Are there difficulty settings or a story mode?
No. Players asked about a Story Mode on the Steam forums. On June 8, 2026 a One More Level developer replied that the team is aiming for a classic souls experience and there is no plan for a Story Mode at this time. As of October 12, the studio hasn't announced any easier mode.
Things will get harder, though, with New Game+. It's planned "later this year": a second run keeping your progression and loot, with stronger enemies and new surprises.
How long is Valor Mortis?
- The studio says the story campaign is about 20 hours.
- Game Informer spent about 15 hours on the first four chapters of a preview build, dying more than 100 times to bosses, about 30 of those to a single one. Your pace will depend heavily on the boss fights.
- There are at least seven chapters: the studio said the demo levels were titled "Chapter I" and "Chapter VII".
- We'll add real completion times (e.g. from HowLongToBeat) once the first results appear after launch.
First boss too hard? What changed after the demo
In the demo, many players got stuck on General Lothaire at the end of Chapter I. The studio acknowledged the problem: players met him after about 30 minutes, too soon to get used to first-person soulslike combat. In the full game, Lothaire is the boss at the end of Chapter II. By then you'll know the mechanics better and will have leveled up your character.
The studio also uses dynamic FOV scaling to keep huge bosses readable in first person.
How combat works
- Stamina is everything: light and heavy attacks break enemy defenses, while well-timed parries and dodges open them up to lethal counterattacks.
- Melee and firearms — the weapon menu screenshot shows six types: Pistol, Musket, Blunderbuss, Saber, Rapier and Claymore. The in-game description says the Rapier is fast and focused on parrying, and it can destroy enemy weak points, but its blocking is weak.
- Transmutations are plague powers: a wave of flame, a shield that absorbs and deflects attacks, and a grapple with wall-running.
- Catalysts drop from defeated enemies; you spend them to grow William's melee, firearms or Transmutations.
- Ambers are build modifiers that change how your build behaves. Studio examples: Butcher's Carnage removes healing flasks but heals you for every melee hit you land; Marksman Bane lets you parry bullets; Dilated Moment lowers firearm damage but slows time while aiming down sights.
- Every weapon and power can be upgraded with materials found in the world (e.g. Distilled Blade Material for the Rapier).
- Lanterns are checkpoints: rest, spend Catalysts and fast travel between discovered lanterns.
Prices, release time and PC requirements: everything about the launch. Who William is and why he hears Napoleon: story and characters.
