Mutants, plague, and guns: Ghostrunner creators announce "Napoleonic" soul-like Valor Mortis

The creators of the famous cyberpunk Ghostrunner are back with a different setting — a first-person action-RPG in the souls-like genre about Napoleonic times. But with mutants and mysterious nephthoglobin.

One More Level presented its new project during Gamescom 2025, where they showed a bunch of trailers, both story and gameplay. Valor Mortis is set in an alternative history of 19th century Europe during the Napoleonic Wars. Instead of conventional battles, magic, mutants, and a supernatural plague reign there.

The plot centers on a French soldier, William, who comes back to life right on the battlefield. His powers are connected to a substance called nephroglobin. It gives him otherworldly abilities, but at the same time turns other soldiers into monstrous creatures. The world of the game is populated by mutants, infected troops, and Napoleon’s Eternal Guard, which you will have to fight.

The combat system there is dynamic with small arms, melee attacks and “transmutations”. These gameplay moments in the trailer reminded me of the Dishonored atmosphere. The developers say that you can freely switch between melee and ranged combat, combine sword attacks with pistol shots, and use supernatural powers.

The visual style of Valor Mortis is cold — there are bloody battles, a gloomy atmosphere, and a lot of corpses. The trailer opened with a scene where hundreds of dead soldiers lie on a field under a thin layer of snow, and a carriage is driving right over the bodies of some of them. We are immediately made to understand that in that world, human life has no value.

According to One More Level CEO Shimon Brila, the studio sought to create a different experience than Ghostrunner. Valor Mortis combines elements of souls-like and metroidvania. The game will not have an open world, but locations will be revealed gradually. The studio promises hard but fair gameplay.

The game will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026. In the coming weeks, a closed test is planned, registration for which is open on the official website.

Source: Gamescom 2025