On the ruins of the old world – a review of the game “Code Vein”

Interactive Anime

Code Vein  is a Japanese production with a nime  graphic design – so the characters of sticky men holding a two-handed weapon in one hand and waving it like a feather, and women with disproportionately large eyes and even larger breasts are an indispensable part of the game. Presenting the world in such a way can effectively scare connoisseurs of more realistic standards of beauty from the production, but at the same time attract fans of the beauty of girls from “Chinese fairy tales”. In this game, people are intimidated and cannot safely stay outside of the shelter guarded by “revenants”.

Against the whole world

When the protagonist wakes up, a woman of the type I mentioned before is leaning over him. A mysterious figure in a skimpy dress (as white as her hair) becomes our initial companion and helps us understand the basic laws and mechanics that govern this world. The current condition of the city in which we were originally moving indicates the scale of the cataclysm that must have taken place here. It quickly turns out that the character we play is the so-called r evenantem  and of an extraordinary authorship. These avengers are, in a sense, human blood-sucking vampires, but far from the classic Dracula.

You will feel at home here

Practically at the very beginning, we become part of a small group of people dissatisfied with the current state of the world. The group of  revenants  to which we belong has its own seat in a building that is quite well preserved – by current architectural standards. It serves as a kind of escape from all the cares of the world, a relaxation zone where we can talk to our companions, improve weapons and skills, or just sit on the couch and enjoy the moment while listening to music.

Soulslike

Code Vein  resembles the well-known Dark Souls series in terms of mechanics and difficulty . In both productions we play the role of a relatively fragile – compared to the opponents – character, and the fight is largely based on rolling in order to avoid sequential attacks of enemies.  Mistletoe, the counterparts of the fires from the Dark Souls series, servesas  checkpoints here . The production from Bandai Namco makes the game easier, allowing us to use the help of comrades who at the beginning do most of the work for us, effectively focusing the anger of enemy units. The ability to resurrect is also invaluable, allowing you to pick up a fallen comrade. The protagonist can also be revived by a companion, but it always results in the transfer of some of the life energy of the defeated character.

Rolex among vampires

I mentioned earlier that  revenantin which we play is unique. Each avenger has their own blood type – and the protagonist’s uniqueness is that he can accept any blood type. There are at least a dozen of them available in the game, which allows you to adjust your fighting style to your own predispositions. Do you want more endurance? Choose your fighter or atlas code. Do you prefer mobility and precision to brute force? The killer and the shooter will be just right for you. Or are you more interested in using ichor for offensive and support spells? Then you should consider mage or eos. Everyone will find something for himself. Each type of blood has individual skills that can be used with ichor, a kind of mana equivalent. Spells can be divided into offensive spells, aimed at maximum damage and support,

Journey through memories

Revenants  are almost immortal, but lose some of their memories after each death. An important element of the game is collecting their pieces so that the girl in white can put them together for us. This gives us the opportunity to unlock additional skills for individual blood codes and allows you to go through these memories and see the history of people related to the story. The game then takes us to a closed location, which we traverse at a snail’s pace, watching the scenes to the accompaniment of sad music. And as you know, the Japanese are second to none when it comes to the gloomy melodies in anime. The memories themselves are as heart-touching as the accompanying music. This allows us to understand the mentality and motives of the characters a little, and shows how a soulless world they live in.

Affirmative mute

The protagonist seems to be a bit handicapped when it comes to interpersonal relationships. People who speak to him can argue for a good few minutes, to which he only nods back. There are practically no dialogue options in this game, except for some moments. Then we can only answer “Yes!” or “And you’re still asking?”, so nothing would have happened if the developers had completely removed them. Despite such a poor contribution of the protagonist to the dialogues, the narrative of the game is conducted in an interesting way, slowly revealing new secrets and answering unspoken questions. Code Vein  has three possible endings, each of them equally satisfying.

„Am I a Ghost?”

I have already written about Japanese anime styled graphics, but I would like to mention the appearance of individual locations that we will visit. In  Code Vein, we  travel through a ruined city, underground, ice land and many more. One of them, the Cathedral of the Holy Blood, has a chance to go down in the history of games as a contender for the title of the Location Most Hated By Players. On the other hand, I would like to draw your attention to its unique, very detailed design. We move on white, patterned, rolling towers, and in the distance there is a Gothic-style temple. The location is so vast that it seems to be endless. The creators had to go to great lengths to create something as beautiful and as frustrating as this bone-white maze.

A lot of good things can also be said about the music that adapts to the situation. In the hideout, you can turn on the radio and relax to the rock sounds of VAMPS. During the journey through memories, we are accompanied by sad sounds, magnifying the tragedy of given situations. So  Code Vein is  not only good to watch, but also pleasant to listen to.

Mandatory title

There is not much to fault this game. High level of difficulty and frustrating opponents? This is what it is all about. Graphics stylized as some “Chinese fairy tales”? Many people can fill their eyes with it. The only thing that comes to mind is the linearity of the location, dialogue minimalism and the lack of heavy moral choices that would suit this world and the entire plot . Code Vein  is not just an ordinary fake of  Dark Souls , which, like a parasite, tries to grow on someone else’s fame. Bandai Namco Entertainment took proven solutions from the well-known series and provided them with additional mechanics. They did it skillfully enough not only to be able to get out of the shadow of the cult series, but also attack its crown.