Valor Mortis made an appearance during Gamescom Opening Night Live with a new story trailer, marking the first appearance of the Shrike, the rebel leader fighting Napoleon’s Empire in occupied Eastern Europe. In addition, the trailer for the first-person Soulslike also delivers new looks at the rest of the cast in this supernatural retelling of the Napoleonic Wars: resurrected Legionnaire William Dowsett, fellow soldier James Stewart, and lamplighter Lucjan Skawiński.
Set in a supernatural reimagining of 19th-century Europe, Valor Mortis casts players as William, a young and bold Englishman, disillusioned with the monarchy. William volunteered to fight for Napoleon, inspired by his ideal of a unified Europe. The story begins with William waking up on a grim battlefield, seemingly the only soldier left standing with his mind intact. With little to no memory of his life before that moment, players will choose whether to trust the remaining survivors who claim to be his former comrades.
Guided by Napoleon’s disembodied voice (courtesy of César Award-winning actor Vincent Cassel), you must traverse ravaged battlefields, sprawling mountains, and European-inspired cities consumed by a grotesque, continent-wide plague — the same corruption that pulses through William’s veins and gave him life.
As for The Shrike, she is a rebel fighter who moves through occupied Eastern Europe with strength no ordinary soldier possesses. She answers to no authority; she fights for the people living under the Empire’s occupation, and she has her own plans for William. Partway through the story, her voice joins Napoleon’s inside his head.
Valor Mortis launches October 13 on PlayStation 5,the Xbox Series, and PC via Steam. A demo is also available now on Steam.