Code Vein II - Review

Code Vein II follows the foundation of the first game: it’s a soulslike with action JRPG mechanics. We can equip multiple weapon types, each with its own moveset, and the skill system returns.
Skills consume Ichor (the game’s “mana”), and to regenerate it we need to use our Jails (a special revenant weapon? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how to explain them — they basically function as skills) and perform drain attacks.
There are also Formas, which are essentially secondary weapons with specific uses. Two examples are a bow for ranged attacks and an axe that applies slow. The axe was, by far, the most useful one for me — I really enjoyed using it.

There are also shields with different abilities — I mostly used the one that allows you to parry. But honestly, I swear I almost never managed to land one. And when I did, it felt like a miracle.
The parry window simply makes no sense. The game description says the correct timing is when the attack is just about to hit. In practice, that’s not how it works. There were times when I got a parry while the enemy was still starting the attack animation, others when it worked almost a full second before impact… but never when I was absolutely sure the hit was at the exact moment it should connect.
It leaves you with the feeling that the system isn’t consistent, and in a game like this, that’s a fast track to frustration.

The NPC partner system also returns. We can play with an active partner or go solo with passive buffs. Our survivability is split between our HP and the partner’s HP (LP). When playing solo, once LP runs out, we lose the buffs. If we die, the partner sacrifices themselves and restores our HP.
The problem with this revive system? It’s extremely easy to abuse. You can just run around until the partner comes back, and you basically have “infinite” lives.

But there’s something much worse: massive inconsistencies with iframes (invulnerability frames) and the time it takes to regain control of the character. It happened multiple times that I revived and took immediate damage without being able to react. The same goes for knockdowns: I’d still be on the ground, with no control, already taking another hit. It was very easy to get stuck in a damage loop until death.

Combat, for me, is a downgrade. In the first game, even though it was simpler, it felt more fluid. Here it always felt stiff and clunky.
Regular enemies are trivialized by backstabs. Bosses are hit or miss: either way too easy, or extremely difficult — often because their animations are hard to read or because they never stop attacking. And the constant frame drops don’t help at all.

The open world initially excited me. The first area struck the right balance. But the second one killed that enthusiasm. The map is confusing, feels poorly structured, and exploration isn’t rewarding: items are bland and the world feels empty, with a few dungeons whose design doesn’t encourage exploration.
They give us a bike to traverse the world… but the handling feels off, and the terrain is filled with obstacles.

Quest markers on the map also make no sense. When hovering over them, there’s no information about which quest they belong to. There’s no compass to help with navigation.
I reached a quest in the third area where the marker was simply in the middle of the map. After almost thirty minutes of being lost, I had to look it up online — only to find out I needed to take an elevator at the main hub of the area (which was on the opposite side of the marker) and then cross the map through an underground section.
The “best” part? That was actually described in the quest log. The problem is that the game never teaches you that important navigation information is hidden in quest descriptions. As a result, I spent the rest of the playthrough constantly opening the log to check if there was some crucial detail buried there.
This could have been easily solved with intermediate markers. In the case I mentioned, a simple marker on the elevator to indicate it needed to be used, followed by another one in the underground area, would have been enough. Simple.

The campaign? It didn’t do anything for me. The game wants you to care about the world, but you spend a huge amount of time watching backstories of uninteresting NPCs. Factions and characters trust you within five minutes and treat you like a hero. It doesn’t work.

The main boss designs are very good — which is a shame, because the fights themselves are dragged down by combat and performance issues.

And speaking of which…