Code Vein: We first came to knowledge about Bandai Namco’s upcoming action-survival RPG Code Vein in April. While there were no bells and whistles associated at the time it was made official, we were immediately intrigued. The idea of exploring a disintegrating dystopian world while being aware of the characters’ own disintegrating humanity isn’t wholly original, but it demands a tight story. And when you are presented the same with anime-inspired visuals in a deliciously dark package, people are bound to show interest. Add to that the fact that we love any game that revolves around a solid story, and Namco has made a name for themselves for being the geniuses of dark storytelling. So here’s taking a quick look at Code Vein, the next standalone IP from the makers of God Eater.
Code Vein Release Date
Code Vein Release Date & Platforms
Earlier this year, Code Vein was announced to be slated for release sometime in 2018. Although many events have come and gone in the meantime, Bandai Namco has not given a specific date The worry that immediately comes to our mind is that perhaps the developers aren’t sure of the window themselves? To quell our worries, however, Namco has been giving the occasional update by releasing various screenshots from the game.
Code Vein will release for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. By the time it releases, there will be one more console on the block, so maybe the game will include support for the Xbox One X. At the time of writing this, the game has been declared to be in its early stages of development.
Code Vein: What we know so far
Code Vein is an upcoming vampire-inspired action RPG developed by the creators of God Eater- Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yusuke Tomizawa, and Keita Iizuka. Comparisons with the Dark Souls games have been flying since the first trailer surfaced, and underneath the layers of obvious differences, there are similarities in style as well as the difficult combat system. But to look at the whole package overall, Code Vein is a very different deal from Dark Souls, or from any other vampire-themed games you may have played in the past.
Story
Code Vein is set in a post-apocalyptic world where you get to play as a member of a dangerous and decaying society called Vein. As a vampire game, your character in Code Vein will need copious amounts of blood to survive; but there’s a continuous sense of danger regarding your fate. You play as a particular class in the society of Vein called the Revenants, a fancy word being used for the surviving vampires. But they are only one of the existing classes, the other two being the humans, and a dehumanized version of the vampires called the Lost.
Code Vein encourages exploration, and there are various encounters waiting for you on your journey through lands of fire and icy caverns, most of which will not be friendly. To aid the Revenants through these encounters, there will be a bunch of special skills at their disposal. But everything in the vicious world of the game comes at a price, and in this case, you risk standing the chance of becoming one of the Lost every time you feed to stay alive and power up your skills.
Feeding itself will not drain you of your memory, but the looming fact is that the amount of blood in the world to feed on is lowering alarmingly. This is because more and more people are being turned into vampires, therefore lowering your chances of getting food substantially. And when you don’t get blood for a long time, you join the hordes of the dangerous Lost who roam the lands of Vein without any remembrance of the past or any purpose for the future.
Characters
In Code Vein, you get to explore the world as a young Revenant named Mia Karnstein. Mia travels with her younger brother in tow, who happens to be the only surviving member of her family. During her journey through Vein, Mia’s purpose is not only to defeat her enemies and go forward but also protect her brother. To protect themselves, Mia carries with her a bayonet that she uses both during close quarter combat (as we have seen in the gameplay videos) as well as from afar.
The other character you will meet in Code Vein is the mercenary-turned-Revenant Yakumo Shinonome. He is identified by his two qualities- loyalty, and a calm disposition even in the heat of the most intense battles.
At the moment, there is no word of any other character being included, but as the game is still in the making, we wonder if we will see some new ones.
Gameplay
Apart from the gameplay trailers and short demo videos we have seen until now, most of the information about what we can expect out of Code Vein gameplay comes from the creators. Most of the initial details were revealed by Gematsu, which touched upon many of the concepts that the game was moving forward with. But we will begin with what we have seen so far.
Although we haven’t seen much of Code Vein in action, the magnificent blend of anime and challenging RPG elements looks tempting. In the brief videos that we saw, we saw the player character battle against various kinds of Lost- both small and hefty. One thing that we noticed, for better or for worse, is that it takes a fair bit of time for the Lost to be defeated in combat, with the first few blows having next to no physical effect on them. Combat moves look impressive, however, and the player is given enough agility to make them a match for the giant Lost creatures.
The blood of the Lost is a powerful resource in Code Vein, and it can be collected with the help of a special equipment called the Blood Veil, different kinds of which will be available in-game. These things not only make getting blood from your enemies a more fancy affair, but can also be used in combination with your various weapons. They also have customization aspects, although details are sketchy at the moment.
Buddy System
This is a feature that the creators feel is of great importance to the game. Code Vein has its own buddy AI whose purpose goes beyond simply assisting the player in face offs with the enemy. While this is but a given, an important function of the Buddy in the new game is to help the player feel more rooted in the world of Vein. Facing the dangers lurking at every corner with your companion will make the bonds between the two an emotional one, and having someone by your side in exploring Vein will definitely be useful. Besides, you can even set up decoys with the companion to distract enemies. The player can take their pick from the many companions available in the game, and their choice will influence the course of their adventure because of the unique abilities of each companion.
Combat & Weapons
Details about the different weapons types are scanty, but what we do know is that there will be a special emphasis on blades. This makes sense, as most of the combat that we have seen in the footages are at close quarters. The player character is mainly seen to be carrying around a bayonet, and it appears from the post in Gematsu that there will be different blade type weapons to choose from. We like the whole no-guns approach if that’s what the creators are going for, but at the same time hope to see some long range weapons being thrown into the mix. Meanwhile, you can hurl axes and spears at your enemies from a distance, while opting for humongous swords up front.
Speaking of long-range tactics, there are some techniques that are being included to help you attack from a distance. Called Tempered Blood, it allows the player to do a number of effective things with the blood collected from the Lost, including powering up and directing attacks at enemies. Apparently, figuring out how to use it to do those is half the game, but the good news is that it is a super gory way of landing an attack from a distance and disorient the foe. Tempered Blood can only be used by Revenants, so you may rest assured that it will not be used against you.
Code Vein Trailer
Code Vein was being teased for while before we got our first proper look at the game. The first Code Vein trailer came out in April and gave us a look at a full-fledged anime/ video game crossed that left us wanting to know more. Here’s the first reveal trailer for Code Vein for you to feast your eyes on, in case you haven’t already.
During the months that followed, we also got an idea of how the new game will play out. While it hasn’t been terribly impressive (as in, the only “challenging” part we saw was that the Lost refused to die or even be affected by the blows), the game is only half done right now, and a lot of work and polish are still left to be done. Check some of the gameplay footage out below.
Wrap Up
Bandai Namco’s upcoming RPG as been hailed by many as “Anime Souls,” and while it is easy to see why, Code Vein is very different. From both its look and gameplay aspects, the upcoming title is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Needless to say, we want to see a lot more, and in a much better way. If you feel the same way as us, let us know what you feel is special about it. And while you’re here, check out our coverage of Call of Duty: WW2.
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