https://wccftech.com/mortal-shell-hands-on-pc-preview-to-shell-and-back/

Games modeled after the Dark Souls formula are among some of my favorite masochistic punishments. From the trial and error design to gradual mastery of the player's toolsets, there isn't a genre that I punish myself with (and still enjoy) as much as a good Soulslike. While I've been following Cold Symmetry's work since it was first unveiled as Dungeonhaven, the concept of Mortal Shell was quite intriguing: rather than creating your own character, you step into uninhabited shells of former warriors and control them in battle. It's a unique concept for a Soulslike and I was glad to finally get my hands-on with the title, courtesy of a preview build on the Epic Games Store.

Much like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, players are given two incarnations to live through before they're truly defeated and brought back to their last checkpoint, dropping their current stash of tar (Mortal Shell's form of currency/experience) where they last stood. Upon taking enough damage to incapacitate the player for the first time, they're forcibly thrust out of the shell they're currently inhabiting with only a sliver of life and forced to evade whatever enemies put them in such a mortal dilemma and recover their body before death strikes a second time. I'm guilty of using the shell ejection and recovery just to get a full bar of health, as healing items are few and far between in Mortal Shell, but it most definitely isn't the ideal way to play. Death comes quickly in Mortal Shell and taking only a few hits is enough to sever your tether to this mortal coil.