Code Vein II Review – An Ambiguous Anime-Style Soulslike

Table of Contents

Blood, tears and anime drama
A soulslike with a human face
When the story actually matters
A beautiful dead world
Pleasant pain
Builds, weapons and experimentation
Two systems in one
What doesn’t work
Sweet suffering
Pros and cons
- Pros
- Cons

Code Vein has been called many things, often not kindly. The most common label is simple: “Dark Souls in anime style.”

Now the sequel expands the formula with larger, more open areas, so comparisons to Elden Ring are inevitable — and not always flattering.

Still, Code Vein II isn’t just copying FromSoftware. It’s a story-driven soulslike action RPG with its own identity. It has flaws, but it also delivers strong combat, memorable characters, and bold ideas. For me, the pros outweigh the cons.

Blood, tears and anime drama

An anime-style soulslike sounds like an odd mix, yet that contrast defines Code Vein.

Stylish heroes and dramatic cutscenes collide with brutal combat and punishing boss fights. The story feels like a dark fantasy anime full of strange terms, messy relationships, and constant tragedy. At first, the lore barely makes sense, but the emotional tone is clear.

After a global catastrophe, artificial vampires called Revenants — or immortals — were created to protect humanity. Some keep their sanity. Others become feral monsters known as the Lost.

The narrative leans heavily into sacrifice, suffering, and fan service. It’s dramatic, sometimes excessive, but hard to ignore.

Code Vein II pushes this even further. The plot gets stranger, more chaotic, and less predictable — and oddly, that makes it more distinctive.

A soulslike with a human face

The sequel works almost like a soft reboot. A new world, new characters, but familiar ideas.

Another disaster strikes. Immortals still exist. Now there are hunters who partner with them, literally carrying their hearts to form a bond. You play as one of these hunters, trying to stop the next apocalypse.

The twist is simple and brutal. You travel to the past, befriend legendary immortal heroes, gain their trust… and later return to the present to kill them.

That setup gives the story real emotional weight.

You fight side by side, see their memories, and learn their personal tragedies. By the time they appear as bosses, they’re no longer just enemies. They’re people you know.

Few soulslike games make boss fights feel this personal.

The music, dialogue, and visuals constantly reinforce the same mood — sadness, loss, and quiet melancholy. Code Vein II may look flashy, but at heart it’s a surprisingly somber action RPG.

When the story actually matters

What makes Code Vein II stand out is how much the story affects the gameplay.

If we want, we can change the past and avoid fighting certain heroes in the present. But it’s not simple. Sometimes you still have to defeat them — just in another timeline. Completing these events properly unlocks the true ending, and the consequences show up much earlier.

Your decisions literally reshape the world. Fix something in the past, and a ruined bridge may appear fully restored in the present.

The choice is always yours.

This time travel structure is easily one of the game’s biggest strengths. Code Vein II offers multiple endings, and the narrative is far more complex than just “find and kill these targets.”

Yes, the drama unfolds with a very anime-style presentation — revealing outfits, exaggerated emotions, awkward flirting. But that’s part of the identity. It may look silly, yet it has its own charm. For those wanting to jump straight in and experience these branching storylines, logging in through Revery Play login provides seamless access, letting you explore the world and test different decisions without hassle.

At first, it feels strange that almost every character quickly grows attached to your silent protagonist. This was an issue in the first game too. Still, it helps with immersion. You feel like an outsider in this world, just like the hero. When someone says they want to see you one last time before dying, it feels personal.

And surprisingly, it works.

A beautiful dead world

The open world also divided players. Some expected something closer to Elden Ring and complained that the areas look empty, grey, and lifeless.

I saw it differently.

This isn’t meant to be a lively world full of towns and NPCs. It’s a post-apocalyptic setting. Ruins and monsters make sense. And the environments tell their own stories.

There aren’t many settlements or complex side quests. Most tasks are simple: find an item, bring it back. But exploration is still rewarding because of the atmosphere and level design.

The “Flooded City,” for example, strongly echoes NieR: Automata. Broken bridges, twisted highways, rusted cars, and half-submerged buildings create a bleak but memorable landscape. You can enter many structures, climb rooftops, and move vertically through hills and towers.

Large monsters roam the roads and sometimes fight each other. At times, it feels closer to Monster Hunter or Horizon than a classic soulslike. You start hunting these creatures on purpose.

The world also connects naturally. Leave the highway, enter a tunnel, and you might end up in a dark forest, an abandoned hospital, a church, or even an old amusement park. Military bases, mines, caves — every region has its own theme.

Once you unlock the bike and fast travel, exploration becomes smooth. Technically, you can rush anywhere early, but stronger enemies will quickly punish you.

Still, wandering off the main path is important. Resources, weapons, crafting materials, and upgrade items are hidden in ruins and side areas. If you don’t search carefully, you simply won’t survive later fights.

Even small environmental details reward curiosity. Sometimes you’ll find traces of survivors, old camps, or signs that someone passed through long before you.

It’s a dead world — but not an empty one.

Pleasant pain

You won’t survive long in Code Vein II without learning its combat system.

Early on, even regular enemies hit hard. Later, once your build comes together, some fights feel closer to a standard action RPG. Still, the game never truly goes easy on you. There’s always something ready to send you back to the last mistletoe — the checkpoint that works as a teleport, hub, and leveling spot.

Bosses are the real test.

Story bosses, optional encounters, or giant monsters roaming the open world — almost all of them are tough. Compared to the first game, they’re more varied and mechanically interesting. You often need several attempts just to learn their patterns.

Sometimes the solution isn’t skill alone but adapting your build. In my case, I stopped trying to dodge everything perfectly and simply switched to a shield. The fight immediately became manageable.

Moments like this reveal the balance issues. Some defensive tools clearly outperform others.

The same goes for Blood Codes — the game’s version of classes. Instead of clearly defined roles, the sequel only lists stat bonuses, so you’re left to experiment. Naturally, some codes feel much stronger, and it’s easy to stick to one or two reliable builds while ignoring the rest.

That can come back to bite you later.

Builds, weapons and experimentation

Code Vein II gives you a huge toolbox.

There are traditional melee weapons, unique “hereditary” weapons, defensive forms, and special abilities powered by immortal hearts. You can summon stings, beasts, bats, and other attacks. Everything can be upgraded using resources and Mist, the game’s equivalent of souls.

Not every option feels equally useful, but the build variety is impressive.

You can swap Blood Codes at any time and mix skills between weapons at checkpoints. This flexibility encourages constant tweaking before difficult fights. Go defensive. Focus on ranged damage. Or create something completely unorthodox.

Of course, a strong build can trivialize some encounters. But getting there still requires effort, resources, and plenty of failed attempts. And the game keeps escalating, throwing tougher enemies at you just when you start feeling comfortable.

Skill still matters. So does learning the controls. A gamepad definitely helps.

Two systems in one

Combat itself is noticeably improved over the original.

Hit detection feels cleaner, fights are faster, and the enemy variety is wider. New weapons — wings, bows, even a machine gun — allow for fully ranged or hybrid playstyles, which adds fresh tactical options to the soulslike formula.

At first, the number of mechanics can feel overwhelming. Light and heavy attacks, weapon skills, special abilities, finishers, defensive tools — there’s a lot to remember.

But once everything clicks, you feel powerful, almost like a super-soldier. The difficulty becomes more about control and decision-making than pure frustration.

A big part of this comes from the companion system.

Like the first game, you usually travel with an AI partner. You can fight side by side or temporarily “assimilate” them, absorbing their power and turning the game into a more traditional solo soulslike with stat bonuses.

Switching between these modes on the fly adds strategy. Sometimes you want help and distraction. Sometimes you want full control.

Different companions also bring unique skills and Blood Codes, giving you yet another way to shape your build.

It’s a small twist, but it adds surprising depth to the gameplay.

What doesn’t work

Not everything in Code Vein II lands.

Some missions feel unnecessarily long and poorly paced. At times you’re stuck running through tight, repetitive corridors of a massive facility just to find a single switch that opens the next door. It kills the momentum. A few checkpoints are also placed too far apart, which makes repeated deaths more frustrating than challenging.

As for technical issues, many players reported problems, but I didn’t encounter any serious bugs or crashes.

Visually, the game is a mixed bag. The graphics aren’t impressive by modern standards, and in some areas the first Code Vein actually looks cleaner. Still, with settings maxed out, the world looks decent enough. The real strength lies in the art direction and character design. Proportions can be exaggerated and very “anime,” but the style is always expressive and memorable.

It may look strange, but it has personality.

Sweet suffering

At some point, I realised Code Vein II had completely hooked me.

I spent dozens of hours in it, stayed up far too late, retried bosses until my hands hurt, and cursed the developers during drawn-out missions and bland side quests. Some fights felt unfair. Some areas dragged on.

And yet I couldn’t stop playing.

That’s the strange magic of a good soulslike. Frustration turns into obsession. Defeat turns into motivation. And when you finally beat a boss that blocked you for hours, the payoff feels incredible.

Few recent action RPGs have given me that same rush.