Valor Mortis Preview: A Soulslike Where You Die Again and Again in Napoleon’s Army

Valor MortisValor Mortis Preview: A Soulslike Where You Die Again and Again in Napoleon’s Army Death becomes William.By Will BorgerPosted: Apr 14, 2026 2:30pm UTC4 commentsI wake up with Napoleon's voice in my head commanding me to “scrub the bloody muck from my eyes.” His voice is wrong, somehow.

Gutteral.

But I obey.

Corpses in French uniforms surround me.

.

A discolored rash flashes across my hand, then fades.

My name is William.

I am a soldier in the Grande Armée.

I have died for Napoleon.

.

And I will die for him again.

And again.

And again.This is how my demo for Valor Mortis began.

You’ve seen some of what Valor Mortis does before: it’s a first-person Souls-like whose mechanics are revealed as I move.

.

Crows flying from a bush reveal my sword, which I’ll later use for light and heavy attacks that consume stamina, a sentence that makes me tired just typing it.

Soon after, I attempted to cross a bridge.

William spots another soldier and calls “Friendly!” before realizing the soldier likely speaks French, and correcting himself.

It’s odd that he has to remember, given that both men wear French colors.

.

But he does, and his accent, unlike Napoleon’s, which drips with French vowels but avoids substituting “ze” for “the,” is decidedly un-French.

At least stereotypically.

Perhaps British, though I can’t be sure.

It makes me wonder who William is, and why he’s here, fighting for the Napoleon in his head.

.

Speaking of, why is there a Napoleon in his head? So many questions.This is a Soulslike, just in first-person, but it does feel good to parry another soldier’s sword and lop off their head or stick your sword through his neck.

“Before I have time to ponder them, the bridge breaks beneath me, and I have to wipe the muck from my eyes again.

This time, I have a health vial, which like any good Soulslike protagonist, I break in my hand to heal.

Whatever’s in it is absorbed into my skin, briefly discoloring it before being soaked in.

.

It reminds me of the rash I woke up with.

That, too, faded away ## Editor's Note Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops. Source: [IGN](https://www.ign.com/articles/valor-mortis-preview-a-soulslike-where-you-die-again-and-again-in-napoleons-army)