CODE VEIN

Anime Souls is alright. Not the greatest, but you didn't buy it cause you thought it would be the next big step for souls like games did you.

There are many options when creating characters, and it's fun for those who like to create original characters! The game was a bit difficult for me at first… But there is no such thing as habituation. The way the characters do it is very handsome, the one thing I don't like very much is that I will definitely get lost in the church. :(

Im new to dark souls genre and this game really entertain me as the first game ive ever played under the dark souls genre.

For a game with an anime style, CODE VEIN delivers good visuals and sound. The character designs and storyline really appealed to me, especially the side stories of the supporting characters. These stories are presented through a unique mechanic where players enter a "memory maze," exploring a character’s inner world while gradually uncovering their past. This interactive approach adds depth and emotional resonance to the narrative.

The highlight of the combat system is the Blood Code mechanic. It allows players to switch between different "classes," each affecting base stats and offering a wide range of skill combinations. This flexibility adds a lot of variety to the gameplay.

However, the weapons feel lacking in impact. Even heavy weapons feel like they’re just scratching the enemies, which diminishes the satisfaction of combat.

In terms of difficulty, CODE VEIN is quite easy for a Souls-like game. AI companions can draw enemy aggro, leaving you to finish enemies off with little risk. The backstab mechanic is also too simple, making most regular fights effortless. Only boss battles and a few elite enemies require close attention to attack patterns and elemental combinations.

The level design, unfortunately, is pretty average, with a bit too much repetition. One particular area is especially frustrating due to its repetitive scenery and maze-like layout, with low visual landmarks that make navigation a tedious experience.

All in all, CODE VEIN delivers good visuals and sound, with an interesting system, but it lacks a sense of tension and excitement. It’s a solid mid-to-high-tier title, especially for fans of anime-style visuals and lighter Souls-like challenges.

Good game, decent story. Combat is fun and feels anime. Amazing music. If you know and like god eater, this game is related to it.

Highly recommend.

Dark Souls combat made forgiving via AI Companion and interesting replenishable magic choices.

Pretty much Dark Souls but anime. The enemy variety is low and the bosses are not as well crafted. The game also have a simplified leveling system where you don't need to worry about respecing your character. Overall a very fun game for souls fans.

This is a very good soulslike. It actually does a better job of balancing magic against melee builds than FromSoft does. If you were interested in the Dark Souls series or Elden Ring, but were put off by the punishing difficulty, this is probably a good starting point. It's a lot easier than Dark Souls/Elden Ring and there's no commitment to one "build" like a Souls game. Respecing is as easy as switching out your blood code. The game is pretty generous with crafting materials as well, so it's not difficult to keep several weapons updated for builds of different varieties and better quality, late game items found usually come with current upgrades to keep them relevant. The DLC isn't a good value proposition outside of a deep sale and, as one would expect, contains all of the highest tier weapons, blood veils, and blood codes. Still, it's a very good game I will continue playing for dozens of more hours before I move on.

I beat this game on PS4 many years ago and I loved it. I wanted to own and play it on PC. Code Vein is anime Dark Souls but it has it's own unique identity that makes it stand out from the Souls genre. I love the mechanic of being able to switch blood codes and that being tied to the class you play as. I also love the companion system and there is a great variety of them to accompany you. Io is my favorite companion. :) The atmosphere, story and music are all great and help form this game's unique identity. I will say the the DLC is underwhelming and not worth it. Bandai dropped the ball in that area. If you want to try something else in the Souls genre, then give Code Vein a shot.

PS. Io is now my wife.

Yes I'd recommend to try this game. It's a great game for people to try if they enjoy those of the dark souls series or style!
Everyone says tho that the battle pass stuff they tried to add wasn't implimented very well and to not really bother with it so I listened to them on that. The game itself is great tho up until a certain point in the 'Cathedral of Blood' where one certain area you get attacked with constant waves of enemies. I'm lvl 67 and i felt under-leveled in attempting to fight thru this. Yakumo, the partner I kept using to try this 'wave assault' type thing kept on dying fairly quick here and it's just a real slog to get thru this portion... I feel like when I played the game thru with a friend on xbox as well we faced a similar issue at this same part or area... Other than this particular and notorious area of the game.. I'd say the rest of the game is pretty great!~

I'm not very good at these sorts of games, but I was able to get through it =) Some of the bosses took me quite a few tries! The story was cute. The number of blood codes could be a bit overwhelming, but I do allow a lot of play style variations, and I suspect would add some spice to replays/NG+ (I don't usually do those). The vibes are immaculate. A few of the levels have ....frustrating layouts (FUCK the cathedral I spent hours looking for the way forward at one point), but otherwise the exploration necessary for all the vestiges and the good ending felt like about the right amount.

Overall

Code Vein is a visually stunning and stylish action RPG that will appeal to anime fans. The combat is engaging, and the character creator offers endless possibilities. However, a generic story and repetitive level design prevent it from reaching its full potential.

Recommendation

If you're looking for a Soulsborne-inspired game with a heavy anime influence, Code Vein is worth checking out. Just don't expect a groundbreaking narrative or a truly unique world.

Quite an annoying game to play if you ask me. I'm sure fans of Souls-like games will enjoy it though. Personally, I've only ever played one other Soul-like game, that being Nioh, and I wasn't a big fan of that either. Personally, I only bought this because I liked the visual style and the fact it's currently on sale for £5.99. I will say, the character creation suite is epic and you can easily spend 1hr+ in that alone. Outside of that though, this game isn't really for me. I am however going to keep playing it to see if my opinion changes as I progress through the game (I honestly doubt it will though).

Tldr: Only buy this if you're a fan of the Souls/Souls-like games.

An absolutely peak souls-like, i enjoyed from start to finish.
Character customization is crazy good, allowing tons of freedom, you will spend so much time in it due to how many options are available, Blood codes and Veils allow for tons of different gameplay, Gifts are something that should not be underestimated and are VERY good at helping you
Exploration is pretty fun and rewarded, i've managed to 100% most of the maps; however fuck Cathedral of Blood, i have played thousands of games and never seen any level design like it, way too much clutter and stuff
Bosses are fun, only one i've had difficulty with was the final one (no spoilers)
Story was pretty interesting and cool in my opinion, i really liked it
Characters are also cool, the partner system is nice
In the end, for me, it's a 10/10. They definitely should make another sequel, its incredible.

You know what? It's not bad.

Just a few years ago, my reception of this game could be summarized as "It's trash." But I finally gave it another go, and finally enjoyed it by not comparing it to Dark Souls so heavily. The thing is that, at the time when I first played, I wanted a game with the same quality as Dark Souls, and that is just something extremely hard to do. Even Dark Souls struggled living up to Dark Souls (DS2).

But approaching the game on more neutral terms made me actually enjoy it for what it is. No, it's not on the quality or level of Dark Souls, whether that be in world building, feeling of gameplay, encounters, bosses, etc, etc. But it's not 'trash' either. It's a solid enough game that is worth playing to scratch the Souls itch, but only with the understanding that it won't leave you floored.

So yea, I honestly do recommend it if you're willing to put up with its rougher edges a bit. Just be aware that boy are some of those edges rough when you're coming from the games that created an entire genre on their own. I'd say play the demo if you're unsure, and then decide if its for you afterwards.

yeah, its an alright souls game. the story is balls but the gameplay was fun enough, not too hard imo.


didn't know it was part of god eater universe until i saw a literal god eater enemy in a cutscene.

Amazing story for me!

This game really good from gameplay and story. And then, they have many ending (like happy, neutral and bad). Even though it takes a long time for complete the game, but i'm enjoying play with 4x finished (with enhanced enemy). Thank you Bandai Namco for make this game, i'm happy to play ur game!

9.5/10 for this game!

i seriously love this game! takes a while to get through challenges/levels but its an honest fun game! not to mention the customizable parts are so detailed!!1! get this game while the winter sale is still up!

I have all the Dark Souls games, but I just can't get into them. Maybe I need to git gud, but I get lost in real life, and the world of Dark Souls didn't vibe with me. I am enjoying Code Vein, the more colorful world (slightly) and anime aesthetic. I hope it is easier than Dark Souls - that is something I've heard and am looking forward to - but so far I am enjoying this game, and plan to keep at it. It has a story, and people knock it for being generic, but it seems fine to me.

Loved the God Eater games. This is different and very souls-like - but also the first one of its kind I've genuinely enjoyed. Story is creative enough for what it is. You can have an A.I. companion through parts if you wish to make it easier; or opt out of it to make it more challenging. Gorgeous graphics even on low settings on my potato refurbished Dell laptop, and sorta gives me old PS2 vibes. Combat feels similar to this style as well; which some may not enjoy, but I love it. Levelling is decent once you figure everything out. Being able to change "classes" on a whim is an awesome feature.

Also, performance wise runs great/perfectly on low graphics on my potato too. It's still so nice looking I forget I turned it down.

10/10 from me.

Pretty straightforward Souls-like with a post-apocalyptic sci-fi vampires-that-aren't-vampires-but-totally-are anime aesthetic. The combat system has some interesting ideas, but it's mostly just okay. I found it funny that they allow you to create your own character down to what clothes they wear, only for most of the action to take place while wearing some extra armor and a face mask that basically covers your character's face and body. Fun enough, but not worth full price. Get it on sale.

I'll be honest the only thing I remember from this game is that the combos you can do near the end is crazy complex as the DLC specifically asks you to deal over 70k. Music kinda sounds the same throughout but at least it's good so if you're a fan then you'll be fine. Also the Anor Londo section took me 40+ minutes to realize there's ledges to jump down. Plot is a generic anime game, granted I played for the Souls-like combat so didn't affect my opinion much. I mentioned DLC earlier, it's very average, don't expect anything over 5 bucks, also 30 bucks for all the DLC is not worth so don't bother unless it's on sale.

Nice art style, great soundtrack, excellent voice acting and amazing storytelling.

the story is good actually. I just wished when we collect the memories, it plays a cut scene instead of us walking and hearing dialogues lmao. Speaking of dialogues, this game has a good voice acting.

combat took me a while to get used to. I rarely used the parry and block system, i dodge most of the times because the way parry work is clunky for me. The keybinds for accessing the menu for gifts are not keyboard friendly, I had to change the keybind for it.

The partner system is either gooood or the most frustrating in game. Yakumo (i love him) but dear god, sometimes all he does is just dodge to infinity even though the boss is targeting me. Sometimes he just stands there in the corner and doesn't use his heals OIGuskyfkhasfkal.

I love how we can access other class and change freely into them.

rawr

Want Bloodborne on PC? This is your Bloodborne

This game is not worth it not even your money but your time.

Let's start with the few positives

• Being able to change your build on the fly is nice
  
• Being able to mix and match abilities between classes makes Blood Code (classes) and Gifts (abilities/passives) system actually quite flexible and allows you to put together what you want
  
• You can chain some attacks and make a combo
  
• NPCs that follow you are actually strong and useful a bit too useful in fact
  
• Some places are well thought out in terms shortcuts and traversal but (see the Areas section in the cons)
  
[*] You can fight some of the bosses again whenever you want

Cons

Gameplay

Difficulty

Areas

Side Quests

Depths

Music

Story

love the game great way to rage after hundreds of deaths but at least easier then dark souls so cant complain.
great graphics, easy to understand controls, few bugs but easy to work around,
a few jump scares, hard but not impossible,

As much as I really tried to enjoy it, Code Vein is one of the most average games I've played in a while. I see how it felt lacking even back when the best point of comparison was Dark Souls, but now the present-day "soulslike" genre is home to things like Elden Ring and Lies of P, and of course we even had Sekiro in the same year as Code Vein's release. In a landscape like this, Code Vein just doesn't compare, and the differences are stark.
I've got some pretty dissatisfied opinions on this little game, but I'll start us out on a happier note here.
Enjoy them while they still haven't been overshadowed:

Code Vein's Strengths:

The Bad Part of the Review:

Story:

A Variety Issue:

Code Vein Sure Has Levels,

But how about the WEAPONS, you ask?

So, what's the take-away?

An absolute mess. Code Vein's progression system is among the worst I've seen, its graphics are entirely outdated for a 2019 game, maps are bland and boring, controls and hitboxes are imprecise, characters are as forgettable as the anime tropes they're based on and the story is just ridiculously bad – even for JRPG standards. Feels like the kind of game an AI would throw at you when asked to come up with an anime Souls-like.

WOuld be amazing if coop be possible with resting at mistle and not with half stats. Love this game, probably one of the best games for playing with friend.

So let me start by saying its a pretty good anime-rpg which i'll give a 7.5/10 (as for the reasons ill state below), though the combat is good but "is easy for a souls-like", Idk maybe its just me.


- The game runs pretty well for me between 100-140 at highest settings, but there are some cases where it randomly drops down to 20-30 (and not while entering a new region no its totally random).

- I loved the character creation (which i spent 30 mins on and was very satisfied with the end result), and the character designs are pretty cool.

- The Vestige system was pretty awesome with the background stories of the side-characters.

- The ability to mash abilites from different classes was the first of kind to me and i loved it.

- Coming back to the combat and its difficulty, the normal mobs feels more challenging than the bosses. For example in our memory where we fight the queen(in the cutscene), the knight before her was not difficult at all (could have added a second phase or something to make it challenging). On the other hand the mobs before it were pretty tough tbh.

- At first the game seems to be difficult but after like 4-5 hours i never died to anything until the time of this review (except falling down the edges).


So. as a conclusion i'll say its a good game if you like anime and rpg or maybe souls-like too, it has impressive visuals, music, story, decent combat, great cinematics, low-difficulty for a souls-like and at last impressive voice acting and character design (though i would love some dialogues for our mc) which makes this a 7.5/10 game for me.

Lots of far superior souls-likes. Bought it on sale, played it on a weekend, regretted wasting my time and money.

Level design is ugly and mediocre. Mobs can climb and jump, as can your party. You cannot, and are hampered by knee high brick walls.

Some tunnels are made ridiculously windy and long for no apparent reason (no mobs, nothing interesting to look at, no real mood music). As other reviewers have noted, the designers have decided to waste your time for no payoff beyond "but I worked so hard on these brick textures! Stare at them more!"

The stat scaling and weapon types are somewhat interesting - EXCEPT that you don't get to decide the way you level up, so the stat scaling is completely a function of whatever you're wearing, a completely wasted mechanic.

The story is bad anime rubbish, and the very poorly directed cutscenes made me feel nothing for the characters. There's a lot of time wasting when viewing memories and strange choices like forced walking which is simply poor design (anything that restricts or slows control is almost universally hated - you might as well just have full motion video at that point to reduce player irritation).

Melee combat isn't particularly satisfying (reach on double handed weapons is barely more than single handed, but drastically greater for mobs for some reason), and performance on PC with a 3080 and 32gig of RAM still has occasional weird stutters.

I'd say that the absolute worst thing for me was the level design. Imagine an entire castle of exactly the same corridors and spire staircases, no furniture, no decoration, nothing, that goes on for way too long for absolutely no reason.

Save your money - get Lies of P or Elden Ring instead (or even the original Souls games). I only played this because it was in my backlog from years back, but definitely not worth it today if you value your own time. See the anime titties elsewhere.

Anime dark souls. What can I say? I'm a souls fan. A great game overall, combat is challenging with cool mechanics. The power system allows you to swap between many classes, and is a little overcomplicated, but a good system nonetheless. The story is pretty good, and the art is excellent. There are a lot of collectibles that make exploring worth your time

Overall, a great game. Wait for a sale, the discount is massive

Anime Dark Souls. I tiny bit more janky than the Fromsoft entries, but still packs a punch. Also, you can create the perfect waifu.

good game, story is really good, gameplay is good
my only complain is there isn't a lot of enemy variety and partner ai is suck, eva is the wosrt partner in this game she really stupid and she always die and do nothing
everything is big in this game especialy the boob, i mean the weapon

Love it! The gameplay is a typical souls-like game but with twists like vestiges where you base your build around giving a new flavor to the usual hack and slash souls game. The world building is amazing with a apocalyptic design with some areas looking post-apocalyptic or divine? in design. The characters are all so captivating with us learning about their backstories from the vestiges as we progress through the story and gain more abilities from them. Best of all, Everyone is basically a vampire! You, Me, even that dog across the street!(Love Vampires <3)

played alot more on console then steam so far, if you like anime and fromsoft game this is a great anime souls like game!

Not too bad for a souls like but i am only recommending this game with the caveat that you get it at a steep discount because personally this game was kinda fun it even has some replay potential but it just didn’t grip me the story is forgettable and the gameplay is ok at best and mediocre at worst.

This game can be summed up as "Anime Vampire Souls-like". The difficulty is on par with Souls-likes, even though it is balanced around you having the companion active at all times. The ability to customize your character's load out is extremely deep; especially since you can mix and match abilities from various classes.

Exploration is highly rewarded in this game, being the primary method for discovering lore on your companions. The game still ends up pretty linear overall, though.

Graphics is one of its weaker points. The bloom on fire effects is way too high, and can make some areas very difficult to look at. There's also some clipping issues with longer hair and some armors, but that's to be expected.

The story is fairly typical anime fare, and more up front in comparison to some Souls-like games. Might not be for everyone, but the same can be said for the difficulty.

The character appearance customization puts most games to shame. And you can still play fashion with the additional armors and masks.

Some abilities are a little too niche to be good. And recovery options can feel a little lacking at times. But with so many classes that each need their own abilities, this was bound to happen. Nothing is outright broken or a "must have", surprisingly enough.

I do think there's a big reward for going into NG+ as a number of the blood codes are mutually exclusive to each other. And the option to NOT raise the difficulty in NG+ is something I'm sure lots of players would be thankful for.

Overall, if you're looking for another Souls-like and can at least stomach the anime aesthetics, you're in for a fun game. This game is a favorite of mine since its launch (I have way more hours on XB1) and is well worth greater recognition.

FYI: First Souls-like experience here.

Probably not the worst option to familiarize yourself with DS-like games if you are a weeb (you will have to play this game without party members then). I do have to agree that with party it would feel like a JRPG with DS combat mechanics, so if you prefer that – go ahead (I barely endured FF15, so I didn't go that route, plus most likely you will "tank-through" most of the battles). I played the game with a very risky and most likely not fitting build for the game in terms of bossfights (was great for clearing location though), so a few of those were particularly hard to execute, but manageable which assures me that you can complete the game with any build you would try to make given you will think it through at least a bit.

Plot is average (unless you set max breast size, kidding), not entirely bad, but nothing that would stand out either, you probably have seen all of its' elements before, same can be said about music, I think I remember only one track from the OST. Definitely a plus that you can play this in coop out-of-the-box with your friends.

Overall if you are a fellow weeb and want to get your ass kicked - this one will give you a punch and will you be able to handle it is entirely up to you.

Its a Dark Souls in an animated form,
Pros:
Enormous amount of customization especially with your appearance
Companions are always present AI or Real Player
Beautiful World

Cons:
Enemies are a bit repetitive
Slow Pace Combat
The Upgrading mechanic is kinda Confusing

I'll rate the Game 8/10

Pros:

The Graphics and artstyle make it standout well from other souls games.
Combat is pretty cool with all its gift mechanics which make you feel like a real anime protagonist for all you weebs out there. One thing that stands out is that you have a partner in the game that helps you around like a permanent spirit ash from elden ring, which as a concept might be a turnoff for some players which like to play the classic souls experience, however you can choose to go solo if you like.
Character customization is pretty cool and you can make your character the cutiest patootie.
Unlike most soulslike games the story is pretty coherent and easy to understand, mainly because the characters dont all speak like they're from a shakespeare play.

Cons:

Dialogue writers must have been born on the cob because of how CORNY it is.
Maps are really small compared to other soulslike games.
I cannot give my character huge tits.

all-in-all 7/10

Code Vein is a captivating action RPG that blends challenging Souls-like combat, anime-inspired visuals, and a rich post-apocalyptic narrative, offering players an immersive experience filled with deep character customization, cooperative gameplay, and a world brimming with mystery and emotional depth.

Idk didn't really like this game but its not inherently bad, just felt a little easy and stiff.

Excellent graphics, character customization, and setting.

Only major disappointments would be repeated/re-shaded bosses, along with empty, constant corridor level designs. Loved the co-op, just needs more substance, in my opinion.

6/10 game.

Alow, terrible gameplay, atrocious level design, a dull, edgy plot and cheap encounter design in an attempt to feign difficulty. It's everything wanting to be a souls-like but missing the entire point. Suitable only for edgy teens and intense weaboos.

Very good game with soul mechanic
I wish they didnt do this game dirty by tying it with God Eater series & ruin the possibility of sequel

very cool game, quite doable to play even though I'm personally not used to this playstyle, but I really like it, I'm enjoying myself a lot, 10/10

its so fun very frustrating but overall so good bit only thing that was underwhelming was the final boss but other than that great story fun game

A decent take on the Soulslike genre. It has special abilities like in an action game, similar to the abilities in Dragons Dogma. Story is decent, the characters are the highlight of it. Gameplay is a bit janky and stiff, but not as slow as Dark Souls 1. Lots of build variety and none seemed bad to me, all enjoyable. There is no PvP, its an entirely a PvE game. The companion AI makes the game more lively than other games in this genre, similar to a traditional JRPG.

The DLC is worth only on a sale, since it doesnt offer any substantial story elements (only some lore for a few unseen characters). It has "good" bosses (good in quotations because they can be unfair at times and other times not so much). The DLC also offers overpowered builds. However the biggest problem with the DLC and also the base game endgame (post main story) is that it assumes the player is on an NG+ playthrough, they are scaled terribly for the first playthrough. Literally everything one shots you, even the most basic enemies.

7/10. A fun side game.