From Cyber-Slicing to Napoleonic Nightmare: Ghostrunner Devs Get Brutal with a First-Person Soulslike
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
One More Level, the acclaimed developers behind the lightning-fast *Ghostrunner* series, are making a surprising pivot with *Valor Mortis*, a brutal first-person soulslike set in a dark fantasy version of Napoleonic Europe where players fight monsters after being mysteriously resurrected.
Right then, gather 'round, mate, because something properly wild just dropped on the gaming radar, and my digital tea leaves are going absolutely bonkers. You know One More Level, yeah? The wizards behind the blisteringly fast, cyber-ninja ballet that is *Ghostrunner*? Well, apparently, they've decided that precise, parkour-fueled one-hit-kill action wasn't quite... *brutal* enough. So, what's a dev team to do? Pivot, naturally. To a first-person soulslike set in *Napoleonic bloody Europe*, complete with otherworldly horrors. My brain did a little digital backflip when I heard that.
This absolute curveball of an announcement, titled *Valor Mortis*, was unveiled during Gamescom 2025's opening night show – yeah, we're looking a little into the future, but it's already got me buzzing like a misfiring spell. When you think *Ghostrunner*, you think speed, momentum, dodging bullets in slow-mo while carving up synthetic baddies. Now imagine that studio, with all their penchant for mechanical challenge and glorious, glorious difficulty, applying that same energy to a genre famed for its deliberate pace, punishing combat, and environmental storytelling. It's like finding out your favourite speedrunner is suddenly competing in an ultra-marathon. Intriguing, eh?
The premise for *Valor Mortis* sounds like the setup for a particularly dark and twisted tabletop RPG campaign. We're talking early 19th-century Eastern Europe, smack-dab in the middle of Napoleon’s less-than-successful attempts at European conquest. But here's where it gets proper weird: you play as William, a foot soldier of the French Imperial Army who, rather unceremoniously, bites the dust on the battlefield. As if dying wasn't inconvenient enough, he's then mysteriously resurrected into a plague-ridden Europe, now teeming with all manner of grotesque monsters. Because, obviously, a regular war wasn't grim enough without the added bonus of eldritch abominations.
And here's the kicker: William's not just back from the dead; he's infected with something called "Nephtoglobin." Sounds less like a medical condition and more like a potion brewed by a particularly unhinged alchemist, doesn't it? This mysterious substance grants him supernatural powers, which he's apparently forced to "harness" to fight off both external horrors and, naturally, his own internal corruption. "Valor Mortis" itself, they tell us, translates from Latin as "the bravery of death" or "death’s courage." A bit on the nose, perhaps, but it certainly sets the tone. I'm already wondering what sort of weird, unsettling abilities "Nephtoglobin" will grant us. Will we be able to make enemies spontaneously combust into a cloud of historical dust? Turn into a shadowy ghoul for a few seconds? The possibilities are deliciously macabre.
Now, for those of us who've been following One More Level, this genre leap, while surprising, isn't entirely out of character for their mechanical DNA. Before *Ghostrunner* turned us all into cyber-ninjas, they were churning out games like *God's Trigger* and *Deadlings*, and even *Warlocks vs Shadows*. The common thread through all of them? They're tough. Like, "throw-your-controller-across-the-room-but-then-pick-it-up-and-try-again" tough. Szymon Bryla, One More Level CEO, even said it himself: "After Ghostrunner, we knew we had the foundation to create an FFP (first-person perspective) title, but this time in a soulslike genre." They clearly feel comfortable in the first-person arena and with designing punishing combat, which, let's be fair, is pretty much the bread and butter of any good soulslike.
But here's where my gentle skepticism pings a little. The announcement promises a "brand-new take on the soulslike experience." Now, I've heard that one before, mate, haven't we all? The soulslike market is a crowded dungeon these days, and everyone's trying to find their unique torch. However, One More Level *does* have a track record for executing on challenging mechanics, so I'm genuinely curious what their "brand-new take" actually means in practice. They've explicitly stated that *Valor Mortis* will be a deliberately slower experience compared to *Ghostrunner*'s frenetic dash. This means emphasising precision of movement and methodical play over pure momentum. Think less "blinding speedrun" and more "careful, deliberate, utterly terrifying crawl." How will that precision translate in a first-person melee combat system where every parry and dodge feels crucial? That's the secret sauce I'm really keen to see.
Could this slower pace, combined with their history of tight, challenging gameplay, be the ingredient that makes their "new take" truly shine? A first-person soulslike already throws a different spatial awareness into the mix, and if they nail the weight and impact of every swing and every terrifying monster encounter, then *Valor Mortis* could be something special. It's targeting a 2026 launch for PC and current-gen non-Nintendo consoles, with Lyrical Games on publishing duties. Plenty of time for them to cook up something truly gruesome and magnificent.
All in all, this announcement feels like One More Level is taking everything they learned about first-person precision and difficulty from *Ghostrunner* and just… twisting it into something darker and more deliberate. It's a bold move, like trading your trusty cyber-katana for a cursed musket and a plague doctor's mask. But if anyone can make a brutal, historically-infused, first-person nightmare sing, it just might be these lot. What do you reckon? Are you ready to face the bravery of death?
This intriguing bit of news, originally reported by Game Rant, gives us plenty to chew on.
Tags: Soulslike, First-Person, Action-RPG, Dark Fantasy, One More Level
Original article: Game Rant