An announcement that took me by pleasant surprise earlier this month was the reveal of Code Vein 2, a sequel to the somewhat cult hit, Code Vein. Described by many as “anime souls”, this game was, at first glance, another Soulslike in a deluge of others, but through various design and creative choices, it was able to stand out amongst the rest. Well, for me at least.
Which is why I’m pretty damn excited for Code Vein 2, as I’m a firm believer of videogames being one of the few mediums where sequels have the opportunity to build on top of the best, and ignore the worst. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a hands-off presentation on the game, and came away decently impressed and more excited than ever to play. Keep reading the XboxEra Hands-Off Preview of Code Vein 2 to find out why.
Sadly, I had no opportunity to actually play Code Vein 2 (yet,) but they still gave a good amount of information in this slide-show format presentation. The first thing they made clear was that there are three “franchise cores” with Code Vein: Deep customization (visual and gameplay wise), strong narrative, and challenging dungeons. Having played the first game, I do generally agree with these and I’m happy to see they’re giving them even more importance this time around. While I’m still a little confused on how exactly this game ties to the first (they did not take questions), they said this is a sequel while also being a “complete reimagining”.
Story wise, I’ll keep things light, but Code Vein 2 takes place in a “futuristic world where humans and revenants coexist”. Revenants, if you remember, were the player character and their friends in the first game, essentially the “vampires”. But stuff happens and revenants are attacking people again? Something like that, and you play as a “Revenant Hunter” (though I’m pretty sure you’re a revenant too). Well, the important bit is that you have some kind of time powers through another character (who gives you half of her heart to keep you alive. Like her physical heart, half of it.)
So that’s the story gist so far, stuff is going down, and it’s up to you to save the day. Or at least try to. And you have friends! Similar to the first game, Code Vein 2 has a “partner” system, where you run around with friends who attack or support you in your journey. The examples they showed were Lu using support moves to keep enemies busy as they swarm you. They did say the system is improved this time around, though I didn’t think it was bad or anything before.
Speaking of partners (and back to the story for a little bit), a big part of the game is befriending so called “legendary revenants”, which I have a feeling will include some familiar faces. At least, I’d hope so.
A big part of Code Vein 2 is going to be moving back and forth between the present and the future. Not just a story device, they showed off how in one area a door might be blocked, but by going to the past and removing the obstruction, it’s gone in the present too. Though, quite conveniently, everyone that sees you in either timeline wants to kill you! So there’s never a lack of enemies to whet your blade with.
To help you destroy enemies, Code Vein 2 has “jail” attacks, special finishers that are very stylish while also doing good damage (or providing utility). The two they showed off were “Ogre” and “Bat”. Ogre being the one featured heavily in the trailer, with the two large claws and the mask, while Bat has you jump backwards and do more of a ranged attack. There are also different weapon types of course, (seven to be exact), two of which are new to the sequel.
Similar to the first game, Code Vein 2 brings back “Blood Cores”, which you can equip to change your stats/style of play. Though this time there’s a booster system that can be used to enhance them. I did like this system in the first game, but I also felt it was a little underutilized, so I’m glad to see them expanding on it this time around.
The last thing they showed us was some gameplay footage, including a small look at a dungeon and a boss. If you’ve played the first game, then you know that the dungeons were usually the best part (other than non-Anor Londo, of course), and it seems they’ve doubled down on that even more this time around. I ] also got a look at some of the different builds you can play as, including using a bayonet, which allows you to play fully ranged with the gun while using the blade in melee, and it seems they’ve added more variety even in previous weapon types by introducing more verticality, such as using a move that takes you up to the air in order to dodge an attack.
Basically, there’s more ways to fight and build this time around (even though I’ll likely still stick with my giant greatsword), and that’s always a welcome improvement in any sequel. The little I saw of a boss was clearly a work in progress build, but the enemy design, as always, looked fantastic, and with the increased combat variety, bosses should be more fun to tackle too.
The last thing we saw a bit of was the motorbike you can use to traverse the much more open world now. While I didn’t think I needed a vehicle in the first game, I won’t say no to a faster way to get around. Especially if Code Vein 2 really is a big jump in area size.
While I sadly wasn’t able to play the game myself (not yet anyway), Bandai Namco showed enough to keep my excitement going strong as someone who very much enjoyed the first game. They’ve shown that they know what the strengths and the weaknesses were and aim to improve the former while limiting the latter, which is always the best part of video game sequels. If you were a fan of the first game or if you simply like the genre, Code Vein 2 is looking to be a game to keep your eyes on. Of course, keep checking in here at Xbox Era as we’ll surely cover the game and provide more information when we can.
