Valor Mortis, a recently released game developed by One More Level and published by Lyrical Games, attempts to translate the core mechanics of Soulslike titles into a first-person perspective. The game follows William, a soldier navigating plague-ridden battlefields inspired by 19th-century military conflicts. Unlike traditional Soulslike games, which are typically played in third-person with a camera positioned behind the character, Valor Mortis presents combat from a first-person viewpoint, altering how players perceive and interact with enemy encounters.

The game retains several hallmark Soulslike elements, including high difficulty, permanent loss of progression items upon death, and a focus on precise timing in combat. It also features a weapon wheel allowing access to melee blades, firearms, and magic abilities, as well as a quest log system designed to clarify objectives. However, the shift to first-person creates significant challenges in spatial awareness and combat fluidity. Players must contend with limited visibility when engaging multiple enemies, as close-quarters combat often fills the screen with a single opponent, obscuring the positions of others. This limitation is compounded during encounters involving area attacks or coordinated assaults, where tracking threats becomes difficult.

Parrying mechanics, a staple of the genre, prove particularly inconsistent in first-person. The game’s parry system lacks the tactile feedback and depth perception expected by players familiar with titles like Bloodborne or Lies of P. Missed parries during boss fights, such as the encounter with General Lothaire, result in rapid health depletion due to multi-hit combos. Additionally, the absence of dodge-rolling — replaced by a stamina-intensive dash — increases the risk of environmental hazards, such as fire or water, when escaping danger. The game includes an on-screen indicator for incoming attacks, a design choice interpreted as an acknowledgment of the difficulty in conveying spatial threats through visual cues alone.

Despite these shortcomings, Valor Mortis introduces innovations that could influence future Soulslike titles. Its structured quest log improves accessibility compared to the often opaque quest systems found in games like those developed by FromSoftware. The inclusion of a pause function, rare in the genre, also offers practical benefits for players needing to reassess combat situations. While the game represents a notable attempt to reimagine Soulslike mechanics for a new perspective, its execution highlights the technical and design hurdles involved in adapting such experiences to first-person viewpoints.