Game review: Code Vein II (PS5)

I remember liking Code Vein when it first came out, thanks to its unique art style and original premise. It may have been the first souls-like game I have ever played that had anime-style graphics, and the vampire-like abilities of the characters were also a nice touch.

For whatever reason, almost seven years have gone by, and we have finally received a direct sequel called Code Vein II. The sequel still retains the anime graphics of the original, although it also comes with some new features for fans to sink their teeth into.

Before you begin playing the game, you are required to create your own main character. Much like many other souls-likes, your character cannot talk, but you do have the option to sometimes pick dialogue choices.

As for their appearance, a male or female body is available, and you're free to make them as beautiful or ugly as you want. I usually like to create an attractive woman to play as, but I have seen other people online make some ugly and humorous abominations!

Anyway, some fans of the original game might be disappointed because Code Vein II features an entirely new cast, as the story takes place 100 years after the events of the first game. The world is in danger from something called the 'Resurgence', and the game's entire gimmick allows the main character and their partner, named Lou, to travel back in time to alter the events of the present.

Another gimmick that I like most about the game is that an AI partner travels with you for the entirety of Code Vein II. Unlike other souls-likes, the AI partner does not just appear during boss fights. You have a partner to help you fight every battle at all times.

The time-travelling Lou is the first AI partner you will have, but you can unlock other AI partners when you save other characters as you progress further into the game. If, for some reason, one AI partner is useless to you, you can freely choose another partner that might be more helpful.

Code Vein II also takes place in a large open-world environment, and you are free to tackle some missions in any order. One of the coolest things about the game is that you get access to a motorcycle pretty early on in the game. Driving the motorcycle makes traversal easy and less boring than in other open-world titles.

If, for some reason, you find yourself lost in the open-world, you can always destroy some special purple plants called 'Mistle Sprouts' that will reveal parts of the map for you. Aside from completing the main quests, destroying these plants should also be a high priority for all players.

Apart from exploration, another big part of Code Vein II is, of course, its combat system. Melee combat dominates the game since you can be armed with swords, dual swords, hammers, spears, and more.

As expected, hammers deal a lot of damage, although their biggest weakness is their slow speed. I loved hammering the open-world baddies in the game, but the hammer proved to be slow and cumbersome when I went up against the  huge bosses.

The dual swords combo proved to be the best way to play the game, in my opinion. They can deal a lot of damage, and you are able to keep up your speed, too. As for long-range combat, a rifle is available, as is a bow and arrow.
The rifle was pretty helpful during a specific boss fight as it's really powerful, although the biggest weakness is the amount of ammo that you can carry. You will have to buy lots of ammo to make sure you have enough to survive a boss fight. As for the bow and arrow, I did not find it very helpful at all.
Your character also has access to special attacks for each weapon, simply called 'Gifts'. Before you are able to use Gifts, you need enough resources called 'Ichor', which comes from the blood of revenants.

This means Gifts cannot be spammed all of the time, so you need to use them wisely during fights. When you stun an enemy or boss, you can use drain attacks to sometimes gain some Ichor back.

While Code Vein II can be challenging and fun at times, it isn't without some flaws. For one thing, I've seen a lot of people online complaining about the dodging mechanics. Dodging isn't responsive, and the boss characters can kill you with one hit all of the time.

Thankfully, your AI partner can revive you if you die in battle. That being said, sometimes the AI partners aren't too effective when attacking during boss fights. They may do some damage to bosses, but it's up to you to do the majority of the combat.
Another thing I noticed other people are complaining about is that this game does not have any online co-op mode. This is annoying because, as aforementioned, the AI partners can sometimes be useless in combat. I remember loving playing Monster Hunter games because some online Japanese players would always help me during tough battles in those games.

While some fans of the original game may love Code Vein II, the broken dodge mechanic and lack of online co-op may disappoint many other players. If Bandai Namco is able to make a patch to improve AI partners, then the game might be better in the near future.

Verdict: 7.0/10