CODE VEIN

I recommend this game if its on sale. I picked it up for $5. So it was well worth the $5. Code Vein doesn'ty do anything great. Its just all decent and not overly challenging. I like anime and I like souls games. Not a super fan of either but I enjoy them. So it was worth playing through the game once. I have no desire for new game plus or unlocking the other endings. Nor does this game make me want to go and buy Code Vein 2. Its a solid 2019 souls like that is showing its age with the progression the genre has made since its release. Pick up on sale recommend.

dev team spent their whole budget on a really good character creator instead of the gameplay

I know this game isn't for everyone. It has its flaws, and I understand why some people don't like it. But for me? Code Vein will always have a special place in my heart.

Genuinly want to enjoy this, however there are too many issues that pile up. [h2]Pros:[/h2] - Interesting character build system that offers a lot of playstyle options and is fun to experiment with - Relatively well modelled world and characters [h2]Cons:[/h2] - Combat feels unbalanced and poorly thought out. - Enemies are too large for the camera, made worse when the game like sending multiple at once. - Enemies don't realistically gang up on you like in Dark Souls, surrounding you and kind of trying not to hit each other. Instead they phase through each other and attack all at once, resulting in a ball of attacks you are guaranteed to be hit with if you approach. This could be argued to help push towards using some of the ranged abilities, but it just makes larger fights feel messy. - Enemies sometimes have moves that are faster than your own, and you can't do animation cancelling. This means that you will often perform an action (attack, ability, heal) when you think its safe and just have to pray that the enemy doesn't decide to use a faster move. - The story is very thin and often holds back on explaining anything beyond what is immediately happening. This makes it feel like the broader world doesn't really exist. Even the group of characters you join never explain why on earth they were working together or what they did prior to you joining. - The characters of the cast are barely developed beyond their universally sad backstories. They only have vague characteristics, and don't develop any rapport with the player or each other. Every single character (including ones you never actually meet) has their sad backstory shown by slowly walking through dioramas with them talking. They are long enough to be boring, and too short to properly explain things. You barely know the characters beforehand, so it's hard to care about them. After a dozen of these it starts to become comedic, but thankfully you can skip them. - English voice actors do a passable job, but barely emote realistically for a given context i.e. exclamations of what should be panicked worry are instead mild concern. - Occasional misspellings in the english subtitles

Character customisation in this game is better than the game itself lol

Haven't played a lot, pretty fun so far but a lot of bugs that require closing out the game entirely, game hasn't been updated since 2020 so I doubt they'll ever be fixed.

Some map of this game is a labyrinth but on a steroids, the canthedral map is just so unnecessary complex and confusing, that it made me not wanted to replay the game at all in the future. The combat is okay, most of the boss is a spammer, but the last 4 boss can one shot you, and most of the boss move so fast even when they wield heavy weapon, it doesn't even made fricking sense at all. and your partner is kinda useless in a boss fight (the boss don't even aim at them all) The lore and the plot is good enough for me to keep playing, even with all of my complain. The soundtrack is also good. Some of the characters have a really good design (io and eva especially). Overall this is a decent game, but I'm probably not gonna replay it because of that damn canthedral of confusion and lost lol.

Originally, I bought this game because a classmate from high school recommended it to me, back then I partially enjoyed it but unfortunately for her, it's a very flawed game. [h1]The Good[/h1] The character customization is the best I've ever seen for an anime-esque game, every accessory and outfit could technically be customized to your liking, there are some limitations but from what I've seen is some incredibly unique outfits online; 2B, Cloud, etc. When the reviews say "they put their budget into this", they are correct, because the gameplay itself while great and punishing in its own way, does not hold up as a proper soulslike game, other games such as Mortal Shell and Bound by Flame (both budget soulslike games aren't the best), and in a sea of copycats, clones and inspired-by games, Code Vein IS a better alternative. It's aesthetic is superb without a doubt, voice-acting is subpar but it gets the job done, and for a Namco game you'd be impressed. I won't go in-depth with its mechanics because I'm as confused by it but by the gist of it; the Haze you collect which can be used to level up your character is a nice way to gamble whether you should level up immediately or go for more challenging enemies and such, meaning there's a lot of weight put to it (its weapon animations show it but unfortunately overall, it fails; more below). Fanservice, of course it's a Namco game, there is fanservice but arguably not as flashy as God Eater 3's. Also, this game is REALLY optimized, it doesn't use as much CPU/GPU at all, and the only game I've ever seen that happen was MGSV, I even played this on a low-end laptop when I bought it (8GB RAM, Integrated Graphics) so it's doable to play this unless you tweak if not most of its settings. [h2]The Bad & Ugly[/h2] Butterfly of Delirium is the worst boss I've come across, I haven't even finished Dark Souls 2/3 at all and this just feels like it wasn't as fleshed out properly, its behavior and pattern is unpredictable and the AI instantly snaps to you randomly if its attacking your AI partner (which I will say is a good punishment for having to rely on them, but then again you can literally let them battle all the enemies before a boss battle so you can have an easier time of leveling up and upgrading your equipment faster, so what's the point?), there are times where I know I've dodged perfectly but still get hit by its ranged attacks or an incredibly fast attack that I have no way of avoiding, it feels TOO fast for me. It's definitely pushed me to my limits to the point where I can say [i]"I give up, the game wins, and I am a loser with a skill issue because I have no idea on how to even properly combat this boss."[/i] To those that have played the game will know how EARLY it even is. The combat, god, it tries to replicate Dark Souls combat but in reality; it's just God Eater combat but less fluid, movement doesn't feel snappy and feels too floaty (your character will feel like they're floating on ice and the walk/run animations reflect this). You think blocking helps? Absolutely... NOT, it delays the inevitable (which is what blocking usually is anyways but in Code Vein, it feels janky), most of the time you'd have a chance to be cocky and stunlock an enemy and go full attack mode on them, because you can, you can cheese this game quite often and in some peculiar moments, also get punished by doing so, a soulslike game IS supposed to be challenging but it doesn't work for Code Vein as the issues that has stressed the game eventually got reworked in its sequel (from what I've heard, I have no intentions of buying Code Vein 2). It's unbalanced and you have to be super duper precise in where you're aiming as if you're playing Duck Hunt, Dark Souls had you do this but at least the game's quality can be judged from its fluidity and smoothness that comes from it (if you ignore some really obvious bugs that pop up on youtube every often). Environments feel bland but because of its setting, there's not much that can be done, every area feels okay to look at but that's about it, some give you routes but it feels like pointless walking, you might even get chokepointed at some locations, that they BOMBARD you with lots of enemies. Dragon's Dogma handles this better even if their genres are a bit different. Code Vein REALLY has something going for it, but it just can't get it correct, everything about the game stays true to its inconsistencies rather than its characters and forgettable plot. [spoiler]And from what I've heard, this is in the same universe as God Eater 3, so evidently I spoiled myself for the sake of knowing what happens.[/spoiler] [h1]Verdict[/h1] Get this game on a sale, with the deluxe content, I originally bought the game on sale without DLCs but now they've been frequently bundling the deluxe on a nice discount, I won't get it though because I have no desire to play this game any longer, and I apologize to my female classmate if she ever sees this review and knows its me, I can't with this game lol. Despite its flaws, it can be a really great contender of a soulslike game, just watch out when the game shows its flaws in front of your face rather than hiding it in its endgame flavor. [b]This game should've been an additional DLC for God Eater 3 rather than its own spinoff, GE3 could've used the character customization and perhaps some mechanics(?) from Code Vein honestly.[/b]

Code Vein is a solid anime-inspired soulslike that combines challenging combat with flexible character builds through its Blood Code system. The Steam version runs well overall, with smooth performance and stable gameplay, while the art style and soundtrack create a memorable atmosphere. Boss fights are enjoyable, character customization is excellent, and the companion system makes the experience more accessible without removing the challenge. The Cathedral can be confusing to navigate, but overall Code Vein delivers a rewarding adventure for both soulslike fans and newcomers alike.

At first, the game was quite interesting. But halfway through at the latest, it had simply become tedious and boring. There are, what feels like, five different standard enemies that just keep repeating themselves. Its no different with the bosses. I reckon five of the bosses alone are just some knights with swords and shields. But the copy pasting and recycling doesnt stop with the enemies and bosses. The levels themselves are also always the same, except that the textures are different. One moment its a ruined city, then a ruined city in the mud, then a ruined city in the desert. Theres some different maps, like a snow level, but in terms of layout its absolutely identical to every other map. Narrow corridors that all look the same, and every now and then a larger room that looks just like the rest. I wouldnt mind that much if atleast the artstyle of the levels would look cool. But its the most mediocre and generic stuff. The combat is anything but fluid either. Fortunately, the game is absolutely undemanding and probably the easiest "souls like" i have ever played. Especially if you just parry non stop. The parrying itself is also extremely strange. Its as if youre playing with a delay and have to parry two seconds in advance before you even get hit. Its hard to describe, but it feels extremely weird. So even the combat is clunky and kinda unpolished, you can get through it without any trouble because of the low difficulty. In terms of gear and equipment: you dont really need to bother with the blood cloaks at all. Just pick any and level it up, that will do the trick. Same goes for the weapons. Youve got loads of skills you can use, though I only actively used a few of them, for example, to remove poison. Of course, you can look into this stuff in detail if you want to, but you can also get through the game without any trouble if you just leave it be, like I did. In any case, i was glad when i finally finished the game. I also had a quick look at the DLC. Its exactly the same all over again. Same enemies, same boring level design, and so on. No thanks, ive had plenty enough of that in the main game. I bought the deluxe edition on sale with 90% off back then. For that price, it was ‘okay’. But for full price? No way.