Push Square's review of Mortal Shell 2 for PS5 finds that the soulslike sequel builds meaningfully on its predecessor, swapping the original's linear levels for an interconnected open world while retaining tough, hands-off combat. The reviewer praises the game for injecting genuine playfulness and dark humour into its enemy encounters and world design, which they say elevates it above standard genre fare and makes it a notable evolution for developer Cold Symmetry.

The game casts players as a godling named Lavendar, tasked with collecting mysterious egg-like objects called the Ova of the Mether across a heavy-metal-inspired world featuring bone-white ruins and corrupted castles. Combat drops the traditional stamina metre in favour of a break metre, allowing more aggressive play, and is supplemented by varied sidearms, customisable "Tarstones" and eight distinct "shells" that function as character classes, each with unique abilities. The reviewer completed the roughly 30-hour campaign exploring multiple biomes, defeating numerous bosses and delving into an abundance of dungeons.