Code Vein II Review
Souls-Like Anime Action
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Title: Code Vein II
Release: January 29, 2026
Platform: PS5 PC Xbox X|S
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios Inc.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.
Genre: Action RPG Souls Like
ESRB: T
Reviewed on: PC
Time Played: 22.5 Hours
Intro
Saving humanity and Revenant-kind requires more than a big sword: it requires a trip to the past to find the heroes who failed before you. You are tasked with navigating a crumbling open world where every blood code you find changes how you fight and every partner you recruit brings their own baggage and constant commentary. Stick around to learn about what you can expect from the mechanics, or skip ahead to my final thoughts and ratings.
Where it starts
You wake in a world perched on the brink of total annihilation. As one of the rare individuals gifted with extraordinary abilities, the burden of saving existence falls squarely on your shoulders. You are not alone, though: you are accompanied by Lou, a unique Revenant who can manipulate the flow of time itself. Together, you will navigate between the past and the present to uncover hidden truths and strike down the formidable enemies pushing the world toward its grave. Along this arduous journey through the ages, you will forge new alliances and face dangerous rivals, all in a desperate bid to preserve the future for both humans and Revenants.
Time Travel
Hidden across the world are mysterious cocoons containing the twisted, malformed remains of heroes from bygone eras. You’ll need to fight them to restore order to the land. Before you can crack these shells open and engage them in battle, you must use your powers to travel back to a time when these legends were still in their prime. By interacting with them and learning their personal tales, you will secure vital items tied to their essence. These artifacts are the keys needed to access their cocoons in your own time. You are warned not to meddle with the timeline, but your actions in the past can radically alter the landscape of the future, sometimes leading to better outcomes if you make the right choices.
Open World
The adventure takes you across a sprawling open world teeming with aggressive enemies, hidden dungeons, and valuable treasures. During your early hours learning the game, you will be traveling on foot, though you can use fast travel to return to any mistle you have previously discovered. Once you gain full access to the map, you receive a motorcycle to help you cross the vast distances. It offers a slight speed boost over running, but it rarely feels like a high-performance machine. While exploring, you have access to a large map, but its verticality can make it quite challenging to read when you are navigating areas with multiple levels and floors.
Working with Partners
As you progress through the story, you’ll encounter various characters who are either eager to help or have their own agendas that require your assistance. These allies become your constant companions in battle, providing significant stat boosts and powerful buffs while actively attacking your foes. If your health drops to zero, you can briefly absorb your partner to gain a second chance at life. However, if you fall while they are merged with you, it is an immediate game over. While they are invaluable in a fight, you might find their constant talking and commentary on your surroundings a bit overwhelming over time.
Blood Codes
By defeating bosses or strengthening your bond with partners, you earn special blood codes. These form the foundation of your character’s build, determining your primary stats and granting access to specialized combat abilities. Certain weapons and skills are ineffective unless you have the specific stat distribution provided by your chosen code. As you fight enemies that match your current power level, a proficiency meter fills for each code you use. Once you fully master a specific blood code, you can return to the person who gave it to you to receive an even more powerful, upgraded version to further refine your build.
Character Construction
At the start of your journey, you can fully customize your character’s appearance. If you want a fresh look later on, you can revisit a mirror at any time to adjust your appearance. Beyond your physical appearance, the game offers a deep system of numbers and statistics to help you forge a lethal combat style. Unlike traditional games in this genre, you do not level up individual stats directly. Instead, your attributes are determined by your active blood code. Every piece of equipment you wear draws from your available points, and if you exceed your limit, you will become overburdened, which could help or hurt your effectiveness in combat.
Weapons, Jails, & Boosters
You have access to a massive arsenal, ranging from lightning-fast blades for dazzling combos to massive, heavy weapons that trade speed for devastating raw power. To supplement your martial skills, you can use Jails to drain ichor from your enemies. This ichor serves as fuel for your magical spells and special combat techniques. Using these powerful items requires meeting specific stat thresholds first. Additionally, you can equip various boosters that serve as your accessories. These items provide essential support by increasing your core statistics, enhancing your combat prowess, and offering various passive benefits that help you survive the world’s many dangers.
Forma
Every weapon in your inventory has dedicated forma slots. These powerful enhancements grant you access to unique combat maneuvers or destructive magic you can hurl at your enemies. You have four of these slots, though you must carefully manage your conversion points, as some forma are much more taxing on your equipment than others. Activating these skills requires a steady supply of ichor. If you find your reserves running low during a frantic battle, you can stagger your opponent to trigger a cinematic drain attack with your jail. This move allows you to replenish your energy and keep your magical offensive going without missing a beat.
Can the kids watch
When it comes to dialogue, you’ll encounter some mild language, but the game generally avoids the most offensive curse words. Visually, the graphics are stylized and avoid excessive gore, dismemberment, or realistic blood splatter. The story contains some tragic and emotional moments, but they stay within the boundaries of a teen-rated experience rather than delving into truly disturbing or adult themes. Combat is frequent and follows a cartoony violence style that earned the game its rating. Overall, this is a safe title to play if the younger members of the household want to hang out and watch you explore the world.
Final Thoughts
It had been about four years since I played the first Code Vein, and that history definitely helped me get my bearings with the blood codes and general flow. However, I was not prepared for how sluggish the combat felt initially. I breezed through the trash mobs, but the first real boss absolutely humbled me for a long time. It was a combination of not having enough abilities yet and simply needing to adjust to the specific tempo of this game. Once I cleared that hurdle, everything clicked. I still saw the death screen plenty of times, but not to the same things. After a few hours, I found my groove and the game felt much easier once I dialed in the right builds.
Mastering the combat was a highlight for me. I found a specific rotation of skills that felt powerful and I honestly spammed them until every boss went down. My only real gripe with the action was the constant chatter from my partners. They wouldn’t stop talking even after the swords were put away. They commented on every single chest, elevator, and even my driving skills. It would have been a huge improvement if I could have dialed back their frequency.
I’ve always had a soft spot for anime, so the visual design really appealed to me. My only struggle was with the character creator when I tried to make an “ugly” avatar. The system seems built for beauty, so all my designs ended up looking very similar. The best I could do was a hero fighting in nothing but a towel, which felt appropriately ridiculous for saving the world. It was a shame the NPCs didn’t have anything to say about my bold fashion choices.
Regarding the time travel, I expected the open world to feel twice as big, but it was mostly just color swaps and different enemies. I could use the past to find new routes or specific dungeons, but the time-hopping felt more like a story device than a game-changing mechanic. I also found the main story a bit hard to follow at points. I knew the world was in trouble and I had to fix it, but the details got muddy. I actually preferred the smaller side stories and helping my partners with their personal traumas. I haven’t finished the whole thing yet, but I’m curious enough to see how it all ends.
I did appreciate that the game helped me manage the complex character building. With so many blood codes and stats to track, the help menus and the in-game journal were lifesavers. Using blood codes to manage stats also took some of the pressure off. I just had to collect enough Haze and bring it to a mistle to boost my base stats like HP and attack. It did suck having to wait for the game to hand me specific codes for the dexterity build I wanted, but I managed well enough with the weaker options until the right ones finally unlocked.
Ratings
The VISUALS were great: the performance was smooth and the chaotic, high-energy designs looked amazing on screen, so I’m giving those a 4.
I found the STORY to be a bit muddy regarding the world’s history, but the character-specific side tales and personal growth were strong enough to earn a 3.
The GAMEPLAY was a mix of fun and confusion: there is almost too much data to track regarding defenses, but smashing enemies with a custom build is solid enough for a 3.
The LONGEVITY is quite decent here, as the open world is large and full of enough secrets to keep you busy long after the main quest ends, earning it a 3.
My overall FUN was high: I loved the rush of mastering boss patterns and the satisfaction of finally overcoming a tough challenge, resulting in a 4.
Giving Code Vein 2 an average score of 3.4 out of 5. Earning it a spot on my Top Shelf. If you are looking for a souls-like experience with a heavy anime motif, I highly recommend giving this one a look. You don’t even need to have played the first game to enjoy this, as it features a fresh story and new characters. I’m still working my way through it myself and I’m having a blast every time I boot it up.