| “ | Those are soul shards, fragments of human spirit scattered throughout the halls of this little maze. Each crystal is remnant of one who was met their their end here. | ” |
– Bierce explaining the soul shards. | ||
Soul Shards are the spiritual remnants of Malak's victims, and must be collected in each nightmare to unlock the pieces of the Riddle of Heaven.
Appearance[]
The Soul Shards appear as large, sharp crystal pieces with a purple color to them. The Enemy Reveal shard is similar, but larger, and red in color. The Stun Orb, meanwhile, is an orange sphere, covered with glowing dots with and traces of black, giving it a magma-like look.
History[]
For at least a century, there have been countless individuals (many of whom were sent by Bierce) who attempted to retrieve pieces of a powerful ring known as The Riddle of Heaven, the source of the demon Malak's power. By doing so, they have entered the realm of nightmares where they have met their demise either by demons or monsters occupying each nightmare. Instead of passing on to the after-life, their spirits were changed into shards of crystals; their very souls were trapped in limbo within the same nightmare where they were killed. Malak had proceeded to use the power of these Soul Shards to create an impenetrable barrier to contain the ring pieces.
Ultimately, many (if not all) of these souls were freed from their torment and prison when Bierce recruited a man named Doug Houser, who was successful in collecting the shards as well as the ring pieces.
Goal[]
In each level, the player is tasked with collecting all of the required soul shards in the map. These shards are often placed strategically, such as behind traps, clumped together, isolated, and often distributed among different zones.
After all soul shards are collected, the enemies will enter a frenzy, causing their eyes to turn red, altering their color scheme, and making them much more aggressive. When entering frenzy mode, a cloud of purple magic (similar to Agatha's teleport) will briefly appear around each enemy, transforming their appearances.
The Bonus Shards can be collected by collecting the red shard.
Abilities[]
While the plain shards have no special abilities, the other two have. The red shard is able to reveal the enemies for 60 seconds, while the orange orb stuns them for 15 seconds. Malak, however, is immune to both of these effects.
The player will get a special streak in their screen if they collect the Soul Shards without dying, which rewards an extra life.
Collecting all the shards and completing the level without using the last checkpoint will give the player an S Rank, as well as leveling up the player to achieve skill points and permanent extra lives.
If you get an S Rank in all levels, you will unlock a secret level found in Chapter 5.
Maximum Shards attainable[]
| Chapter | Level | Minimum obtainable Soul Shards | Maximum obtainable Soul Shards | Total Cumulative Soul Shards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Monkey Business" | 289 | 389 | 389 |
| 2 | "Elementary Evil" | 283 | 433 | 822 |
| "Deadly Decadence" | 354 | 554 | 1376 | |
| 3 | "Stranger Sewers" | 310 | 510 | 1886 |
| "Crazy Carnevil" | 280 | 760 | 2646 | |
| 4 | "Torment Therapy" | 679 | 1558 | 4204 |
| "Mascot Mayhem" | 501 | 800 | 5004 | |
| "Bearly Buried" | 630 | 800 | 5804 | |
| 5 | "Holiday Horror" | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| "Prison Panic" | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| "Fear Fortress" | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| "Wicked Ways" | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Monsters & Mortals[]
 "Are you not aware that she offers only lies?" This article contains information on a subject that isn't considered canon in Dark Deception franchise.
|
In Monsters & Mortals, soul shards serve as the main collectible items of the game, as well as the in-game store currency. They come in two different variations: purple and red.
Collection[]
Purple shards appear in every mode, and serve as the main objective in each match. At the end of a match, players will keep the soul shards they collected. Red shards are rarer than purple shards, and can only be collected by winning a match under certain conditions.
Gameplay[]
Every mode in the game involves collecting soul shards.
Maze Escape[]
In Maze Escape, the mortal team must satisfy a quota of soul shards by the end of the match while avoiding the monster team. The quota varies between each maze the lowest being 450 and the highest being 850. Every time a mortal dies, either to a monster, boss or trap, the mortal team loses soul shards, the amount depending on what class they are. Speed losing the most (50) and Power losing the least (15). Soul shards spawn across the entire map in waves, and their locations are labeled on the mini-map. After enough time has passed, a new wave will commence, replacing the previous wave's shards with a new series of shards. The mortal team has until the end of the final wave to satisfy the quota and escape. As soon as the quota is reached, the portal will immediately spawn in at a random part of the map. The portal will not disappear if the total drops below the quota. Players may choose to continue collecting shards for currency if they decide to not head for the portal immediately. Portal Box items such as "Soul Shards" or "Soul Bundle" will increase the shard total by 10 and 25 respectively when used by the mortal team, and decrease by the same amount when used by the monster team.
If the monster manages to prevent all the mortals from escaping before the final wave ends, they will be rewarded with a red shard. Conversely, if the mortal team wins, they will all receive a red shard in addition to the purple shards they collected.
Shard Mayhem[]
In Shard Mayhem, monsters must engage in a free-for-all to collect the most amount of shards by the end of the match. Like Maze Escape, soul shards spawn throughout the map on a wave system, with the match ending by the end of the final wave. Players can kill and attack each other similar to in to maze escape to reduce each other's shard total, and items such as "Soul Shards" and "Soul Bundle" will increase a player's shards 10 to 25 respectively. Hitting an enemy will make them lose 1 shard and the attack will receive it. Killing an enemy will reward you with a percentage of their total shards.
By the end of the final wave, the player with the most amount of shards wins. While all players get to keep the shards they collected, the winner will also earn a red shard in addition.
Soul Collection[]
In Soul Collection, mortals must engage in a free-for-all to collect the most amount of shards by the end of the match just like Shard Mayhem. Like the other two, soul shards spawn throughout the map on a wave system, with the match ending by the end when Malak Phantom kills the player with the fewest shards in the final wave. Players can kill and attack each other similar to Shard Mayhem to reduce each other's shard total, and items such as "Soul Shards" and "Soul Bundle" will increase a player's shards 10 to 25 respectively.
By the end of the each wave, Malak Phantom will be summoned and come for the player who has the fewest shards and kill them. The player who is killed by Malak Phantom will become a Murder Monkey and have to kill the other remaining mortals. The match ends when there's only one mortal left. While all players get to keep the shards they collected, the winner will also earn a red shard in addition.
Store[]
In the store, two capsule vending machines can be used by players, each accepting a different type shard currency. The purple machine accepts 3,000 purple shards while the red machine accepts 15 red shards. Red shards reward you with rare skins. Purple shards reward you with common skins, concept art, and artwork for the game.
Gallery[]
.png "Soul Shard (Alpha).png (861 KB)")
.png "Red Soul Shard (Alpha).png (1.1 MB)")
Sounds[]
| Shard | Audiofile |
|---|---|
| Soul Shard | |
| Red Shard | |
| Stun Orb | |
| Alpha Red Shard |
Trivia[]
- After receiving the tablet, Bierce mentions its previous owner, who served as her acquaintance before Doug. She described her as a "very clever girl, just not a very fast runner", implying that she was killed.
- However, according to Elise's notes, the previous tablet owner was her, and she actually didn't die in the hotel.
- A stand for soul shards is seen in "Crazy Carnevil", displaying an "out of stock" sign.
- Bierce mentions that Soul shards emit tiny screams. These are not heard in-game, however.
- In the Alpha, the Red Shard and the Standard Shard had different models. In the current version, they share the same model.
- In addition, the Stun Orb didn't exist in the Alpha.
- According to Vince, Reveals Shards are created from massive clusters of soul shards, which explains why the player gains extra shard points if they collect them.
- With that in mind, it is theorized that the Reveal Shards could be the remains of people who have the best analytical skill and the awareness to everything around them by paying attention to their surroundings to survive and have the ability to know and understand where the monsters are and the environment around them, and could also be coming from the most resilient and the most knowledgeable people that Malak has to confront.
