Mortal Shell II Early Access Peaks at About 20,000 Steam Players
Cold Symmetry's Mortal Shell II, published by Playstack, is scheduled for release on August 20 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Ahead of that date, purchasers of the Devout Edition, the premium tier, have gained 72 hours of early access, and the game is already drawing a large audience. According to SteamDB, the peak concurrent player count on Steam during early access is about 19,000, with Steam user reviews at 88% positive out of 920, earning a 'Very Positive' status. The Metacritic score is 84 based on 37 reviews. The game is a standalone sequel to the 2020 Mortal Shell, which sold 500,000 copies worldwide. The combat system removes the stamina meter, allowing for relentless attacks when openings appear, and dodging is a step dodge with little recovery. Players collect the remains of eight warriors, called Shells, to adopt their stats and abilities, and customize builds with Tarstones. The open beta, released on June 6, peaked at about 8,000 concurrent players and held a 91% positive rating from about 5,600 reviews. The Japanese PS5 physical edition is scheduled for September 17 via U&I Entertainment Japan.