It’s been six long years since the release of Code Vein, and while the vampiric anime Soulslike had some fresh ideas, the genre has changed significantly since then thanks to FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. We’ve also seen games like Lies of P, Final Fantasy Origin, and Remnant 2 bring something innovative to Soulslikes, but at the same time, the genre has experienced a flood of derivative titles, and fatigue is starting to set in. Fairly or not, there’s going to be a lot of expectations for Code Vein 2. But after playing for four hours, I’m hopeful it might join the ranks of something like Lies of P, and show why Soulslikes grew so popular in the first place.
Despite the name, Code Vein 2 is unrelated to the original game. According to the game’s producer, Keita Iizuka, the development team sees story and character drama as integral to the series, and to “maximize” that, they wanted a fresh slate where players can alter the fate of the world and its characters. Continuing the original story may have compromised that vision because of the need to carry over events and decisions, and the team was also cognizant of where the Soulslike genre is at.
Like the first game, Code Vein 2 has an astoundingly detailed character creator.
Code Vein 2 takes place in a world on the brink of destruction where humans and vampiric humanoids called Revenants co-exist. A century before the game starts, Revenants tried to stop a phenomenon called The Resurgence that turns living beings into zombie-like monsters. But they were unsuccessful, and now Revenants are being turned into even stronger Horrors that speed up The Resurgence. Your character, a Revenant Hunter, meets a mysterious girl and gains the power to travel through time, allowing you to put things right.
That time travel element is the most interesting thing Code Vein 2 brings to the table, because of how it’s integrated both mechanically and narratively. You’re seeing the same companions in both the past and present, and molding how their stories play out.
Josee is a revenant with a traumatic past, and one of a handful of partners you’ll meet across the timeline.
“There’s certainly been a big shift in the genre. And for us, that just served as good pressure in a way, to deliver the best possible experience that we could for the players,” Iizuka tells Inverse. “What’s really in Code Vein’s DNA is character drama, as well as this sensation of overcoming these difficult challenges together with these characters. The different bonds in the story that the characters experience are something that defines Code Vein and separates it from other Souls games.”
The demo I played was split into two sections. The first was set in the past, where I tried to save an area called the Sunken City and met a spunky young revenant named Josee in the process. After getting to know Josee for a couple of hours and defeating a deadly boss, I then had to flip to the future, where Josee had transformed into a horrific monster. The emotional side of how this plays out is well done, creating harrowing stakes right off the bat.
Code Vein 2’s combat feels delightfully smooth, a tantalizing fusion of high-intensity action and the deliberateness of Soulslikes.
Code Vein 2 is clearly committed to the time-travel idea as core to the game’s narrative, not just as an afterthought. The game’s director, Hiroshi Yoshimura, even cites Back to the Future as inspiration, wanting time-travel to create a “spark” of excitement and heroism for the player. The already emotional story is then highlighted by the return of Memory Fragments, little story vignettes that use audio-visual elements to flesh out backstories. These were great in the original game, and I’m glad to see them come back.
Code Vein 2’s narrative ambitions already have me on board, but the game has also made some tantalizing upgrades to combat. It feels like a faster, more action-focused version of what you find in most Souls games, but there’s still a huge emphasis on using the unique abilities and movesets of different weapons. You’ll have access to over a half-dozen weapons, including one-handed swords, greatswords, bayonets, hammers, and halberds. Even within these broad categories, specific weapons can sometimes have unique styles and attributes.
I gravitated toward the bayonet, choosing to take a mid-ranged approach that let me blast away at enemies, then close in for some melee strikes. You can also customize the “Formae” of each weapon, which are powerful techniques fueled by Blood, a resource you’ll constantly need to extract from enemies using your “Jail” weapon. This creates a give-and-take dynamic where you need to defend, extract Blood, then launch your attack.
The partner system is Code Vein 2’s defining feature, making it feel different from the rest of the genre.
But combat’s defining feature, much like the first game, is the partner system, which lets you bring an NPC ally to face down the hordes of creatures you dismantle. This provides a very different feel from other Souls games, both because it negates the sense of isolation the genre strives for and because it opens up a wealth of combat options. Partners can be summoned to take a more direct role in helping you, or you can “assimilate” them to boost your own powers and stats. If you fall in battle, your partner can revive you and restore your health, although the skill is on a cooldown and becomes less effective with time. This is how Code Vein 2 approaches difficulty: instead of selectable difficulty levels, it gives you a wealth of options with your partner.
While all of these elements weave together to give Code Vein 2 a distinct identity, there are also key improvements made across the board. Combat feels crisp and responsive, and if you enjoy having lots of options for builds and strategies, you’ll have a lot to love here. The combat also pairs well with the labyrinthine dungeon design, with the difficulty being conveyed largely through resource management rather than sheer brute force. It’s less about overcoming a single nasty enemy and more about surviving to the next save point.
Code Vein 2’s boss battles are thrilling to play and have harrowing narrative stakes.
There are still plenty of question marks around Code Vein 2. The game has an open-world-esque element I didn’t get to see, and how that’s implemented could make or break things. And while I love the time-travel approach, such stories often unravel in a mess of plot holes and dubious logical leaps.
But my biggest takeaway from Code Vein 2 is that it feels smart to separate it from the first game. You can see the elements the developers think are “essential” to the franchise’s identity, but transplanting them into a new world full of new ideas gives the game an unexpected freshness. In a way, it reminds me of the Final Fantasy series, where you have familiar, comfortable elements juxtaposed against something ambitious and new. In a highly competitive Soulslike landscape, that kind of anthology approach might give Code Vein 2, and the series at large, the edge it needs to stand out.
