Reviews Code Vein Reviews

[lashman]

Game Information

Game Title: Code Vein

Platforms:

• PlayStation 4 (Sep 27, 2019)
• Xbox One (Sep 27, 2019)
• PC (Sep 27, 2019)

Trailer:

• Code Vein | Underworld Trailer | PS4
• CODE VEIN - Release Date Announcement | X1, PS4, PC
• Code Vein | Opening Trailer | PS4
• Code Vein - Invading Executioner Trailer | PS4

Developer: BANDAI NAMCO Studios

Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 75 average - 61% recommended

Critic Reviews


GameSpace - Suzie Ford - 9.5 / 10

Code Vein is a Dark Souls-like game with an anime art style. There are many ways you can customize your character from looks to weapons, even up to the skills you carry in battle. You can literally customize your way of playing and it's worth every single second.

Game Revolution - Jason Faulkner - 4.5 / 5 stars

If you’ve ever wanted a Souls-like without most of the baggage that comes with playing one, Code Vein is right up your alley.

Twinfinite - Hayes Madsen - 4.5 / 5

Code Vein is easily one of the sleeper hits of the year, and it’s an experience that’s a joy to sink your teeth into.

Fextralife - Castielle - 8.6 / 10

Code Vein is not Dark Souls. It lacks the polished combat and stellar world design of the legendary franchise. However, it makes up for these things with it's brilliant character customization, a deep narrative with twists and turns, and Skills and Abilities that challenge the player to defeat enemies in a way they never would have thought of before. On top of that, the cooperative multiplayer should keep you playing well after you've finished the game, and adds significant value to a game that was already worth the price tag. If you're a Dark Souls fan, Code Vein is a must buy game!

CGMagazine - Lane Martin - 8.5 / 10

Code Vein is some fun anime nonsense is a slickly designed package with some minor failings.

GaminGuardian - Alberto Morales Palencia - Spanish - 8.5 / 10

Code Vein is much more than an anime aesthetics Dark Souls, since it contributes its grain of sand to differentiate itself in new playable mechanics and a fantastic audiovisual section.

IGN Italy - Alessandra "Aelinar" Borgonovo - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Code Vein is an anime soulslike with a huge focus on character build and an endearing story that could relate to the God Eater series.

The Games Machine - Alessandro Alosi - Italian - 8.4 / 10

Code Vein is a good dark anime-style action RPG. There are some flaws like the AI or various technical/graphic imperfections, but the articulated combat system, the versatile gameplay, the co-op and a plot that holds up to the end despite stereotypes and clichés manage to give to novices and experts 40+ hours of brutal souls like fun.

Cerealkillerz - Gabriel Bogdan - German - 8.1 / 10

Code Vein is missing the final touch in some areas but Anime Fans as well as Soulslike Veterans will still get an extensive and interesting title with a thrillig story.

Daily Star - Aimee Hart - 4 / 5 stars

Ultimately, Code Vein is a somewhat campy, but fun, breath of fresh air in a genre that has felt a little stale outside of games like Sekiro. The companions are fun, if a little one-note at times, and the combat is brutal, but exhilarating. If you like what you’ve seen so far of Code Vein, there’s no reason not to try it out.

EGM - Mollie L Patterson - 8 / 10

There was a lot of potential for Code Vein to end up little more than a mediocre Dark Souls clone dressed in anime clothing, and yet, it's actually kinda, sorta, pretty good. The game mixes some long-established gameplay qualities with a totally engrossing class system and a story that's more enjoyable than it has any right to be. Code Vein won't be for everyone, even if you're a Souls fan, but if the overall idea sounds appealing, the execution might surprise you.

GameSkinny - Jordan Baranowski - 8 / 10 stars

Code Vein is an anime souls-like featuring great customization and a wonderfully bizarre world.

Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 8 / 10

Code Vein is an exciting, rewarding, and tenebrous venture into the Souls-like space with a fantastic class system, explosive combat, and dark narrative – hindered only by its lack of visual prowess and odd UI design.

God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 8 / 10

Despite a number of performance issues and combat that feels just a little too loose and mashy compared to its genre-mates, Code Vein presents a unique take on the Soulslike formula

Hobby Consolas - David Martinez - Spanish - 80 / 100

Code Vein is a perfect RPG for newcomers. It keeps every element in the "souls like" genre, but combat is easier (thanks to a second character) and narrative seems more traditional. Anime style and vampires suit perfectly this kind of gameplay.

PlayStation LifeStyle - Jenni Lada - 8 / 10

Code Vein feels like it wants to take the idea of community and important AIs and marry it with the gameplay and ideas prevalent in Soulslikes. It is a story-heavy affair that wants you to care about its characters, while also helping you find your way in a demanding world with thoughtful combat. There are some technical hitches along the way, such as frame rate drops, but they're the sort of problems that could very well be eventually fixed with patches. For now, it's a largely successful experiment into some new ideas.

Saudi Gamer - Arabic - 8 / 10

An excellent game, despite a few technical issues and voice acting problems, the game is extremely enjoyable and excels in applying simplified souls concept. I recommend this game to beginners who want to try the souls concept or previous players who couldn't handle the difficulty but wants to try the concept in a more simplified manner.

Shacknews - Sam Chandler - 8 / 10

If you’re looking for a unique Soulsborne experience, this is it.

TrueGaming - محمد جابر الصهيبي - Arabic - 8 / 10

Code Vein is a great Souls-like experience distinguished by its unique style and interesting story.

Wccftech - Rosh Kelly - 7.5 / 10

While Code Vein has a lovely art style, the story is the boring kind of bonkers. The combat is fun and the exploration satisfying, but the locations feel repetitive, the sidekicks annoying and in the end, it feels like Dragons Dogma's edgier cousin.

Spaziogames - Domenico Musicò - Italian - 7.2 / 10

Code Vein is an interesting mix between a soulslike and an anime, but fails to stay close to the top of the genre.

DualShockers - David Gill - 7 / 10

Code Vein features anime vampires and fast combat, but it's too reliant on the exact Soulslike formula to stand out on its own.

GameMAG - Russian - 7 / 10

Despite all the drawbacks, Code Vein is fun to play. Nice characters, fan-service and clear presentation of the story are great. The tightened sections with the story about the past of heroes, visual secondariness of locations, simple opponents and easy bosses can spoil impression to hardcore fans of a genre, but beginners have to be satisfied.

Hardcore Gamer - Adam Beck - 3.5 / 5

I'm of two minds when it comes to Code Vein. On one hand, it's a serviceable and surprisingly delightful Souls-like game that comes with its own flair.

IGN - Mike Epstein - 7 / 10

Code Vein takes some interesting chances with Soulslike mechanics and finds mixed results, but there's something worth sinking your teeth into here.

PCGamesN - Jason Coles - 7 / 10

An unholy union of anime, Dark Souls, and My Chemical Romance, Code Vein is as much about style as substance. If that sounds good to you, then you're in for a treat, even if it lacks some of the polish of the genre's best.Jason Coles

Push Square - Jacob Hull - 7 / 10

Code Vein is a stylish JRPG with an interesting combat system that just falls short in a few areas. Its inspirations are clearly worn on its sleeve, but it brings enough to the table to stand out on its own. This title has promise, and we think the developer could iron it out into a worthy franchise if it's given the chance to make future instalments.

TheSixthAxis - Miguel Moran - 7 / 10

Code Vein is addictive, yet frustrating. It's promising, yet unpolished. There are a lot of interesting ideas here that come together to craft a unique and engaging experience. I just wish that the flaws here weren't so glaring, because they keep Code Vein from being a great game instead of just a good one.

Game Informer - Daniel Tack - 6.5 / 10

You can have some fun with the stylish anime accoutrements, but Code Vein leans far too heavily on its inspirations and fails to capture any of the associated magic

IGN Spain - Luis López Zamorano - Spanish - 6.5 / 10

It promised more than it has finally been. Neither history nor difficulty are up to expectations and, in addition, it comes with technical problems that ruin the experience. It's sad, because we expected more from Bandai Namco's game.

PlayStation Universe - Timothy Nunes - 6.5 / 10

Code Vein does a few things well, like the amount you can customize as well as how enjoyable it is to explore the world proper. However, combat lacks the kind of refinement needed for such a complicated battlefield, and companions prove either useless or render you useless. Code Vein features many heavy inconsistencies that hide away a few good ideas.

Press Start - Harry Kalogirou - 6.5 / 10

The Souls games are some of my fondest gaming experiences ever, and while I never expected Code Vein to surpass them, it's hard not to be disappointed by its middling results. It's far from a bad game, it has systems and ideas that push the genre forward in exciting and innovative ways, but fumbles on the execution on some of the others that are core to the experience. If you have an interest in Code Vein's world or characters, or can't get enough Souls, you might find that the positives outweigh the negatives, but I can't recommend it to someone looking for the next transformative Souls-like experience.

GameSpot - Richard Wakeling - 6 / 10

Code Vein adds its own spin to the Souls-like formula, but dull enemy encounters sap its combat of any life.

GamesRadar+ - Austin Wood - 3 / 5 stars

Code Vein's lackluster combat is held up by great character customization, and its boring world is driven by a memorable story. It's clunky and uneven, but fun.

Bloody Disgusting - Neil Bolt - 2.5 / 5 stars

Mostly, Code Vein is underwhelming. It’s highly stylish, and has some really good enemy design and gameplay options, but more could have been done with the pitch of ‘Anime Vampire Action RPG’. This effort sadly falls short of its potential and somehow makes a gore-soaked game about vampires a bit boring.

RPG Site - Lucas Rivarola - 5 / 10

Despite its attempts, Code Vein ends up being nothing more than just another Dark Souls clone.

Destructoid - Josh Tolentino - Unscored

So far Code Vein has been one of the more enjoyable Souls clones I've played, proving that there really is space for a game to be "another one of those" and still be worthy of time and attention. I'm hoping that impression holds true for the rest of my run with it.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Matt Cox - Unscored

The only good part of Code Vein is its combat, but for me, that turns out to be enough.

 

[z1ggy]

It might worth checking it out!

 

[Li Kao]

Not bad, not great. It could have been worse.
This post was sponsored by the Stating the Obvious Association.

PS. Please donate.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

Better than I expected.

 

[Stone Ocean]

Seems to have turned out well enough considering the bumpy development process this game had.

 

[Routa]

 

[lashman]

 

[texhnolyze]

There it is. I'd rather get The Surge 2 as I immensely enjoyed the first game.

 

[Kuro]

Not bad, not bad at all

 

[KainXVIII]

Despite its attempts, Code Vein ends up being nothing more than just another Dark Souls clone with anime tiddies

 

[Ex-User (119)]

There it is. I'd rather get The Surge 2 as I immensely enjoyed the first game.

in its current state i cannot reccomend the surge 2 sadly, it suffers from extreme stuttering issues, volumetric lighting setting is entirely bugged in that theres no visual different from very high until low, and very high tanks ur framerate for no reason.

it has extremely over shot contrast in some places aswell.

they are working in patches but it needs alot of work

 

[lashman]

updated OP ... up to 75 now

 

[Anteater]

It seems to have a decent story? That's surprising.

 

[lashman]

It seems to have a decent story? That's surprising.

apparently