Since its announcement, Code Vein has been described as Dark Soul/Bloodborne with a God Eater like twist. Knowing that a demo is available Bandai Namco’s TGS2017 booth, I decided to give it a try, despite the 90 minutes queue time.
Despite my lack of skills, as you’ll see below, the resemblance the game has with the "Souls" series is quite obvious. Much like the Soul series, player takes significant damage from enemies and have scarce potion, mana, and stamina. Just like in the Souls games, dodging is easier to control, but consumes stamina. Whilst parrying leaves players with more stamina, but is a risky play style.
In terms of the gameplay experience, the game has the same sense of satisfaction players get when they finally start to get the hang of any of the Souls series game.With the ability to quickly change between two previously set weapons, Code Vein offers a high versatility to players, allowing them to use different weapons of their choice in situations where a different weapon will be more suitable. With a variety of different abilities to choose from, players can truly dedicate themselves to a specific play style, and have the AI controlled companion fill the gaps.
The AI controlled companion plays a large part in the game. During the demo, you will see time and time again the the companion not only supports players, but also takes an offensive role as well when the player is not in danger.
Although unfortunately, I never reached the boss in the TGS2017 demo, other players have shown much more promise. The boss, Queen’s Knight, shows off more of Code Veins unique world setting. The flashy attacks and abilities really sets quite a high bar for the game’s visuals.
Personally, I find the art of the game quite refreshing. The Souls series, as well as Nioh, despite being set in an Eastern setting, features a more Westernised art direction. The anime like character designs and world design of Code Vein does make the game stand out from the other titles in the series.
If I had to summarise the demo in key points the Code Vein TGS Demo…
▍Pros:
-Smart AI Behaviour
-Unique Setting
-Remarkable Visual Effects
-Challenging
▍Cons:
-Too Similar to the Souls Games
-Camera Controls Can be Improved
-Lacks the Ability to Change Game Language (Despite being a demo, I would still like to know what’s going on.)
Code Vein is due out Early2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
▍Code Vein Announcement Trailer