评测：Valor Mortis (PS5) - 帝国野心，大体实现

Valor Mortis is an exceedingly fresh take on the tired Soulslike genre. Its engaging first-person combat, grimdark Napoleonic setting, and impeccable level design make it a must-play for enthusiasts in an already busy gaming season, even if it does stumble in places.

Developed by One More Level, the Polish studio behind the frenetic, first-person action games Ghostrunner and Ghostrunner 2, you can expect plenty of explosive combat and vaguely terrifying platforming sections, as well as the expected multi-phase boss fights.

Valor Mortis is the dark odyssey of William, a British soldier who, inspired by Napoleon's ideals, enlisted in the Grande Armée and marched across Europe to fight against the Russian Tsar, the only European monarch left standing in Bonaparte's way.

Instead of being a crushing defeat for the nascent French Empire and the end of Bonaparte's imperial ambitions, in Valor Mortis' alternate history, Napoleon actually wins the Battle of Waterloo and goes on to conquer Europe (again).

To the self-confessed history nerd, this is immediately compelling and heady stuff, full of fascinating historical tidbits.

Following a major battle, William wakes in a pile of corpses, amnesiac, to discover that a mysterious plague has annihilated French and Russian forces alike.

Some have been resurrected, undead husks, while others have become twisted biological weapons of war that wouldn't be out of place in Resident Evil.

With the disembodied voice of Napoleon himself whispering into William's ear, urging him onwards into ever-greater horrors, and a satisfying, BioShock-esque combat system to delve into, Valor Mortis could hardly be any more my particular cup of tea if it tried.

Combat is the game's main verb, and you will spend the majority of your time engaging in it.

A Soulslike through and through, the lowliest enemy poses a threat to the unwary, and you will fight tooth-and-claw to reach the next bonfire (which happens to take the form of a lantern in Valor Mortis).

Resting respawns defeated enemies and replenishes healing charges, and dying will result in dropping accumulated Catalysts, which are used as both currency and to upgrade William's stats and shape the player's build – very familiar trappings.

There is a parry system to master, multiple melee weapons that offer differing play styles, and a small selection of firearms to unleash.

In addition, Transmutations offer some limited magic utility, allowing for added flexibility and tactical options.

Combat has a satisfying heft to it, and there are a bunch of really nice finishing animations that are unique to William's current loadout.

I loved discovering that Transmutations and certain firearms are dual-wielded with William's various swords, which gives the entire system a sort of modern BioShock air.

You can be slashing and parrying with one hand and shooting flames out of the other while dodging about; it's really good stuff.

Every weapon feels worthwhile and useful, replete with a unique upgrade tree; a special shoutout to the basic pistol and sabre combination, which remained rock solid and extremely gratifying throughout my playthrough.

I would have liked maybe one or two more weapons to play around with, but considering the length of Valor Mortis, the tuning is just about perfect.

For context, I rolled credits at about 18 hours, having completed most of the game's side quests, and will likely pop the Platinum around the 22-hour mark (very obtainable if you are so inclined).

Enemies are mostly great, with inventive designs, mechanics, and weak points. The variety is pretty nice, and the various Napoleonic musketeers, cuirassiers, and grenadiers are given a monstrous twist (the "dogs" you encounter are particularly horrifying).

As a veteran of these types of games, I will say it's nice to see Valor Mortis utilising basic enemies in the endgame, used in new and interesting mixups, as opposed to the mind-numbing onslaught of elites many Soulslikes devolve into.

Character progression is fairly straightforward, but there is wiggle room for differentiation. Each level up lets you put points into various nodes, increasing max health, endurance, and so forth.

Some nodes offer more exotic options, such as slowing down time while aiming in midair or increasing the buildup of a Transmutation's status effect.

Along with combat, I think the environments you play through are among Valor Mortis' greatest strengths. Each requires increasing mastery of traversal mechanics and is filled with secret areas, shortcuts, hidden loot, and side quest content.

I also liked how much of the game is just set outside, in forests, valleys, and villages. Yes, there are the obligatory sewers and mines, but there is a sense of open space throughout that I appreciated.

As you progress further into the game, in unexpected Metroidvania fashion, new abilities will allow access to previously inaccessible areas, and there's real incentive to return to earlier levels.

I think where things fall short are in the visual and audio departments, but considering the game's reduced price point, this can be forgiven.

Valor Mortis is one of those double-A games that punches well above its weight, which, in my opinion, is always preferable to a triple-A title that under-delivers.

Textures can occasionally fall flat or look muddy, with certain characters looking kind of undercooked. Music is largely serviceable, if unremarkable, which is a bit of a shame. Mostly moody background stuff, with the occasional heavy metal departure in certain boss fights.

Speaking of boss fights, Valor Mortis doesn't really distinguish itself here, either. The encounters against named enemies are just kind of fine.

It's not Elden Ring; you don't really need to memorise complex attack patterns or optimise your build to come out on top (probably because of the first-person aspect), but they still provide a suitable test of skill.

There are a couple of boss encounters which mix in platforming elements, which is kind of a cool idea that I found somewhat frustratingly executed.

Having to run it again because of a single missed jump in a sequence of five during the second phase of an already difficult fight had me ready to rage.

Finally, and no spoilers here, but I would like to have polite words with whoever designed the final section of the game.

The entire lead-up to the last boss is made maddeningly frustrating by the baffling decision to have William have extremely low health with no option to heal, along with inconsistent checkpoints.

It's like ten minutes of non-standard gameplay, hardly a deal-breaker, but it follows an unnecessary late-game stealth section, and combined, it makes for a strangely frustrating ending to what is otherwise a strong campaign.

Conclusion

Valor Mortis is a worthy addition to the Soulslike genre, its first-person perspective and Napoleonic setting making it stand out from a sea of samey titles. With strong combat and impressive level design, its well worth your time and investment, especially considering the reduced pricepoint.

While it may stumble in places and starts stronger than it finishes, Valor Mortis should be high on the list of anyone in the market for a grimdark action game.