Mortal Shell II Reviews & Game Length — IGN 8/10, Metacritic Scores & 30-Hour Campaign Explained
Published 2026-09-175 min read
Mortal Shell II opened to IGN 8/10 with a Metacritic average of 83 on PC and 88 on PS5. Here is what critics praised, where they dinged it, and how long the campaign actually takes: roughly 30 hours for the story and 60+ for full completion.
Mortal Shell II released on August 20, 2026, and the review picture is unusually consistent: critics agree the sequel's transformation from compact soulslike into a large open-world action RPG mostly lands. Below is the score snapshot, what reviewers actually said, and a realistic read on how much time the campaign will take from you.
The scores at a glance
- IGN: 8/10, calling the pivot to a large-scale action RPG a success on the whole.
- Metacritic: 83 (PC) and 88 (PS5) at launch window.
What reviewers praised
IGN's verdict highlights the sequel's confident expansion: the new ideas are strong, and the addition of active Shell abilities enriches builds far beyond the first game's moveset-swapping. The open world earns special mention for quietly steering players toward its hidden content instead of relying on map clutter, and the expanded combat system gives each Shell a genuinely distinct personality in a way the original only hinted at. The dark-fantasy art direction, long a series strength, carries over intact.
Where critics dinged it
The complaints recur across outlets: assorted technical rough edges, a world that is easy to get lost in when you stray off the critical path, and late-game challenges that can be skipped or trivialised once you know the systems. None of these overturned the core verdict — the scale-up worked.
How long is Mortal Shell II?
The development team has shared official expectations, and they are generous by soulslike standards:
- Story-focused run: roughly 30 hours — about double the length of the original game's campaign.
- Standard completion with moderate side exploration: 30–40 hours.
- Full completion: 60+ hours observed, including repeated boss challenges, full map clearing, and multi-run content.
The extra length comes from the larger connected world, more dungeons, and a much deeper weapon and Shell system. The team also notes they tuned the map structure specifically to reduce aimless backtracking between regions.
After the credits: NG+ and Night Mode
Two systems extend the game past the ending. New Game+ carries your progress into a harder remixed run, while Night Mode raises combat difficulty substantially in exchange for higher-tier rewards — a deliberate answer to the "what now?" problem after a first completion. If you are deciding whether the campaign justifies the price, the honest summary is this: the story run alone is solid value at 30 hours, and completionists will get two to three times that.
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