Valor Mortis is Another Big Soulslike That Won’t Have Difficulty Settings

One of the reasons many people can’t get into Souls games is that they are unforgiving in their difficulty. Valor Mortis could be 2026’s prime Soulslike, but it won’t be accessible if you struggle with the genre.

I won’t go through the whole repertoire of Souls speak, but if you’re unfamiliar with it, GIT GUD.

But Soulslike fans will tell you that the games don’t need difficulty settings, whereas non-fans will say otherwise. Before Elden Ring, the argument for difficulty settings might have been there, but there’s clearly a mainstream audience that loves the brutal challenge of hard and uncompromising games without flexibility.

I spoke with One More Level about Valor Mortis and the challenge it poses.

Valor Mortis’ Difficulty is “Fair”

Szymon Bryła of One More Level has told me that he’s ‘Fascinated’ by a lack of first-person Soulslikes.

I agree with this, but I also agree that the beauty and magic of a Souls game is that the developers generally don’t budge. By that, I mean a lack of customizable difficulty settings to tone down your experience if you’re struggling.

Szymon also appears to be of a similar mindset:

‘No, on the day of release, Valor Mortis will not have difficulty levels. The overall difficulty level, in my opinion, is what it should be in any soulslike, which means challenging, rewarding persistence, yet clear and fair. Ultimately, everything depends on the player’s skill, but I feel we maintain a healthy balance here.’

He also added that if you are planning on buying Valor Mortis, he would recommend you master ‘perfect parrying [like] in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but that you should also be ‘aggressive in direct combat, just like in Bloodborne.

Catch up on the game’s release date for the latest on when you can play the full title.

Could Valor Mortis be a top-tier Souls game? Let us know via the official Insider Gaming Discord Server.

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