I don’t usually say stuff like this and I really I don’t say that lightly, Code Vein is a Souls Like on the surface But Beneath the obviously Souls Inspired gameplay and the beautiful Anime Aesthetics that we’ve come to expect from the GE team, is a game that lets you make your character your way. The story While seemingly overbearingly edgy at first has quite a good balance of that early 2000’s anime edge and some Heartfelt emotional storytelling. Now I'm going to try and explain the main reasons this game is great without spoiling anything.


The story in code vein at the very beginning seems like it's going to be an overly edgy 2000’s anime inspired gore fest, which for the first bit it does this. Now being the weeabo trash I am I have a nostalgic spot for these type of edgy anime tropes, but I was pleasantly surprised as I proceeded through the story that even while maintaining the edginess of the earlier hours of the game, it managed to interweave some quite heartfelt plots through the story and also from memories that you can access by finding particular items. The GE team really went all in with the dark brooding nature of this story while overbearing at times still managed to keep me interested and blindside me with some really emotional points, and I believe if they didn’t go all in with the broody atmosphere the story wouldn’t have been anywhere near as impactful as it was. Also a great aspect of the game is the fact that all the major NPCs are fleshed out and Likeable. I didn’t dislike any character in this game fundamentally and each character played their role well bouncing off the rest of the cast to create a sense of family between the major NPCs I haven’t seen in many other games.


Code Veins Main gameplay is what sets it apart from any other game in the genre. In the game you have access to quite a few weapon type, abilities and NPC’s (yes NPC’s). The first I will cover is the weapon types which there are 5 of, these are the One handed swords, Great Swords, Spears, Hammers, and Rifles. Each of these provide a unique gameplay style with nuances on their specific formula between each weapon. The one I mainly played with was the Great Swords which played a bit like a mixture of an Ultra GreatSword from DS3 and the Great Sword From Monster Hunter, with a bit more speed. The combat is fun and engaging keeping you on your toes while the enemies attacks range from slow swings to blistering fast attacks making you need to learn to read the enemies choreographs. On top of this you get access to Gifts which are unique to each Blood Code. Blood Codes are what ultimately dictate your stats and what weapons and gifts you can use. Imagine Blood Codes as loose class system. Each Blood Code gives you access to different gifts and mastering those gifts through combat allows you to use them in different Blood Codes. This provides a lot of customization to builds through using different Blood Codes and gifts. The best part of all of it is that the gifts save to the Blood Code which lets you easily switch between two builds in the middle of an area. On top of this your gifts are what allows you to do flashy anime moves such as disappearing and Omae wa mou Shinderu ing a boss or enemy in your path, these are all quite entertaining to watch and kept the fights engaging and entertaining. The other major thing you can change is your Blood Veils, better known as your edgy life drainer. These have minor effects on your stats and are mainly used to do backstabs, parries and drain attacks. These are what drains “Ichor” or Mana to spend on using your gifts. All of these aspects together form a strange combat loop of smashing an enemy around, using your flashy gifts, and then draining Ichor from enemies so that you can do it all again. I found a lot of enjoyment out of this system which on the surface level seems simple enough but can become quite deep late game.

Now onto both the best and the worst aspect of this game which puts it apart from the rest. The NPCs. when you go out to explore the world of Code Vein you have the option to bring an NPC partner along which in some way is good. Each NPC that you get seems to be a cookie cutter archetype with some differences between them. Some will be your average DPS, Some will play the tank role and some will be supports. Surprisingly these NPCs are quite are quite responsive, Playing stealthily when you are being stealthy, being aggressive when you are and falling back and healing when they get low. There was rarely a time I found that these NPCs were a hindrance to me gameplay wise and they assisted me throughout the game quite well. However my one gripe is that the NPCs won’t shut up. They make a comment about everything, literally everything. Pick up an item, the NPC comments on it, kill an enemy, the NPC comments on it, find a save point… I think you get what I mean. But thankfully these are optional and not required to finish the game, so you can choose just not to bring an NPC along on your journey through out Code Vein. However I would recommend it as some parts of the game seems obviously scaled with the assumption that you have brought the NPC along.


Now unfortunately this is an aspect that Code Vein falls down, the scenery are quite bland in this game. Most of them seem like dungeons from a turn-based RPG that was ripped out and put in an Action game. In some of the areas the Black Spires, Known as Thorns of Judgement, were the most interesting aspects that littered the area’s and skylines. However, there were some stand outs, such as the Ice Area which was a joy to wander through, the “Anor Londo” of this game which was a white castle that while confusing was appealing to look at, and the Desert area. This is something I believe that if a Code Vein 2 was made would need to be improved on and it is probably my biggest gripe of this game.


The songs in Code Vein for me at least were a highlight of the playthrough, each song that played during a boss fight kept me hyped and engaged, minus a few black sheep. If your coming to this game expecting something like Dark Souls music you will be disappointed. The sounds in this game fit what is going on quite well and the only sounds that annoyed me was the ringing of the checkpoints which sound like Nirnroot. This is actually painful to listen to after a while, other than that though the sound design and music is quite exceptional and I enjoyed it a lot.


Code Veins character creators is one that I want to see become staple amongst all games. it allows you to change the normal hair, hair, eye and skin color, eyes, expression, gender. But then goes one step ahead and lets you change every aspect about clothes. Don’t like the gloves on an outfit, just remove them, don’t like the sleeves, remove them, don’t like collars, welp they can be removed. The amount of customizability is ridiculous and I love it, I spent three hours making my first character then spent quite a lot longer making my other ones and every now and again pop in to make a new one. This is an amazing aspect to this game that I think is a highlight of Code Vein.


Code Vein is quite an excellent game, but if your coming to this for the next true dark souls experience this is not what your looking for. It lacks some of the depth that Dark Souls has but makes up for it in the customizability in the way you play and how you look. If you have played and enjoyed any of the other titles the GE team has made you’ll enjoy this game. Its story is great, characters are intriguing, gameplay is engaging, and edginess is almost overbearing. Which comes together to make a game that was a delight to play. If any of this sounds interesting, I'd recommend picking up Code Vein and giving it a try, I’m sure you won’t regret it.