Valor Mortis, the first-person Soulslike from One More Level, the Polish studio behind Ghostrunner, launches on Tuesday 13 October on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam. It's US$39.99, and it's on Xbox Game Pass from day one. Publisher Lyrical Games put out a full walkthrough of its combat on 30 September to set the scene.

That Gameplay Overview trailer is narrated by James Alexander, who voices the hero, William Dowsett. It came after last Monday's cast reveal, which put French actor Vincent Cassel in the role of Napoleon Bonaparte.

It's an alternate-history action game set in the 19th century. In Lyrical's version, Napoleon won at Waterloo, pushed east, and stalled in Eastern Europe as the war turned "into something unnatural." William wakes on a grim battlefield, seemingly the only soldier left with his mind intact. He can't remember who he was, and the survivors who say they're his old comrades might or might not be telling the truth. GameSpot puts the premise more bluntly. Napoleon's endless war has unleashed a supernatural plague, and lots of William's former comrades are now undead monsters. Players choose whether to stay loyal to the Emperor or follow a rebel called The Shrike, and that choice runs right through the story.

Photo: George Jones / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

What the new trailer shows

Lyrical's press release sets out what the trailer covers, and it's a fair map of how the game plays. Combat's built on stamina, light and heavy attacks, parries and counterattacks. That's standard Soulslike stuff, but you see it through William's eyes, not over his shoulder.

The weapons cover slow and quick. The Claymore is "a slow, two-handed blade with very high impact." The Musket is a two-handed gun with more range and punch than William's pistol. Lyrical says picking the right weapon for the right enemy "rewards a thoughtful approach to combat."

William's left hand does something else. He uses Transmutations, spells that boost him, weaken enemies, deal damage and help him get around. The trailer shows three. Fire sets enemies alight. Shield soaks up damage and then lets off a shockwave. Grapple lets him swing between grapple points. That last one's a nod to the studio's past. Ghostrunner was all about speed and movement, and One More Level clearly hasn't let that go.

Levelling up follows the genre's rules. Catalysts are the upgrade currency, and you spend them at Lanterns to raise health, stamina and parry. Die, and your Catalysts stay where you fell until you go back and get them. Ambers, which you find around the world and fit at Lanterns, let you shape a build that suits how you play.

The official trailer, "Valor Mortis - Official Gameplay Overview | October 13," is on Lyrical Games' YouTube channel.

The cast

The cast reveal on Monday 28 September filled in the voices around William. Jennifer English plays The Shrike, a rebel fighting the Empire's occupation who ends up as a second voice in William's head, alongside Napoleon's. RPG players will know English from Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Cassel's Napoleon is the other voice. Lyrical describes him as standing "at the head of the largest army known to Europe," with a mysterious bond to William that lets the soldier hear him inside his own head.

GameSpot reports the rest of the main cast. Adam "Nergal" Darski, frontman of the Polish extreme metal band Behemoth, plays Captain Raphael. Mars Lipowski plays Lucjan Skawinski. Will De Renzy-Martin plays James Stewart. Yvan Chamoiseau plays Louis Moreau.

James Alexander's voice may ring a bell too. GameSpot notes he worked on Capcom's Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which came out in September.

Price, editions and the date change

Valor Mortis is priced in the middle of the market. The standard edition is US$39.99, €39.99 or 149.99 zł. A Deluxe Edition at US$59.99 adds a major story expansion due next year, plus cosmetic packs coming out between now and then. Lyrical says it's planning several free updates as well. Australian prices weren't in the release, so check the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store or Steam for the local figure.

Game Pass is the big value angle. Subscribers on Xbox and PC can play from launch day at no extra cost.

October wasn't the first plan. GameSpot says the game was first set for 24 September and got pushed back a few weeks because September was so crowded. One More Level confirmed the move in a Steam post titled "We are moving our release date to October 13th." GameSpot also says the developer put the US$40 price down to a packed autumn release schedule. October's still busy. But a cheaper game that's on Game Pass from day one has a decent shot at standing out.

Who's behind it

One More Level is based in Kraków, Poland, and made Ghostrunner and its sequel. They were fast first-person action games set in a cyberpunk tower, known for one-hit deaths and wall-running. Lyrical calls Valor Mortis "the studio's first wholly owned IP and its most ambitious creative chapter to date." Put simply, One More Level owns this world outright.

Lyrical Games is a Los Angeles publisher set up by Lyrical Media. Its leaders used to work at Private Division, Devolver Digital, Humble Games and Microsoft. It's also publishing Erosion from Plot Twist, plus unannounced games from Blackbird Interactive and The Chinese Room.

What to watch before 13 October

Lyrical hasn't announced a global unlock time yet. Lots of Xbox and Steam launches unlock at midnight local time or at a set global hour, so check the store pages closer to the day. For Australian players, 13 October is a Tuesday, in the second week of daylight saving in the southern states.

For a game like this, reviews usually land a day or two before launch. The questions are clear. Does first-person parrying feel fair when you can't see your own body? Does the grapple keep fights moving the way Ghostrunner's wall-running did? And does the alternate-history story hold together with two voices fighting over William's head?

If you've been following this year's Soulslikes, from Capcom's samurai reboot to smaller indies, this is the first one from a studio mostly known for speed. That alone makes it worth keeping an eye on. Wishlists are open on all three platforms now.