While a vampiric Souls-like is always welcome, this one seems to have been rushed out the door.
Code Vein II is Bandai Namco’s long-awaited sequel to the 2019 sleeper hit Code Vein, which slowly but surely gathered a fanbase thanks to its Gothic aesthetics, anime influences, and multiplayer co-op elements. Thankfully, its sequel arrives six years later as a largely standalone title, carrying over terminology from the first game like Blood Codes and Hunters, while featuring a brand-new cast of characters and a distinct setting.
Unfortunately, fresh starts don’t always make for great sequels. Code Vein II is a shocking step down from its predecessor in many regards, widening the scope of its environments and maps only to feel more barren and lifeless as a result. Its world is populated with repetitive enemies and uninspired quest design, and its combat only lends the game some lustre thanks to the meagre strength of its role-playing mechanics.
Welcome to Code Vein II, we have time-travelling now
Code Vein II’s opening hours might be a jarring experience for longtime fans of the first game, as they take players to a completely distinct world with a new plot and cast of characters to follow. This time, players step into the shoes of the Revenant Hunter, a powerful monster-killer tasked with accompanying a time-manipulating girl named Lou, in order to stop their modern-day dystopian home from collapsing into a total apocalypse.
In this world, humans and Revenants once co-existed, before the Revenants were altered beyond recognition by a powerful force referred to as the Luna Rapacis. This force has transformed Revenants into monstrous beings called the Horrors, which players will have to combat as they attempt to save the world. Thanks to Lou, they’ll travel 100 years into the past, and back into the present, to learn more about the Luna Rapacis, and potentially change things for the better.
While Code Vein II’s story begins with a muddy stream of post-apocalyptic jargon for players to plod through in the name of world-building, its actual plot isn't nearly engaging enough to lend all of it some much-needed resonance. Companions appearing early on in the story, like Noah and Iris, quickly endeared themselves to me, if only because they were some of the few signs of life this game’s barren world had to show for itself. Unfortunately, the story's largely uninspired writing, generic dialogue, and repetitive missions bogged things down.
Cutscenes are awkwardly paced and stitched together, and the game’s confused mix of Gothic and baroque character and enemy designs lend everything a haphazard, unfinished look–stopping just short of coming together in an eye-catching, or even mildly pleasant way. Some of these characters look great, like the game’s now-default mascot character and shopkeeper Jadwiga, but many of them don’t even look like they belong in the same world, and thus have the aesthetic makings of a travelling circus; all of them fighting to stand out from each other with clashing outfits and personalities.
The lifeless world of Code Vein II
Code Vein II wastes no time getting players into the thick of it, but the first boss players face is arguably the most challenging and time-consuming of them all: its fantastic character creator. There is a generous bounty of cosmetic options for players to fiddle around with here to create genuinely great-looking character models, and later bring into the game’s sullen dystopia. Multiple accessories can be equipped and re-coloured at a time, though even the game’s pre-set character creations are good enough to be adopted as is.
Code Vein II is presented as a more open-ended game than the first, though its map isn’t quite as big as it is initially presented to be. Many quests will ask players to visit and clear points of interests (typically dungeons) in any order, though they will typically be grouped closely enough to destroy any freedom of exploration the game might have hoped to cultivate. The path forward is linear and paved with a repetitive flow of same-y enemies, which take little effort or creativity to dispatch between the more challenging bosses and mini-bosses.
Despite being set in a vampire-themed post-apocalypse, many of these outdoor settings lack the visual flavour necessary to entice players into exploring further of their own volition. You’ll spend most of your time exploring buried cities, power plants, tunnels, and labs, without any of these locations sticking in your mind for too long. Where the creatures themselves appear black and gold, and come in at least a thin variety of grotesquery, the world itself appears generic and lifeless by comparison.
The complete lack of sound and music during exploration doesn’t help; oftentimes while trudging through the game’s world, I’d ask myself why the game was being so unnaturally quiet, without so much as the sounds of wind, footsteps, or musical motifs to keep me company. Companions will frequently chime in to keep players from dozing off, though the things they have to say are often repetitive and glaringly obvious–like asking the player to get some rest every single time they run out of healing items.
Fighting the Horrors
Thankfully, Code Vein II’s combat is sufficiently engaging, giving players plenty of options with which to mow down the Horrors of its world. Primary and secondary weapons can be found, upgraded, and assigned elemental buffs. In addition to that, special abilities can be equipped to these weapons, and swapped around to keep a specific kit going long after a weapon might have been rendered obsolete.
Character stats can also be tinkered with using Blood Codes, which serve as the equivalent of in-game classes, and Jail weapons can also be equipped to give players powerful moves with unique effects. Most of these abilities require the use of Ichor, which can be easily replenished by using Jail weapons. AI companions can also help out in battle, and revive the player when defeated. Alternatively, they can be dismissed from the battlefield to grant players buffs.
While these options are plentiful, the game’s poor enemy variety does little to encourage experimentation. Gunning for certain builds will allow the player to annihilate most Horrors with ease, though they tend to also suffer from nonsensical hitboxes and baffling attack patterns, which can make fighting them feel more like an outright chore rather than a surmountable challenge.
Code Vein II’s biggest combat problem doesn’t even have anything to do with these systems, but the in-game camera. Oftentimes when backed against a wall or while dodging an enemy, the camera would zoom too far into a random spot and render bosses and enemies invisible. You’re always fighting both the enemy and the camera in this game, and winning against both feels harder than it should be.
Verdict
The original Code Vein launched in a pretty packed market filled with Souls-like video games, and managed to carve out a niche for itself anyway thanks to its anime visuals and combat system. Code Vein II, which eschews a multiplayer component entirely, is a disappointing step backwards for a series that once showed promise.
Unremarkable characters, strange sound design, and a bad in-game camera are the least of it. The game as a whole feels underbaked, filled with clashing elements–from its rideable motorcycle to barren environments–that never quite come together in the way I hoped it would. Perhaps a return to the first game’s setting would have fared better, rather than turning the series into yet another awkward attempt at reproducing Dark Souls’ winning formula.
Code Vein II is now available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for US$69.99. We received a copy of the game for this review. You can pick up a copy of the game, and more Bandai Namco merchandise, on Playasia here.
