Eurogamer confirmed Valor Mortis lands on Steam on 24 September 2026, with a demo already live on the store. The first-person soulslike from the Ghostrunner team has a clear identity, a rapier, a pistol, supernatural finishers and a 19th-century setting voiced by Vincent Cassel, but September is still a long wait if the demo already has you hooked on the parry rhythm. The good news is the soulslike shelf on Steam has never been deeper, and most of the picks below are on sale through the summer.
We compared 8 Valor Mortis alternatives on PC for the months between now and launch. Some are recent releases that match Valor Mortis on tempo and difficulty, others are From Software’s own catalogue that defined the genre and still hold up. Every entry runs natively on Windows, most have working Steam Deck verified ratings, and none asks for a subscription.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Perspective | Difficulty curve | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lies of P | Parry-heavy combat closest to Valor Mortis | Third person | Hard, fair | $59.99 |
| Lords of the Fallen | Modern dual-world exploration | Third person | Hard, occasionally unfair | $49.99 |
| Elden Ring | Open-world soulslike | Third person | Hard, very flexible | $59.99 |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | Pure parry skill ceiling | Third person | Punishing | $59.99 |
| Khazan: The First Berserker | Hand-crafted boss rush | Third person | Hard | $49.99 |
| Nioh 2 | Stance switching and build depth | Third person | Hard | $49.99 |
| Dark Souls III | The genre’s polished baseline | Third person | Hard | $59.99 |
| Mortal Shell | Short, focused, parry-rewarding | Third person | Hard | $29.99 |
Why Valor Mortis fans need a backup pick
Valor Mortis is a September 2026 release. The Steam demo gives you the opening hour or two, and then you are waiting three months for the full game. Most soulslike players hit the demo three or four times before they want something they can sink fifty hours into.
The second reason is first-person. Valor Mortis is a rare first-person soulslike. While you wait, third-person picks like Lies of P, Sekiro, and Khazan teach the parry timing and stamina management that Valor Mortis builds on, and the skills transfer.
The third reason is price. Valor Mortis is launching at full price on Game Pass day one, so anyone outside the subscription will pay $59.99 to $69.99 in September. Lies of P, Mortal Shell, and Lords of the Fallen all run discounted heavily during the Steam Summer Sale, and Dark Souls III is now eight years old and routinely under $15.
The 8 best Valor Mortis alternatives for PC
Lies of P — closest to Valor Mortis on parry rhythm
Lies of P is the Belle Époque Pinocchio soulslike from Round8, and it is the strongest tonal match for Valor Mortis on the list. The combat is built around perfect parries that chip enemy weapon durability, and the legion arm gives you the same sort of supernatural finisher loop Valor Mortis teases in its demo. The Overture DLC released in 2025 added a prequel campaign and remixed boss patterns that gave players a reason to come back for a second hundred hours.
Where it falls short: The opening hours are punishingly stingy with healing flasks, which has turned off players who bounced off the first chapter and never came back. The level design also leans more linear than modern soulslikes like Elden Ring.
Pricing:
- Free: Demo on Steam, two hours
- Paid: $59.99 base game, $29.99 Overture DLC
- vs Valor Mortis: Comparable launch price, but Lies of P has been out long enough that the base game routinely hits $29.99 during Steam sales
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The single best Valor Mortis warm-up. Buy on sale, play the base game first, and Overture will be waiting when you finish.
Lords of the Fallen — modern dual-world exploration
Lords of the Fallen had a rough launch in October 2023, but two years of patches, the August 2024 v2.0 overhaul, and the recent Hounds of Calrath update turned it into one of the strongest modern soulslikes. The umbral lantern mechanic lets you flip between the world of the living and the dead in real time, which doubles the level design and is genuinely new for the genre.
Where it falls short: Performance on mid-range Windows hardware can still stutter in the umbral world, and the early-game zone density of enemies remains divisive. PvP is shallow next to Elden Ring’s.
Pricing:
- Free: Free weekend trials run two or three times a year on Steam
- Paid: $49.99 base game, regularly discounted to $24.99
- vs Valor Mortis: Cheaper, larger, and you can play right now
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If you want a hundred-hour soulslike to fully eat the wait until September, this is the value pick.
Elden Ring — the open-world standard
Elden Ring does not need much introduction. From Software’s open-world reset of the soulslike is still the genre’s commercial peak and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC added a meaningful second campaign in 2024. The Nightreign multiplayer spin-off arrived in 2025 and proved the formula bends in new directions.
Where it falls short: The scale is the point and the problem. New players sometimes drift through open zones for forty hours before they realise the main bosses are gated behind a sequence they missed. Combat is more methodical than Valor Mortis’s first-person rapier work.
Pricing:
- Free: Network test events occasionally
- Paid: $59.99 base, $39.99 Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
- vs Valor Mortis: Far more content, same price tier, very different pacing
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy this if you have somehow not played it, and play it before Valor Mortis ships. It will spoil your tolerance for smaller worlds.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — pure parry skill ceiling
Sekiro is From Software’s purest parry game, and for Valor Mortis fans who specifically loved the demo’s deflect timing, nothing else matches it. The posture system, the prosthetic tool slots, and the linear ninja campaign all funnel toward a single skill, perfect deflects, that the rest of the game tests in escalating contexts.
Where it falls short: No co-op, no summons, and the difficulty wall before Genichiro filters out a meaningful percentage of players. The lack of armour and build variety is intentional but disappoints anyone who wants to grind through a problem.
Pricing:
- Free: No demo, no trial
- Paid: $59.99, often $19.99 in Steam sales
- vs Valor Mortis: Identical core combat loop translated to third person and katana
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If the parry rhythm is the reason you are watching Valor Mortis, Sekiro is the prerequisite course.
Khazan: The First Berserker — hand-crafted boss rush
Khazan: The First Berserker arrived in March 2025 from Neople, and it slotted straight into the modern soulslike conversation. The art style is cel-shaded, the levels are deliberately linear, and the bosses are the headline. The Brave Stance and Spear Stance switching gives you Nioh-style depth without Nioh’s loot grind.
Where it falls short: No open world, no real exploration. The runbacks to bosses can be tedious on a second attempt, and the cel-shaded art is divisive in motion.
Pricing:
- Free: Steam Next Fest demo, limited to early levels
- Paid: $49.99
- vs Valor Mortis: Closer in scope, slightly cheaper, releases sooner if you have not played it yet
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The 2025 sleeper hit that still deserves a slot in the soulslike rotation.
Nioh 2 — stance switching and build depth
Nioh 2 is the back catalogue pick for anyone who wants to lose themselves in build crafting. Three weapon stances per type, yokai shift transformations, and a loot system deeper than most Diablo clones make this the genre’s most replayable entry. Team Ninja’s combat is faster than From Software’s and rewards aggressive play in a way Valor Mortis’s demo already gestures toward.
Where it falls short: The loot is overwhelming for new players, and the mission structure is repetitive. The story is sub-Yakuza coherent.
Pricing:
- Free: No demo currently
- Paid: $49.99 Complete Edition with all DLC
- vs Valor Mortis: Different feel, deeper systems, much more content per dollar
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If you want a hundred-plus-hour soulslike with mechanical depth, this is the value king.
Dark Souls III — the polished genre baseline
Dark Souls III is the trilogy ender that still serves as the genre’s reference combat model. Pace, weapon variety, stamina economy, and boss design all sit in the sweet spot, and the two DLC chapters are among From Software’s best work. Anyone wanting to understand the language Valor Mortis is built on should play this.
Where it falls short: Online matchmaking is still active but the population has thinned, so summons can take a while in less-visited zones. The PvP meta is years old.
Pricing:
- Free: No demo
- Paid: $59.99 Deluxe Edition, often $14.99 in Steam sales
- vs Valor Mortis: Older, cheaper, the foundation the genre is built on
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If you have somehow skipped this, fix that. Then play Sekiro, then Lies of P, then wait for Valor Mortis.
Mortal Shell — short, focused, parry-rewarding
Mortal Shell is the indie pick. Cold Symmetry’s 2020 soulslike runs around 12 to 15 hours, and the hardening mechanic, which freezes your character into a stone statue mid-animation to absorb a hit, is one of the most original riffs the genre has produced. The four shells double as classes and the upgrade tree is compact enough to fully explore.
Where it falls short: The combat camera struggles in tight quarters, and the unique mechanic does not always have room to shine against the smaller boss roster. Replay value is low after one run.
Pricing:
- Free: No demo
- Paid: $29.99, regularly under $10 in sales
- vs Valor Mortis: A third of the price, a fraction of the size, and a clear single-evening commitment
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy this when it hits a sale. Two weekends of focused play and you are done.
How to choose
Pick Lies of P if the Valor Mortis demo’s perfect-parry chip system is the hook. The Belle Époque setting and the legion arm finishers are the closest tonal match on the list.
Pick Khazan or Lords of the Fallen if you want something released in the past two years that you have not finished yet. Both are modern and patched into solid shape.
Pick Elden Ring if you somehow have not, and you want the wait to be measured in hundreds of hours rather than tens.
Pick Sekiro if you want to train pure deflect timing before Valor Mortis ships. Nothing else on this list rewards that skill as sharply.
Pick Dark Souls III, Nioh 2, or Mortal Shell if you want to pay under $30 and still get a genre-defining experience.
Stay tuned for Valor Mortis if you specifically want first-person soulslike combat. Nothing on this list, or anywhere else on Steam, currently offers that camera in this genre.
FAQ
Is Valor Mortis a soulslike?
Yes. The developers and Eurogamer’s previews both confirm Valor Mortis is a first-person soulslike, with stamina-managed combat, parries, dodges, and finishing moves. It launches on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series on 24 September 2026, day one on Game Pass.
Can I play the Valor Mortis demo for free?
Yes. The Steam demo went live on 6 June 2026 and covers the opening section of the game. It runs on Steam Deck with verified compatibility and on most Windows PCs from the past five years.
What is the cheapest Valor Mortis alternative on PC?
Mortal Shell is the cheapest pick at $29.99 base, often under $10 in Steam sales. Dark Souls III also drops below $15 in seasonal sales and offers far more content per dollar.
Will Valor Mortis come to PlayStation or Xbox?
Yes. Eurogamer confirmed Valor Mortis ships day one on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Xbox Game Pass subscribers get it included on launch day.
Is Lies of P or Khazan a better Valor Mortis warm-up?
Lies of P is the better tonal match because the Belle Époque setting, the supernatural arm finishers, and the perfect-parry chip system all overlap with what the Valor Mortis demo shows. Khazan is the better mechanical match if you specifically enjoyed the demo’s stance switching.
