Mortal Shell 2, the ferocious fantasy soulslike that has been punishing players since launch, is now catching flak for something other than its difficulty. A section of the community has been giving the game grief over its decision to disable Steam achievements for anyone who equips the Slayer Seal — an item widely regarded as the game’s unofficial easy mode. Now the developers have finally broken their silence on the controversy, admitting they never meant to shut anyone out.
What Exactly Is the Slayer Seal?
Trailers leading up to release characterised the Slayer Seal as an in-game difficulty modifier rather than a standard piece of equipment. As Rock Paper Shotgun’s own Mortal Shell 2 review notes, the Seal grants players “a pulverising punch” and gives ranged weapons the ability to deal Break damage. In an action-RPG as vicious as this one, those buffs go a long way toward softening the experience for players who might otherwise bounce off the genre’s notorious learning curve.
The Catch: Achievements Get Switched Off
The trade-off, however, is that equipping the Slayer Seal disables Steam achievement unlocks entirely. For many players, that felt less like a balanced compromise and more like a punishment — a wall between them and their completionist goals simply because they chose to play the game in a way that suited them.
Why Players Felt “Locked Out”
Achievements may seem trivial to some, but for a large slice of the PC gaming community they represent milestones, bragging rights, and a record of the journey through a game. Soulslike players in particular treat their achievement lists as badges of honour earned through suffering. So when Mortal Shell 2 effectively told Slayer Seal users that their progress “didn’t count,” the backlash was swift and vocal, with frustrated fans accusing the developers of gating content behind an artificial skill check.
The Developers Respond
Faced with the criticism, the Mortal Shell 2 team has addressed the controversy head-on. In a candid admission, the devs revealed that they “ended up kind of cornered there,” explaining that they never intended to “lock everybody out” of achievements with the Slayer Seal mechanic. The comments suggest the decision emerged from a genuine design dilemma rather than any desire to punish less skilled players — the studio was caught between preserving the prestige of achievements for hardcore players and keeping the game accessible to everyone else.
A Familiar Dilemma for the Genre
This tension is nothing new for soulslikes. The genre, popularised by FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls series, has long debated whether difficulty options dilute the experience or simply open the door to more players. Elden Ring’s enormous success showed there’s an appetite for punishing games with flexible tools for easing the pain, while purists argue the struggle is the point. Mortal Shell 2’s Slayer Seal sits squarely in the middle of that debate — an accessibility feature with strings attached.
What This Means Going Forward
Whether the studio will walk back the achievement lock remains to be seen, but the acknowledgment suggests the team is listening. For now, players face a choice: grind through Mortal Shell 2 at its intended difficulty with full achievement support, or equip the Slayer Seal, enjoy the power fantasy, and accept a trimmed trophy case. Either way, the conversation has highlighted how much expectations around difficulty and accessibility have evolved — and how even well-intentioned compromises can corner a developer.
If you haven’t yet braved Mortal Shell 2’s brutal world, you can pick up Steam gift cards and game codes at TURGAME.com to jump in and decide for yourself whether the Slayer Seal is a lifeline or a trap.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun