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The game launched in advanced access earlier this week, and I've spotted a couple of broad trends among the 20,000-odd people who are already playing. Firstly, some of you early worms think developers Cold Symmetry have whacked up the difficulty since the beta playtest. Jeremy has already addressed this in our review comments, noting that certain endgame bosses are indeed tougher customers in the current build, but that the first few enemies you encounter don't appear too different. There's a balancing patch slated to release tomorrow 20th August – the day of the game's full public release.

Cold Symmetry have also just released a hotfix that sorts out various crash, stability and performance issues, including a UI lock-up when you equip the Slayer Seal – this last one seems pretty vital given that the Slayer Seal is effectively Mortal Shell 2's easy mode. Amongst other things, it allows you to deal Break damage with your projectile weapons. Fill up an enemy's Break bar (also filled by parrying, given the appropriate gear) and you'll leave them vulnerable to a gut-ripping riposte.

The ripostes have also needed a bit of fine-tuning. Today's hotfix addresses a specific problem where players would inadvertently "steal" the enemy's weapon during the move. A quick trawl through Reddit reveals several amusing threads of people trying to work out why they are suddenly equipped with absolutely epic halberds.

I have a similar relationship with vegetable graters, as it happens. For reasons that possibly speak to some complicated neurodivergence, picking up a vegetable grater immediately makes me forget that I am holding a vegetable grater. When cooking, I often spend many moments with grater in hand, searching cupboards for my grater in total bewilderment. But I digress. You did not come here to read about my inability to detect vegetable graters. You came here to read… my thoughts on possible future Mortal Shell 2 game modes or playstyles.

I think it would be fantastic if a Soulslike dared to give us a universal weapon steal mechanic, allowing people capable of nailing a three-frame parry window to just pirouette through every bossfight yelling "MINE NOW, MALENIA" or regional equivalent.

Spinning the idea out, I think being forced to use the weaponry of the foe you last defeated could make for an entertaining campaign modifier, and when I say "entertaining" I of course mean that it would make stomach acid shoot from your ears. As with Gun Game in Counter-Strike, you'd often have to make do with weapons that are absolutely the wrong choice for the situation, and I can imagine a demonstrable massive bastard like, say, Hidetaka Miyazaki weaving all sorts of vicious scenarios around the feature.

For example: you've got a big sturdy tower shield and you're trying to close the distance with a giant arbalest on the other side of a narrow walkway. Sounds easy enough... but while crossing the walkway you need to slay a bunch of screechweasels armed with teacups, and oh dear, now your tower shield is a teacup and whoops, now you're waking up at that bonfire from two hours ago. There's probably a Souls or Soulslike mod that does this already.

Flummoxed by Mortal Shell 2's splendour, given the first game's mixed showing? I was too. Honestly, I'm burned out on Soulsy games at large, but Jeremy's account of an experience that seemingly owes as much to id Software as From's work certainly hooks my fancy. If you're playing the advanced access, I'd love to hear further opinions.