2019-05-14T17:51:30 02:00

Code Vein: Release, gameplay & co-op mode of the anime Dark Souls

In our big overview of Code Vein you can read, among other things:

When Code Vein will be released and for which platforms it will be released
Gameplay, features & story in Code Vein
Our impressions from the play session

Thanks to Namco Bandai, we had the chance to try out an early version of the anime-style action role-playing game. Here you can read everything we know about Code Vein so far.

Release & Platforms

The anime-style action role-playing game was announced back in 2017 and was originally scheduled for release in 2018. Eventually, the game was postponed in order to further polish the gameplay and develop additional features. The new release date is scheduled for late 2019. As soon as an exact date is announced, you'll read it here.

It is already known that Code Vein will be released for the , theand the PC.

Code Vein story

Code Vein is primarily about vampires fighting for their superiority in an apocalyptic world. The world is enclosed by a strange red mist and there are all kinds of monsters running around - Demon's Souls says hello. The inhabitants are running out of resources, and in the case of vampires, this means that when they run out of blood, they go crazy and attack people indiscriminately.

But there is hope: a few chosen vampires can sprout blood pearls from white trees, which can then be used as food. The character you play has this special ability and sets out to solve the problems of the Code Vein world. Besides, there are mysterious factions and a lot of allies with whom you'll fight the adventure.

The story is played through individual story missions that can be chosen from a hub world. Besides the main missions, there are additional dungeons where you can find additional loot and new bosses. The story should keep the player busy for about 30 hours, but the optional side missions increase the playtime significantly.

Gameplay

Code Vein draws heavily from the Dark Souls formula created by From Software, but puts its own spin on the genre.

Soulslike, each weapon has a light and heavy attack, between which you can vary. You can also fight the monsters with different skills, spells and items. You can avoid enemy attacks with a dodge roll or by blocking.

Just like in Dark Souls, you lose your unspent experience points - called blood crystals in Code Vein - as soon as you die, and you can pick them up once. But only if you make it back to the place where you died. A high difficulty level and massive boss fights are also available, of course.

Gameplay features

The special thing about Code Vein is that you fight your battles together with an NPC companion. This is urgently necessary, because alone you'll get a good beating.

During our gameplay session, we were briefly separated from our sidekick and appreciated him much more after being reunited. Throughout the game, you'll meet different NPCs with different weapons and abilities. These offer another way to modify your gameplay experience.

Another unique selling point is the high customizability of your character. Besides the enormously extensive character editor we were able to unlock different classes that can be changed again and again. Each of them allows you to learn new skills, which can then be combined outside of the currently active class.

Weapons, Equipment & Upgrades

There is a lot of equipment to collect in Code Vein. In addition to different armors, there are five different weapon groups from which you can compose your loadout:

One-handed swords
Two-handed swords
Axes & Hammers
Spears
Firearms

Within these groups you'll find different variants, all with their own stats. It's up to you if you want to improve your weapon by upgrading it or if you want to switch to stronger, found weapons.

Besides the normal weapons, there are also the so-called Blood Veils. This special type of weapon sucks blood, allowing you to regenerate your mana points - called "Ichor" in Code Vein - during combat. Blood Veils can be equipped in addition to conventional weapons. So you'll have plenty of choices when equipping your character.

Multiplayer mode

As publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed, Code Vein will get a cooperative multiplayer mode.

In typical Soul fashion, you can summon another player into your world and then adventure together. The group capacity is limited to two players and an NPC companion, but the latter can also be left behind in the hub. There will be no competitive multiplayer mode besides theco-op mode.

Impressions of the game

We had the opportunity to play a pre-release version of Code Vein at a Bandai Namco play event. Since the action role-playing game is still in development, the impressions we gathered may differ from the final Code Vein version.

Part of our session were the first story missions and a more challenging area in the middle part of the game. In it, we were able to take our first steps as a vampire and cut our teeth on some bosses.

The first thing we noticed was the extremely extensive character editor. There really are endless possibilities to customize or deface the character to your liking. Game design options seem to be a cornerstone of Code Vein, as you have an extreme amount of freedom in choosing your character's weapons and abilities.

As fans of the Souls series, we found ourselves right at home with Code Vein's combat system. The formula works perfectly here as well and doesn't need any huge innovations in our opinion. However, if you've never been able to get to grips with Dark Souls, Code Vein won't change your mind.

We were very skeptical about the NPC companions in the beginning. After all, we want a challenge and we don't need any help! However, we quickly realized that the fights and enemies are designed for two players right from the start.

While you can play alone, you're depriving yourself of a key feature of the game. And quite honestly, dying and then being revived by the NPC helper is sometimes not so bad.

We noticed negatively that the weapons sometimes have a shorter range than it appears from the models in the game. We often had to get very close to the enemies - despite the huge sword - so that our attacks wouldn't go nowhere. Of course, you can get used to this, but we still don't think it was planned that way.

Conclusion

Code Vein doesn't reinvent the Souls formula, but it impresses with slight changes and massive customization possibilities. Fans of the genre can satisfy their hunger for crisp battles and get a fully functional action role-playing game with Code Vein.

We are definitely looking forward to the finished game and will continue to keep you updated.

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