Mortal Shell 2 update adds experimental adaptive difficulty that scales with your deaths

Cold Symmetry has added an experimental adaptive difficulty setting to Mortal Shell 2 in a new update, letting the game loosen or tighten its challenge based on how often the player dies. The setting is optional and off by default, and can be enabled in the settings menu.

Cold Symmetry says the system responds "to what you defeat and where you die." Players who keep clearing encounters without dying will face enemies with more damage, health, and break resist, scaling "well past the toughest the game was originally built to be." Struggling players get the reverse: enemies deal less damage and have less health, and a cap ensures no single attack can kill from full health. The adjustments "relax over time," settling back toward standard balance. There is no on-screen indicator yet, though Cold Symmetry says it is working on one.

The mode draws comparison to Resident Evil 4's adaptive difficulty and inverts Demon's Souls' world tendency. Players using the extra-hard Night Mode toggle will never get the leniency: the game "can still be pushed harder but will never be made easier." The update also lets players apply status effects to enemies after a riposte and improves Gloom drop retrieval on death.