I do love a Soulslike, but I’m a bit of a purist at heart – if you don’t give me the exact combination of forlorn ambience, intricate world design, lore excavation, and precision combat developer FromSoftware so consistently delivers, I’m probably going to struggle to care. So, having completely overlooked Bandai Namco’s anime-hued Soulslike Code Vein when it released back in 2019, its sequel was well off my radar. Until, that is, dark forces (Eurogamer editor-in-chief Tom Orry) conspired to nudge it into my orbit. And having now played a good few hours of Code Vein 2 over this last week, I’m both surprised and delighted to discover I’m having a lovely time.
I should probably pre-empt all this by saying if you’re already well-accustomed to the original Code Vein, there’s likely only so much you’ll find useful here in my wide-eyed discovery of its sequel – which, for all I know, might be almost exactly the same. But for similarly placed newcomers, the immediate good news is no real familiarity with the first instalment is necessary at all. Code Vein 2 is a bit of a clean slate with its new cast and a new post-apocalyptic world, but do prepare to be quickly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of terminology (Revenants! Formae! Haze! Blood Codes!) thrown your way in the first few hours. Luckily, the Soulslike fundamentals are familiar enough that I found it easy to muddle through.
After being resurrected and hugged into the past by a big-eyed anime girl with a gaping chest-hole (don’t ask), you’re quickly dropped into combat as you begin your quest to thwart a resurging calamity sealed some 100 years prior. And Code Vein 2 builds its action from a core of light attacks, heavy attacks, dodges, and parries that won’t need much explanation if you’ve any experience with the genre. Similarly, you’ll be immediately at home with its bonfires (or Mistles as they’re known here), where you’ll rest and recover your faculties, resetting the world’s enemies as you do. And then there’s Haze – a special currency farmed from enemies, used to level up and purchase items, which you’ll drop on death and need to reclaim.
So far so Soulslike, but it’s the direction Namco Bandai takes from there that gives Code Vein 2 its distinctive flavour. Tonally, for instance, it’s all very anime, crammed with cut-scene-heavy plot and enthusiastic companion chatter. Throw in some fab music, including a classic guitar-wailing battle theme, and you’ve got a surprisingly peppy, if rather straight-faced, apocalypse. And its open world feels equally removed from the gothic grimdark favoured by other Soulslike games – a vast, verdant island of sci-fi prefabs, crumbling ruins, dilapidated mansions, hot springs where you can acquire recipes after a spot of relaxing nude-y time, and even desolate cities sinking into oceans beneath Xenoblade-like bright blue skies. It makes for some striking sights, even if it performance isn’t great on a bogstandard PS5.
But as refreshing as all this periphery stuff is, it’s the way Code Vein 2 expands on its basic combat that’s properly pulled me in. Early on, you’re introduced to companions you can temporarily assimilate or fight alongside. They’ll offer their immortality to boost your health bar, do damage to enemies that heals over time if you don’t join the fray; they’ll lend you special skills if your bond is strong enough, and they’ll resurrect you during battle whenever their cooldown expires. But there’s plenty more to think about besides. Weapons – scythes, big swords, battle axe, and the like – come with distinctive movesets, but can be further augmented with flashy abilities known as Formae; there’s a rapid-fire longbow to keep up the offensive as you weave around, and a drain mechanic used to replenish the Ichor powering your skills – which can do real damage when combined with a stagger. And that’s just for starters.
It’s a tight loop of interconnected battle mechanisms that, once you start to get your head round it all, builds toward a flashy, fluid, and enjoyably frenzied combat pace I’m finding enormously satisfying. You might need to shake off your Soulsian muscle memory first, mind – unvarnished combat feels sluggish in a way I assume is deliberate, so as to push you toward Code Vein 2’s expanded toolkit and spirited mess of blistering combos; but a couple of hours in, with a few upgrades and new weapons in hand, there’s evidentally significant flexibility for those wanting to explore different playstyles. And that’s without the numerous other modifiers (Burdens! Bequeathed Formae!) I’m only just getting to grips with.
Obviously, it’s still early days, but I’m slowly starting to find my rhythm. And Code Vein 2’s combat is working in tandem with a snappy quest-based progression system, some pacily compact dungeon design, and a so-far relatively forgiving difficulty curve that gives it a breezily propulsive sense of momentum. Oh, and while I’m rattling through the good stuff, its photo mode and character creator are great too – whether you’re making green-haired anime girls, or chiselled muscle boys with sparkling smiles and abs spilling out over their skimpy bath towels. And it’s got motorbikes! Does all this mean I’m ready to toss my Soulslike prejudices aside? Probably not entirely, but in carving its own distinctive path, Code Vein 2 has won me over.
