New PS5 Action Game Borrows the Best Parts of Dark Souls and BioShock

In 1804, the ambitious French emperor Napoleon assembled an elite military force that rampaged across Europe. After he suffered a ruinous defeat in 1814, he was exiled on the island of Elba. He escaped several months later before staging a brief comeback tour that ended with his final defeat at Waterloo. With their leader gone, the army fractured. Many soldiers deserted the cause, or retreated to Paris to defend it from advancing Allied forces while a portion of their comrades stayed behind as a rearguard.

Valor Mortis, an upcoming action game from Polish developer One More Level (Ghostrunner), tells a portion of that story. It takes certain liberties, however, resulting in a new action game that blends the best parts of Dark Souls and BioShock to offer a brutal new experience that looks right up our alley (and indeed was one of the best games Polygon reporters played at Gamescom 2026).

Valor Mortis is a brutal new Soulslike

In Valor Mortis, players assume the role of a fallen soldier named William Dowsett who once fought on behalf of the charismatic Napoleon. William has revived just in time to face a horrifying new reality. In the war-ravaged countryside, his former comrades have become inhuman monsters that only vaguely resemble their former selves. There’s a conspiracy afoot, and a Crimson Plague that threatens humanity itself. Clearly, a lot of stabbing and shooting will need to happen before William can get to the bottom of it all.

Valor Mortis features a talented voice cast, including Vincent Cassel as Napoleon, James Alexander as William, and Jennifer English as the Shrike, leader of the rebels. The cast of featured and supporting characters should help remind the hero what all is on the line, and let him know just what he must endure to restore peace to a shattered world.

As in BioShock, the game takes place from a first-person perspective and the hero has access to a variety of unreal powers. They resemble proper sorcery, including a burst of fire that might just as easily have come from a flamethrower or even a dragon’s maw. Properly wielded, such powers would have been a huge hit in those battles Napoleon lost. Not every ability is offensive, either; William will be able to throw up a shield to block incoming attacks. He can also grapple to distant platforms and run along walls, which should prevent the game from ever turning into a series of bland corridors.

Upon defeating enemies, mini-bosses, and fearsome bosses, players will collect bursts of energy known as Catalysts. These can be spent near lanterns (think: bonfires) to learn and enhance new abilities on a skill tree. Some of the options may radically alter the approach the player should take, rewarding aggressive play with health enhancements or decreasing the damage shots inflict while allowing the player to aim more precisely. Such an approach encourages experimentation and multiple playthroughs.

Image: One More Level/Lyrical Games

Although gunplay and supernatural powers are a definite draw, the game also boasts bloody swordplay befitting a Soulslike. We saw arms severed from bodies, complete with crimson spray and smears along wicked blades. One More Level didn’t shy away from in-your-face brutality, punctuated by combat’s fast pace and its demand for even faster thinking. While managing their flagging stamina, players will rely on a combination of parries, dashes, and lethal finishing moves to survive against not only humanoid adversaries, but creeping monsters straight out of our darkest nightmares.

Sure. Why not? It all fits beautifully in a world that lies in tatters, the victim of one general’s vision for the future.

Valor Mortis will be released on Oct. 13 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.