Code Vein II maintains the core components of its predecessor, however it feels extra like a standalone action-RPG than a sequel. That’s as a result of it vastly expands on the sequence’ fight methods and concepts to supply an enormous quantity of customization, whereas telling an all-new story about vampiric characters known as Revenants that’s not linked to the unique Code Vein.
I not too long ago acquired an opportunity to go hands-on with Code Vein II to take a look at its new methods, its time-traveling story, and its tough-as-nails bosses. Right here’s every part I noticed alongside the best way.
A number of fight choices
At first blush, Code Vein II feels just like different Souls-like video games, in addition to to its predecessor. You’ll be able to struggle with a number of weapons starting from large greatswords to quick, gun-mounted bayonets and, new to the sequel, twin blades. Hitting Sq. offers you a quick, weak assault, whereas Triangle fires off a stronger, slower one. It’s also possible to dodge with Circle and block assaults with L1 to minimize the injury you are taking, or parry blows fully should you hit L1 simply as an assault lands.
The place Code Vein II units itself aside is in all its fight choices. For starters, for every weapon, you’ll be able to equip 4 particular talents known as Formae; one for every of the face buttons. Holding R1 and hitting a kind of buttons prompts the Forma geared up to it.
Formae are available three totally different classes — Fight, Magic, and Assist — they usually all have totally different makes use of in battle. One may provide you with a robust assault, whereas one other might help you dodge out of the best way of an enemy earlier than placing again when there’s a gap, and one other may cowl a patch of floor with flames.
Draining your foes
Powering your Formae assaults takes Ichor, and like within the first Code Vein, you solely have a lot. You steal Ichor from enemies by activating gradual however highly effective Drain Assaults while you hit or maintain R2. These strikes use particular weapons, Jails, and, just like the Formae, every is helpful in its personal particular method.
Jails may be geared up like different weapons in Code Vein II, and I attempted a number of to see how they combine with totally different builds and skills. The Ogre Jail is a big claw that slashes away at enemies, whereas the Hound is a pair of dog-headed gauntlets that latch onto and chew enemies.
One other Jail fires off like a scorpion tail, supplying you with numerous vary, whereas one other enables you to ship a horde of tiny bats to tear at enemies. Every Jail has specific attributes that match totally different Blood Codes, the central points of a construct that decide your character’s combating type.
Between weapons, Formae, Jails, and Blood Codes, there’s an enormous quantity of customization in Code Vein II’s fight.
An journey by way of time
The world of Code Vein II lies getting ready to destruction. The one method to reserve it is for you, the protagonist, to staff up with a Revenant named Lou with the power to journey by way of time. The plan is to move 100 years into the previous to simply earlier than an occasion known as the Upheaval, the place you’ll be able to hopefully alter historical past to cease a world-ending drive known as the Resurgence.
My preview began on MagMell Island within the current, the place people and Revenants had been holed up, combating to outlive. However prior to now, the place was underneath assault from bandits, forcing me to struggle my method by way of its corridors and be part of different characters as they labored to defend it.
The second degree, a dungeon known as the Sunken Pylon, was ruined, flooded mall into the bottom — a spot now overrun by Horrors, the corrupted former people and Revenants created by the Resurgence. In each ranges, there are sometimes facet paths with powerful, non-compulsory fights and hidden rewards to search out. Typically, you’ll loop again to an earlier checkpoint by unlocking shortcuts and elevators in basic Souls-like type.
Gaining Companions
Time journey additionally enables you to meet characters from the previous and staff up with them. Companions are a significant a part of the sequence, however Code Vein II provides new points to the system. Your computer-controlled ally will struggle by your facet, making them nice for taking up a number of enemies or distracting a boss so you’ll be able to heal. However you can even “assimilate” your accomplice, fusing the 2 of you collectively to provide your self a stat increase whereas your accomplice is off the sphere.
You’ll be able to activate assimilation everytime you need, making it a useful a part of your technique, assimilating to drag off just a few high-power strikes earlier than releasing your accomplice again into the struggle.
Companions are additionally one thing of an additional life. When your well being runs out, your accomplice will revive you and briefly disappear. When you can keep alive lengthy sufficient, a timer will run down, bringing your accomplice again into the struggle.
Code Vein II’s story hinges in your companions, with the Sunken Pylon specializing in Josée, a Revenant hero wracked with guilt over the dying of her twin sister. After channeling Josée’s recollections to unlock her previous, the dungeon culminated in a battle with the vicious Horror answerable for her sister’s dying.
Battling the Metagen Remnant
On the backside of the Pylon was the Metagen Remnant, a colossal creature that confirmed how brutally powerful Code Vein II’s large bosses may be. The trick to the struggle was to get in shut, dodging the Remnant’s monumental, burly arms, after which hitting it within the face every time there was a gap — whereas additionally being cautious to not over-commit and get pummeled.
Even as soon as I had the dangle of what the Metagen Remnant might throw at me, it was an arduous battle. Bosses have large well being swimming pools and plenty of lethal methods up their sleeves. However should you can hammer them exhausting sufficient, you’ll be able to stagger bosses identical to different enemies, permitting you to carry out Particular Drain Assaults to do large injury.
Taking up Josée
The final a part of the preview, and the ultimate boss struggle, noticed Lou and me returning to the current to finish our true aim. Through the Upheaval, a number of heroic Revenants used their life drive to seal the Resurgence, however the calamity dealing with the world is a results of these seals weakening. To be able to cease it, we have to launch the heroes — now corrupted into horrible monsters — and defeat them.
Josée wasn’t precisely as we remembered her; she was now a towering, katana-wielding, armored warrior. Her combating type is all about quick, sweeping assaults, and utilizing a standing impact that may root you to the bottom and depart you open to strikes. I had probably the most success battling Josée with velocity, pummeling her with quick assaults and staying mild on our toes to dodge her strikes. However just like the Metagen Remnant, Josée places up a severe struggle, making it clear that Souls-like followers are going to wish to hone their abilities to defeat Code Vein II’s hardest challenges.
Altering historical past
The boss struggle is a tragic addendum to Josée’s story. However as Director Hiroshi Yoshimura talked about throughout the occasion, after beating Josée, you’ll probably have the choice to return to the previous and alter her destiny. That may provide the likelihood to avoid wasting her, however it might put your total mission in danger, too. Whereas I didn’t get to see how the timeline may change in Code Vein II, it’s clear time journey is a giant a part of how its deep story will unfold.
Code Vein II has added loads to its predecessor’s foundations, providing versatility in playstyles and loads of choices along with your accomplice, your weapons, and your Formae. However probably the most fascinating half may be its time-hopping story, with the possibility to get near Code Vein II’s characters and, in the end, change historical past.
You’ll be able to see the way it all comes collectively when Code Vein II launches for PS5 on January 30.
A Code Vein II Character Creator Demo can be out there January 23 on PlayStation Retailer, letting you discover the sport’s central hub, MagMell Institute, experiment with Picture Mode and check out the sport’s character customization choices. Your customized character may be transferred to the complete recreation.
