime or details about the remaining areas.
Game Informer’s central criticism concerns the relationship between enemy damage and the learning process expected from a Soulslike. The preview reports that certain bosses could remove roughly 60 percent of William’s health even after his health had been upgraded as much as possible at that stage. Game Informer also reports more than 100 boss deaths during the 15-hour preview.
Those numbers describe one preview experience, not a universal result for every player. Even so, the underlying concern is clear. Soulslike combat generally asks players to study attack patterns, identify openings and improve through repeated attempts. Game Informer argues that some Valor Mortis bosses hit so hard that surviving long enough to learn those patterns became difficult. When a fight demands near-perfect execution before the player has properly understood the encounter, the intended learning loop can become frustration instead of progression.
The same issue appears outside boss arenas. Game Informer reports that some regular enemies felt like mini-bosses and that one chapter contained what felt like seven of them. That distinction matters because enemy placement shapes the rhythm of exploration. A difficult boss can be treated as a deliberate destination, while repeated high-threat encounters on the path between major fights may make ordinary traversal feel unnecessarily punishing.
Analysis: the preview does not show that Valor Mortis is broadly inaccessible, and Game Informer continued playing after repeated deaths. Instead, the concern is about consistency. A hard game can still feel fair when its damage, enemy patterns and checkpoints support experimentation. Game Informer’s account suggests that Valor Mortis sometimes asks for perfection before it has given the player enough room to understand what the encounter demands. Whether that remains true at launch will be more important than the raw number of deaths in any single preview.
What remains unknown before launch
Game Informer reports that Valor Mortis launches on October 13, giving One More Level time to make final adjustments. The preview does not confirm whether the reported difficulty issues will be changed, how extensive any tuning might be, or whether the final build will differ from the version played. Those are the most immediate unanswered questions for players considering the game.
The source also does not provide final details about the full weapon roster, the complete ability selection, later chapters, the total length of the campaign or the final structure of William’s connection with Napoleon. The unused weapon-wheel spaces suggest that more equipment may be planned, but Game Informer does not identify what will be added. Likewise, the first four chapters establish the premise and systems without confirming how the story resolves.
Another point worth watching is how the game’s systems interact beyond the preview’s opening section. Fire and time-freezing powers appear to create different ways to control enemies, while weapons offer contrasting defensive and offensive priorities. The final game will need to make those options feel valuable without allowing one ability or weapon to erase the need for tactical play. That is analysis based on the systems described by Game Informer, not a confirmed judgment about the full release.
Players should also look for further evidence from the launch build, including whether boss damage has been adjusted, whether regular enemy groups are less densely populated with high-threat opponents and whether difficulty remains consistent across chapters. These details will help determine whether the preview’s balance problems are temporary tuning issues or a defining part of Valor Mortis’ design.
Game Informer’s preview presents Valor Mortis as a game with a convincing core. One More Level’s first-person action appears to translate effectively to a deliberate Soulslike format, while supernatural powers, weapon roles, environmental design and a mystery-driven story give the project more than a familiar combat framework.
At the same time, Game Informer’s concerns are substantial rather than minor complaints. If bosses routinely remove most of William’s health and ordinary enemies repeatedly demand mini-boss-level attention, the balance could weaken the exploration, experimentation and narrative momentum that make the rest of the game appealing. A last-minute adjustment could therefore have an outsized impact on how players experience the systems already highlighted in the preview.
For now, the fairest conclusion is that Valor Mortis has a strong early structure but an unresolved difficulty problem. Game Informer’s preview is analysis of a preview build, not a final verdict, and the source confirms that release-day tuning remains possible. The next meaningful evidence will come from the final build and from whether the completed game turns its promising first-person Soulslike ideas into a consistently readable challenge.