Mortal Shell 2 developer Cold Symmetry has shown off the first gameplay trailer for the upcoming souls-like, and unsurprisingly, the sequel isn't straying from the foundation established in the original 2020 game. The deep-dive video shows off three playable Shells--Tiel the Acolyte, Eredrim the Venerable, and Proxima the Broodseeker--as they explore the dangerous world around them.

Each Shell offers a different approach to combat, with all the action now taking place in the cold and marshy patches of Fallgrim. Unlike the more confined spaces of its predecessor, Mortal Shell 2 goes all in on an open-world environment, which is naturally populated by dark and bloodthirsty monsters. The world is also designed to be deliberately compact, as Cold Symmetry says that it wants to respect a player's time.

Just like the first game, the dormant forms of forgotten warriors are scattered throughout the game, and once a Shell has been discovered, it can be awakened and possessed to unlock new abilities. Billed as a standalone sequel, Cold Symmetry says that no familiarity with the first Mortal Shell game is required to play Mortal Shell 2 to its fullest, and Fallgrim will have more than 60 dungeons to explore.

While it doesn't have a release date yet, publisher Playstack has announced a special collector's edition of Mortal Shell 2 that will be exclusive to PS5 owners. This version comes in a special collector's box and is bundled together with an art book, exclusive steelbook cover, and limited-edition fine art prints. Preorders for this edition and the standard physical version of Mortal Shell 2 are live, ahead of the game's release for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S later this year.