Code Vein II maintains the core parts 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 collection’ fight techniques and concepts to supply an enormous quantity of customization, whereas telling an all-new story about vampiric characters referred to 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 techniques, its time-traveling story, and its tough-as-nails bosses. Right here’s all the things I noticed alongside the way in which.
A bunch of fight choices
At first blush, Code Vein II feels just like different Souls-like video games, in addition to to its predecessor. You possibly can battle 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. You can even dodge with Circle and block assaults with L1 to reduce the harm you’re taking, or parry blows fully in case 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 may equip 4 particular skills referred to 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 Help — they usually all have totally different makes use of in battle. One may provide you with a robust assault, whereas one other will help you dodge out of the way in which of an enemy earlier than putting 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 whenever 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 could 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 large claw that slashes away at enemies, whereas the Hound is a pair of dog-headed gauntlets that latch onto and chunk enemies.
One other Jail fires off like a scorpion tail, providing you with plenty of vary, whereas one other enables you to ship a horde of tiny bats to tear at enemies. Every Jail has explicit attributes that match totally different Blood Codes, the central features of a construct that decide your character’s combating fashion.
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 put it aside is for you, the protagonist, to group up with a Revenant named Lou with the flexibility to journey by way of time. The plan is to go 100 years into the previous to simply earlier than an occasion referred to as the Upheaval, the place you may hopefully alter historical past to cease a world-ending pressure referred to 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 previously, the place was underneath assault from bandits, forcing me to battle my method by way of its corridors and be part of different characters as they labored to defend it.
The second stage, a dungeon referred to 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-obligatory fights and hidden rewards to seek out. Typically, you’ll loop again to an earlier checkpoint by unlocking shortcuts and elevators in traditional Souls-like fashion.
Gaining Companions
Time journey additionally enables you to meet characters from the previous and group up with them. Companions are a serious a part of the collection, however Code Vein II provides new features to the system. Your computer-controlled ally will battle by your facet, making them nice for taking up a number of enemies or distracting a boss so you may heal. However it’s also possible to “assimilate” your accomplice, fusing the 2 of you collectively to present your self a stat increase whereas your accomplice is off the sector.
You possibly can activate assimilation everytime you need, making it a useful a part of your technique, assimilating to drag off a couple of high-power strikes earlier than releasing your accomplice again into the battle.
Companions are additionally one thing of an additional life. When your well being runs out, your accomplice will revive you and briefly disappear. In the event you can keep alive lengthy sufficient, a timer will run down, bringing your accomplice again into the battle.
Code Vein II’s story hinges in your companions, with the Sunken Pylon specializing in Josée, a Revenant hero wracked with guilt over the loss of life of her twin sister. After channeling Josée’s recollections to unlock her previous, the dungeon culminated in a battle with the vicious Horror accountable for her sister’s loss of life.
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 could be. The trick to the battle was to get in shut, dodging the Remnant’s monumental, burly arms, after which hitting it within the face each time there was a gap — whereas additionally being cautious to not over-commit and get pummeled.
Even as soon as I had the grasp of what the Metagen Remnant may throw at me, it was an arduous battle. Bosses have large well being swimming pools and many lethal methods up their sleeves. However in case you can hammer them exhausting sufficient, you may stagger bosses similar to different enemies, permitting you to carry out Particular Drain Assaults to do large harm.
Taking up Josée
The final a part of the preview, and the ultimate boss battle, noticed Lou and me returning to the current to finish our true objective. Through the Upheaval, a number of heroic Revenants used their life pressure to seal the Resurgence, however the calamity going through the world is a results of these seals weakening. With a purpose 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 fashion 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 essentially the most success battling Josée with pace, 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 battle, 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 battle 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. Which may provide the probability to save lots of her, however it may put your general 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 an enormous a part of how its deep story will unfold.
Code Vein II has added rather a lot to its predecessor’s foundations, providing versatility in playstyles and loads of choices together with your accomplice, your weapons, and your Formae. However essentially the most fascinating half is likely to be its time-hopping story, with the prospect to get near Code Vein II’s characters and, in the end, change historical past.
You possibly can see the way it all comes collectively when Code Vein II launches for PS5 on January 29.
A Code Vein II Character Creator Demo shall be out there January 23 on PlayStation Retailer, letting you discover the sport’s central hub, MagMell Institute, experiment with Picture Mode and take a look at the sport’s character customization choices. Your customized character could be transferred to the total recreation.