It’s not often enough that a videogame sequel upends and revises the formula established in the first game. Half-Life 2 feels very different from the original, but is still, at its core, another FPS. Helldivers 2 is a better example. It’s the same world and story, but the mechanics and ‘game feel’ are vastly changed from the 2015 progenitor. Originally a pixel-art, top-down RPG, after five years, one overlooked and underplayed soulslike is finally returning. Completely different from its predecessor, it mixes Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Darkest Dungeon, and Don’t Starve into a new moody adventure that you can buy – or try for free – right now.
Back in 2020, developer Still Running released Morbid: The Seven Acolytes, a pixel-art RPG that mixed Dark Souls-style combat with a visual style reminiscent of Hyper Light Drifter and Vampire Survivors. Now, Morbid: The Lords of Ire reimagines the series’ entire world, mechanics, and presentation.
This is a fully 3D soulslike set across five different realms, with an intuitive attack-parry-dodge battle system inspired directly by the work of FromSoftware. You play Striver, a beleaguered hero whose mission is to defeat the eponymous Lords of Ire, who each reside in one of the five different continents. Landscapes are barren and tortured, and often resemble Bloodborne’s Yharnam. Encounters are tough, and boss fights take major skill and perseverance. But there’s a twist.
As well as runes, blessings, and different customizable abilities, like in Darkest Dungeon, your approach to combat is also influenced by Striver’s sanity. If you stay calm and measured, you can guarantee steady attacks and no unpredictable status afflictions. But if you let your sanity dwindle, you unlock extremely powerful melee and magical maneuvers – at the cost of stability, HP, and other vital resources.
A complete reinvention of one of Steam’s most overlooked soulslikes, Morbid: The Lords of Ire is out today, Friday May 17. If you want to pick it up, or try it before you buy it courtesy of a free demo, just go right here.
Alternatively, you might want to get the other best soulslike games, or maybe switch things up with the best turn-based RPGs available on PC.
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