Soulslike fans got an exciting and unexpected announcement from the creators of Ghostrunner, with a new upcoming game called Valor Mortis. It’s an interesting take on the soulslike genre, and promises to bring some of the Ghostrunner-style flair to the genre.
However, there’s one central aspect of this game that makes it somewhat risky and goes against expectations for the genre, which is that it is played from a first-person perspective as opposed to third-person. While certain fan-made mods for various games enable a first-person point of view, soulslikes games are almost universally designed as third-person.
Ghostrunner Developers Announce Valor Mortis For 2026
The Valor Mortis Gamescom Announcement Was A Standout For Soulslike Fans
Valor Mortis was announced at Gamescom 2025 opening night, and was among several exciting soulslike games revealed at the event. It’s being developed by One More Level, the minds behind Ghostrunner, and the game is set during the Napoleanic era in France.
You play as William, a Grande Armée soldier who has been resurrected by a mysterious substance called Nephtoglobin, which gives you supernatural powers that can be deployed, adding a BioShock-style element to combat.
The game appears to take many of the gameplay features that you’d find in Ghostrunner, placing them in a unique French setting, and adding soulslike mechanics to round out the experience. Ghostrunner fans will likely be ecstatic, and soulslike fans should be as well, considering this is one of the first soulslikes designed specifically around first-person gameplay.
Valor Mortis Is A First-Person Experience, Which Is Risky
Developers Say They Wanted To Build On Ghostrunner’s Foundation
In a press release by developers at One More Level, they reveal that they “wanted to try something new and original – a darker experience, while still offering players a true challenge. After Ghostrunner, we knew we had the foundation to create a [first-person perspective] title, but this time in a Soulslike genre.”
This is a unique and risky move considering most games in the genre utilize the third-person approach famously established by FromSoftware games such as Demon’s Souls, etc. Switching to a first-person perspective opens up a lot of possibilities, but also might not be appealing for soulslike veterans who prefer the classic approach.
One More Level doesn’t mince words when it comes to the game’s difficulty and audience, stating that they “wanted to stay true to what we do best – making demanding games for hardcore players, set in an engaging expansive world, while showing that the studio has grown since our previous projects.”
If you’re a Ghostrunner or soulslike fan in general, Valor Mortis is definitely a game that should be on your watch list. With a 2026 planned release, players still have to wait a while before getting their hands on the game and seeing if the first-person soulslike is groundbreaking, or if it will be a failed experiment.
