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Updated daily · 13 Oct 2026

Player reception

Valor Mortis

The Ghostrunner studio’s first-person soulslike, set in a plague-ridden Napoleonic Europe, won over most of the players who reviewed it on launch day.

In short

As of 13 October, 80% of 151 player reviews recommend it. Soulslike fans enjoy it most, praising the Napoleonic horror setting, the parries and the boss fights. The complaints are combat that some find clunky, with delayed enemy swings and stamina that runs out fast, along with crashes and stutter on some PCs and missing control options. Most call $39.99 a fair price.

Valor Mortis key art. A soldier kneels on a dark battlefield below a towering, broken statue of Napoleon, its face split open by glowing red growths.
Key art© One More Level and Lyrical Games

Developer

One More Level

Publisher

Lyrical Games

Released

129

Recommend it

80%of 151 reviews128

What players say

What players say about Valor Mortis.

Players praise the setting, the parries and the bosses. Delayed enemy attacks, short stamina, crashes on some PCs and missing control options draw the complaints.128

Read in full

We read every one of these reviews on 14 October 2026 and judged each by what it says.

88 reviews from launch day

55of 88 positive

55 positive 8 mixed 19 negative 6 off-topic128

The setting wins players over.
A plague-ridden Napoleonic Europe, twisted creature designs and the art direction draw the most praise. Many compare it to Dishonored and BioShock built around a soulslike’s structure.128
Most enjoy the parrying, and some find it unreliable.
Landing a parry and a finisher is the moment players mention most. Its critics point to enemies that hold a swing and then snap into it, attacks that reach further than the weapon, and stamina that runs out after three or four swings.128
It’s easier than the demo.
Players who tried the demo find the full game smoother and its opening gentler, after One More Level reworked combat, bosses and performance from demo feedback. Newcomers to the genre call it hard but learnable.128129132
Performance depends on the PC.
Many report smooth frame rates, on Steam Deck as well. Others hit crashes at launch or when loading a save, stutter in busy fights and a long black screen the first time it starts.128
Players want more control options.
Toggle sprint, button remapping on controllers and a wider field of view are the common requests, and for a few players their absence is enough to advise against it for now.128
The price earns goodwill.
Players call $39.99 fair for what they get, and several praise the studio for skipping pre-orders.128130

Themes raised

How many reviews in each sample raise each theme, for or against
ThemeReviews, of 82
Combat, parrying and stamina36
Performance and crashes28
Setting, art and atmosphere27
Difficulty18
A soulslike in first person11
Price and value10
Controls and options9
Changes since the demo7
Story5
Exploration and level design5

Questions

Valor Mortis, in short.

Is Valor Mortis worth it?

Most players say yes. As of 13 October, 80% of 151 reviews recommend it. Soulslike fans who enjoy parrying get the most from it, while players who need toggle sprint or controller remapping may want to wait for a patch.128

Is Valor Mortis a soulslike?

Yes. One More Level calls it a first-person action soulslike, with parries, dashes, finishers and supernatural powers. Players compare it to Dishonored and BioShock with a soulslike’s structure.128

Is Valor Mortis hard?

Players call it demanding, especially the parry timing and the stamina limit, and most find it fair. Its opening is easier than the demo’s was.128132

How long is Valor Mortis?

One More Level puts the campaign at about 20 hours. A New Game Plus mode is planned for later this year.129131

Does Valor Mortis run well on PC?

For many players it runs smoothly, Steam Deck included. Others report crashes at launch or when loading a save, stutter and frame drops, and a long black screen the first time it starts.128

What PC do you need for Valor Mortis?

The minimum is a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-10600K, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or Radeon RX 5600 XT, for 30 fps at 1080p on Low with upscaling. One More Level recommends a Ryzen 7 5800X or Core i5-13400 and a GeForce RTX 3070 or Radeon RX 6800 for 60 fps at 1440p on Medium. It needs 60 GB on an SSD.128

What’s in the Valor Mortis Deluxe Edition?

At $59.99, it adds a story expansion due next year and several cosmetic weapon packs, the first of which is available now.130129

When did Valor Mortis come out, and how much is it?

13 October 2026, on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, at $39.99.129133130

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Link

https://creativecult.digital/games/valor-mortis

Citation

Creative Cult (2026). How players received Valor Mortis. Updated 14 October 2026. https://creativecult.digital/games/valor-mortis

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