CODE VEIN II

I came into CODE VEIN II hungry for more vampiric melodrama and the quirky companions that made the first game memorable. What I got was bigger maps, new systems and a protagonist who can hop through time — which sounds cool until the game insists on feeling more like ‘Elden Ring dressed in gold’ than the gothic CODE VEIN I loved. That friction between fresh ideas and losing the franchise’s soul is the running theme: moments of real joy in combat and buildcraft sit beside baffling UI choices, removed co-op and performance problems. I felt both excited and mildly betrayed — in equal measure.

Racing the Sands of Time

The core loop in CODE VEIN II is still a Souls-like blend of careful hits, dodges and timed parries, but with an open-map spin and a new time-travel framing. I spend most sessions running between small dungeons, arena-like boss rooms and open stretches that hide crafting ingredients, food recipes and the occasional chest with a Jail or weapon piece. Combat asks you to read enemy tells, exploit weapon movesets and manage Ichor—drain attacks and Jail effects are how fights swing from tense to triumphant. The bike travel and the more open layout encourage exploration, but also bring padding: a lot of the map rewards are consumables and materials rather than memorable encounters. Boss fights can be brilliant when the telegraphs line up and your build clicks, yet feel frustrating when hitboxes, animation locks or the notorious “stagger inconsistency” make openings vanish. I personally liked experimenting with rune blades and new dual-blade movesets; every weapon subtype now has more distinct feel, which kept me trying silly combinations even when I died a lot.

Jails, Partners and the New Blood Dance

Code Vein II reworks the old Bloodveil idea into Jails and ties many skills to weapons or finds rather than to blood codes alone, which changes how you build. Your partner system has also shifted: companions buff and revive you but they’re no longer a simple damage shortcut — their presence is mechanical, not just cosmetic, and that means balancing your reliance on them feels strategic rather than trivial. The new blood code progression leans toward mastery ranks and passive ‘Boosters’ rather than handing you every skill on a silver platter; I liked that it forced choices, but I missed the bizarre biological justification of CV1 that made magic feel like mutated science. There are pleasant design surprises — weapon arts that change whole combos, drain attacks that open stagger windows and a handful of gear that truly alter pacing — yet some systems feel borrowed from other modern Souls-likes and lose a little personality in the process.

Gold-Tinted Gothic? Visuals and Performance

Visually CODE VEIN II has moments I love: character models are crisp, environments have interesting verticality, and cutscenes adapt to your equipped weapon in a classy touch. The downside is technical: on PC I and many users encountered stutters, pop-in and inconsistent framerate even on beefy rigs, and cutscenes locked to low fps made transitions jarring. The art direction traded a lot of the first game’s grime for a cleaner, gold-tinged palette — pretty, but it flattens some of the original’s tragic atmosphere. Sound design and Go Shiina-adjacent music are strong when they hit, and boss themes can push fights into glorious territory. Accessibility options are present but the menu and HUD are more stylized and, frankly, more cluttered than they need to be; expect to spend time re-learning the UI rather than jumping straight into action.

CODE VEIN II is a complicated sequel: I found genuine joy in its combat experiments and character tools, but those highs are frayed by performance issues, odd UX choices and a noticeable drift from the franchise’s original soul. Buy it when the launch patches arrive or on sale if you’re a CV1 purist; if you like Souls-likes and tinkering with builds, you’ll find rewarding moments here. For now I recommend caution — fun, but flawed.