Mortal Shell II early access is live ahead of its August 20 launch

Mortal Shell II's 72-hour advanced access period is live now for players who bought the Devout Edition, ahead of the game's general release on August 20. The launch trailer dropped today. It highlights a few new grotesque enemies and confirms the early access window across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam. The footage centers on the dark fantasy environments and surreal creature designs that defined the first game.

Cold Symmetry and Playstack first announced the sequel at Summer Game Fest in June 2025. The original game launched in 2020 and carved out a specific niche in the crowded action RPG genre by letting players physically harden their character's body to absorb blows. The sequel retains the core concept of possessing fallen warriors to use their combat styles. The new enemy roster includes a massive spiked figure wielding a greatsword and a winged creature with three conjoined heads. Players will also have access to new weapons, including a scythe that unleashes a fiery blast. You can also use medieval firearms.

Pay extra to suffer early

The Devout Edition includes the base game, an Obsidian skin set for all eight playable Shells, and the three-day head start. Paying a premium just to get flattened by a giant hammer three days before everyone else is a choice, but it's an option. Players who pre-order also get a Skeletal Harbinger skin. There is a limited open beta available right now. It is free. The trial caps your playtime at exactly three hours, which should be just enough time to learn the new parry timings and figure out which of the starting shells fits your playstyle.

Faster combat and open worlds

The sequel expands on the 2020 original with faster combat and deeper weapon upgrade paths. Cold Symmetry is also shifting the structure toward free exploration within a compact open world. This moves away from the segmented, hub-and-spoke design of the first game. The original Mortal Shell was a smaller, more focused take on the formula popularized by FromSoftware. It gave players four distinct bodies to inhabit, each with its own health and stamina pools. It worked. The sequel doubles that number to eight playable Shells, which provides more variety in character builds and playstyles to help navigate the expanded open-world design.

Combat is taking a faster approach this time around. The developers promise unforgiving encounters and high-stakes fights against false gods. Players will have access to execution maneuvers and blood sprays during traditional melee combat. If you don't want to buy the premium version just to die repeatedly over the weekend, the standard edition unlocks on Thursday across all platforms. The wait is almost over.