Traversal

Traversal in Valor Mortis covers the ways William moves through the world outside of straight running and jumping. The game pairs the slower rhythm of its Soulslike Combat with an active mobility kit drawn from One More Level's first-person action background, giving William ways to swing through gaps, scramble across walls, and reach optional side areas that simple footwork cannot.

Grapple Hook

The grapple hook lets William cover gaps and pull himself toward fixed points, often arriving above an enemy line rather than walking into it. The April 2026 Triple-i Initiative trailer showed the grapple used both to traverse environments and to set up flanking approaches in combat. Because it brings William into the fight from a different angle, it pairs naturally with the weapon-and-Transmutation loadout described on the Weapons page.

Wall-Running

William can run along certain walls for short stretches, carrying his momentum across surfaces that would otherwise force a long detour. Wall-running is most useful for crossing hazards and for taking elevated routes through arenas, and it is one of the clearest connections back to the studio's earlier first-person action work, repurposed here as an exploration tool rather than a constant combat verb.

Dash

In moment-to-moment play the dash is the smallest of the three mobility tools, but it does the most work. The dash is stamina-gated and is used both to reposition during fights and to clear small gaps in level geometry. Importantly it is not an invulnerable roll, so it relies on distance rather than i-frames to keep William safe. Spacing dashes correctly is part of every fight.

Nephtoglobin-Powered Movement

Marketing material around the Triple-i trailer framed the grapple and wall-running as nephtoglobin-powered abilities, tying the way William moves through the world directly to the same plague-altered compound that fuels his Transmutations. In other words, the supernatural movement and the supernatural combat draw from the same in-fiction source rather than being two unrelated systems. For the wider background on Nephtoglobin and the plague, see the Setting and Story page.

Metroidvania Gating

Traversal sits at the heart of how the game gates its optional content. The main path through each region is mostly linear, but obvious side routes are blocked by destructible barriers or by gaps that need a specific traversal tool to cross. Acquiring a new mobility ability is therefore a meaningful progression beat, opening up earlier regions to a fresh pass for accessories, lore pieces, and optional mini-bosses. The Getting Started page covers how to fit the backtracking into the wider loop.

Outlook

The full traversal toolkit has not been fully disclosed yet. The grapple hook, wall-running, and stamina-gated dash are the three publicly confirmed pillars; additional traversal verbs may be revealed in pre-launch playtests or in further trailers. As more is shown this page will be expanded with the specifics of each new ability and how it fits into the existing kit.