One of the most visually stunning roguelikes just overhauled its graphics to look even gnarlier, but you can still toggle back to the OG art style at will

The gorgeous first person action-roguelike Mortal Sin recently went live with a surprising new update: A graphical overhaul with an arguably even more stunning riff on its pulp comic book art style. Fans of the original needn't fret, though: You can toggle between the OG palette and new hotness at any time.

Mortal Sin's whole visual vibe is prog metal album art crossed with sword and sandals graphic novel, like a hipster Dark Horse adaptation of Conan the Barbarian or something. Its original look was stark and striking, with a deliberately limited palette⁠—everything rendered in bright red, deep blue, or shades of grey to black.

The new rendering keeps the gnarliness and heavy line work, but injects the world with a lot more color. The "Realistic Visuals Update" is very much in keeping with the spirit of Mortal Sin, but it also practically looks like a brand new game.

I really dig it, but I appreciate that developer Nikola Todorovic didn't throw out the baby with the bathwater: You can still swap back to Mortal Sin's original art style at any time from its graphics menu. In the gallery below, I've alternated between post-and pre-update images of the game.

I absolutely loved Mortal Sin when I played it back at the beginning of early access in 2023. It has amazingly chunky, satisfying melee combat to go along with those singular visuals. There's a lot here for fans of brutal first person brawlers like Condemned and Vermintide, as well as those who prefer atmospheric dungeon crawlers like Lunacid.

I stepped away from Mortal Sin after pressing at the limits of its initial early access content, but it looks like a ton has been added to the game since. That, plus the fresh graphics, have already gotten it reinstalled on my Steam Deck.

Mortal Sin is still in early access, but is sitting at a coveted "Overwhelmingly Positive" user score with 3,000 reviews and counting on Steam. It also sells for the sweet spot, "not bargain bin, but still perfectly sensible" indie game price of $20.