Code Vein (PS4) Review

Let the hunt begin.

 

 Code Vein is often described as "anime Dark Souls" with its blend of anime visuals and Souls-like gameplay, and I've been excited to play it ever since. Interestingly, it comes to us from Bandai Namco, the very same publisher of the Dark Souls games! Following the story of your custom avatar, you must reclaim your lost memories and survive in a war-torn world. So how does Bandai Namco's take on the Souls-like formula fare? Surprisingly well!

 In the post-apocalyptic city of Vein, thick mist and creatures known as the "Lost" ravage the land. Few have a chance of survival except for "Revenants", former humans who now feast on human blood. The story follows your created character as they join a band of revenants who plan on scouring the city in hunt for a stable blood supply for all revenants. You'll learn about the state of the world while recovering your lost memories as well. Your character is a blank slate when it comes to personality, often silently watching events unfold and nodding along the way. I wished that they'd get more spoken lines and interactions to make you feel more immersed in the world. Conversely, the cast were interesting as the likes of Louis, Yakumo, Mia, and the rest had diverse personalities with their tragic pasts being detailed via flashbacks. 

The story was an interesting one, with
the characters being cool.

 Code Vein is an action-RPG that's similar to the Souls games where you control your character as you explore the world while battling tough enemies. The aim of each level is to reach its boss and progress the plot while also battling enemies and levelling up. You can choose to make your character a melee fighter using swords or ranged, relying on rifles as well as levelling up their attributes like health and strength. Enemies drop "Haze", the game's currency which lets you buy weapons and level up your character when using a "Mistle" (the game's version of Bonfires) to keep you strong against the game's tougher encounters. You'll lose your current haze if you die, meaning you'll have to reclaim them back at the last place you died in. However, if you die during your way back, they'll be lost forever, which is typical of the genre. You can still restore half your haze by resting at the hot spring in the base.

Fight some tough enemies and
explore a war-torn city.

 "Blood Codes" are the game's unique feature where you obtain powers of revenants, either from your companions or those fallen. These offer abilities and stat changes like a high potency in strength, health or magic while also carrying "Gifts" inside them, which are perks that unlock new attack moves or more increased stats. This in turn, offers a good amount of flexability when creating your character and you can switch builds on the fly too. Also, scattered in levels are weapons and armor that can be upgraded for more damage and protection, with the game offering a decent selection of both.

 When exploring levels, you're joined by a surprisingly reliable AI partner that helps you deal with enemy crowds and bosses, even reviving you if you die too. You can turn them off if you feel like going solo. That said, while I did enjoy exploring the levels and unlocking new shortcuts, I found them to be uninspired and bland, which sucks since the urban setting sounded interesting to me. The same can be said to much of the boss fights and enemies, which were okay at best. 

Play solo or with a companion, though
 either way, enemies hit hard.

 Code Vein's strongest suit was the character creator that allows you to flex your creative muscle in making your original character. You have different options to choose from hairstyles, accessories, masks, and features that you can spend a lot of time just fine-tuning your appearance. It may sound like your typical creator, but you'll be surprised with the amount of unique OCs the game's community managed to create. All in all, the game took around 38 hours to beat and that included doing all side-quests and optional levels. The multiple endings and new game plus mode will warrant another playthrough if you're still liking in what the game has to offer. 

 Code Vein is a solid-looking game with its character and creatures designs being highlights. The backgrounds also nailed the setting, though still felt on the generic side. The game runs in 30fps with occasional slow-downs. In fact, the game wasn't short on tech issues with lots of clipping issues like hair going through objects and pop-in textures, which were frequent and embarrassingly noticeable in cut-scenes. The voicework and soundtrack were both great. Tracks like the main theme, battle theme, and ending themes were my favorites.

The presentation holds up well.

 Code Vein was an extremely solid game overall. While it slightly lacks in originality, the gameplay was fast-paced and challenging while also being fun with a decent story to boot. I also liked the characters as well as the setting, and I hope to see a sequel in the future. If you've played any of FromSoftware's games, then you'll be right at home here. Code Vein is forgiving compared to the Souls games, so newcomers should easily give it a play.