{"id":89406,"date":"2026-10-01T18:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=89406"},"modified":"2026-10-01T18:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:27:00","slug":"new-ps5-action-game-borrows-the-best-parts-of-dark-souls-and-bioshock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=89406","title":{"rendered":"New PS5 Action Game Borrows the Best Parts of Dark Souls and BioShock"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div wp_automatic_readability=\"103.20157907723\">\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p><em>Valor Mortis<\/em>, an upcoming action game from Polish developer One More Level (<em>Ghostrunner<\/em>), tells a portion of that story. It takes certain liberties, however, resulting in a new action game that blends the best parts of <em>Dark Souls<\/em> and <em>BioShock<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                              \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"best-games-gamescom-2026\" data-nosnippet=\"\" wp_automatic_readability=\"0.47619047619048\">\n<p>                        <img width=\"440\" height=\"248\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gamescom 2026 audience\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gamescom_26_093_014.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=124&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gamescom_26_093_014.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=124&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>Related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\" wp_automatic_readability=\"13.473684210526\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \">\n<p>\t\t\tThe 17 best games we played at Gamescom 2026<\/p>\n<\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">Get these on your wishlist ASAP<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"valor-mortis-is-a-brutal-new-soulslike\">\n                        Valor Mortis is a brutal new Soulslike<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<p>In <em>Valor Mortis<\/em>, 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p><em>Valor Mortis<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n<p>As in <em>BioShock<\/em>, 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;Image: One More Level\\\/Lyrical Games&quot;\">\n<figure><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"1650\" height=\"928\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The player in Valor Mortis wielding a cutlass, facing off against the first boss in the demo.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/steam-next-fest-best-demos-june-2026-valor-mortis.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" class=\"img-brightness-opt-out\"\/>\n        <\/picture><small class=\"body-img-caption\">Image: One More Level\/Lyrical Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> 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\u2019t shy away from in-your-face brutality, punctuated by combat\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Sure. Why not? It all fits beautifully in a world that lies in tatters, the victim of one general\u2019s vision for the future.<\/p>\n<p><em>Valor Mortis<\/em> will be released on Oct. 13 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.<\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-vignette\">\n            <!-- ============================================================\n     Polygon &mdash; Wishlister Newsletter Signup Widget &mdash; Markup\n     Pairs with polygon-newsletter-widget.css (shared with the\n     Switchboard widget &mdash; same component system, new copy\/art).\n     Needs Montserrat loaded once on the page:\n     <link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Montserrat:wght@600;700;800&display=swap\">\n\n     IMPORTANT &mdash; image src below is a placeholder. Upload\n     steam-crop-portrait-4x5.jpg (sent alongside this file) to the CDN\n     and swap the src for its real URL before publishing. 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No buying, no<br \/>\n\t\t\tcommitment \u2014 just saving for later.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tSign up free<br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg class=\"polygon-nl__cta-arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M5 12h13M13 6l6 6-6 6\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><\/p>\n<p class=\"polygon-nl__fine\">Free. Unsubscribe anytime.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/valor-mortis-ps5-soulslike-action\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[389,14454,30906,4583,258,439,4373,5623],"class_list":["post-89406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-action","tag-bioshock","tag-borrows","tag-dark","tag-game","tag-parts","tag-ps5","tag-souls","wpcat-32-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/89407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}