Phantom Blade Zero vs Mortal Shell II

Phantom Blade Zero

• The fights look like a martial arts film.

  Fast, fluid combos, parries that flow into counters and boss attacks with their own animations make every fight a show.

• Bosses and weapons keep it fresh.

  Players praise bosses that make them adapt and a wide range of weapons, each with its own moves.

• Many PCs run it smoothly.

  Players report steady frame rates from older cards such as the RTX 2060 up to high-end machines.

Mortal Shell II

• The combat is the best part.

  Hits land with weight, movement is quick without a stamina bar, and parries and finishers feel good.

• The Shells change how it plays.

  Eight Shells with distinct styles make switching between them worthwhile.

Phantom Blade Zero

• Many find it too easy.

  Long combos seem to play themselves and parries come easily, and some find little risk even on Hellwalker, the harder mode.

• Shader compilation takes a long time.

  The first launch spends 20 minutes or more compiling shaders for several players, and some had to sit through it twice.

• Some PCs hit glitches and crashes.

  Players report stutter, broken sky and hair textures and crashes, and several turn off ray tracing to stop light flickering.

Mortal Shell II

• The second half loses players.

  Players meet reused enemies, damage that kills in two or three hits and a final area many call untested.

• Late-game damage feels unfair.

  Players describe grabs and combos they can’t answer and attacks that land after a clean dodge.

• Resources limit the Shells.

  A run fully builds only two to four of the eight, though an update added a way to respec.

Phantom Blade Zero

Pick Phantom Blade Zero if you want cinematic kung fu fights and would rather not be punished for every mistake.

Mortal Shell II

Pick Mortal Shell II if you want a hard, fast soulslike with several play styles to master.