Code Vein 2 | REVIEW | PLAYSTATION 5

''BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE''

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Developed: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Published: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Genre: Action/Adventure

Release Date: Jan 29th, 2025

Platforms: PS5/Xbox Family/STEAM

*REVIEW COPY PROVIDED TO ME BY BANDAI NAMCO

Code Vein 2 is the sequel to, you guessed it, the original Code Vein and it is developed and published by Bandai Namco. With people genuinely loving the first game release in 2019, Bandai decided that nearly 7 years later it was time to bring it back with a brand new game. However did they wait too long to bring this one to the table or did they have the right idea all along? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

''GIRL, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? TURN AROUND!''

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GAMEPLAY:

I'll be one of the first to admit that my opinion on the first Code Vein game is a bit of a 50/50 split, I did enjoy it overall, but it's not a game I felt as a MUST PLAY at the time of its release, just one that i felt was a good recommendation when you finished your backlog or had some extra money to spend because regardless of what I personally thought, overall, the game did appeal to a large majority of people, which is great overall. One of the reasons it stood out people because it focused on vampiric atmosphere, but gave an illusion that it was just ''another souls like'' which of course people are down for, but me? I've been rather ''meh'' on the soulslike genre for several years now. I know I know, that witch, burn her at the stake, I get it, it's not a popular opinion, especially with high profile games like Elden Ring being as kick ass as it is, but still, you have to legit ask yourself, bias aside, doesn't it feel the genre is over saturated in the market nowadays?. In today's gaming market it seems like everything that is released nowadays, Indie, AA and AAA either has ''soulslike'' elements to it or end up a roguelike title, which don't get me started on that.. I'm SO over roguelikes, you have no idea, it became an uninteresting concept for me a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, there are MANY titles in recent years that are roguelike and really good, I'm just fatigued with it is all and feels kind of lazy at this point. But I guess its a case of ''who am I the one talk?'' because while I harp on roguelike and soulslike being over-used, I'm over here playing Platformer number one billion, so touche I suppose. But were off topic and I'm just ranting on nonsense at this point. With Code Vein being a hit with players, obviously Bandai greenlit a sequel, I mean, they like money, so no crap, right?. However, rather than hitting the copy and paste button and calling it a day, Bandai decided to pull out all the stops and attempts to make the sequel an even grander spectacle in both story and scale of the game itself, which honestly leads to very mixed results if I have to be honest.

If you're a returning fan because you loved the original Code Vein and are anxious to see where the story goes and continues to next, then, um, yeah it's not happening, just like its never happening with me ever beating U.N. Squadron on SNES without cheat codes, its just not in the cards. Code Vein 2 instead of being a direct sequel instead insists on being a stand alone story that has you once again taking up the reigns a mysterious hunter who's a traveler and your purpose this go around is to prevent a seemingly inevitable cataclysm. No pressure, right? While that may seem weird since this game does do the industry cliche ''time travel'' gimmick that Hollywood is obsessed right now, it does make for a more interesting story this go around and proves Bandai is at least trying to expand the sequel rather than just force feeding you the same narrative again and calling it a day and are willing to take risks, alongside a round of entertaining characters this go around you have to deal with or befriend on your journey. This generation being obsessed with time travel or multiverse is like everyone in the 70's being obsessed with wood. Your house walls? wood, your toaster, wood looking, cabinets, wood, your Atari, wood, etc. But then again, am I really the one to say anything about ''tastes'' or ''trends'' considering I grew up in the 90's where weird shapes and colors were the theme to everything along with slime and splat. Great times, but again, off topic. Code Vein 2 ditches linearity and goes with another industry trend, open world that has multitudes to explore like different areas of interest to find and discover its secrets, dungeons, and while it is pretty to just cruise around at your own leisure.. it also sets up for a tad bit of disappointment as well due to the fact that it is pretty baren, or rather the proper term I should use is desolate due to not being as intriguing and eye popping in the open world aspect as recent open world titles like Tears Of The Kingdom, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and instead falls into a similar line of fate as Metroid Prime 4's critiques of not having enough to warrant a more vast open area. The upcoming Fable is going to end up having the same issue and the only way they themselves can not fall into the same trap is allow me to be able to kick chickens SEAMLESSLY across the entire world map in real time so I can make a 30 to 1 hour compilation ''Chicken kicking'' video, then get a nasty letter from PETA for animal cruelty. THATS HOW YOU SAVE IT. Code Vein 2 also pulls the same trick as Metroid Prime 4 as well by giving you the ability to summon a motorcycle anytime you wish in order to get around the world easier, but with a weird GTA 4 like control issue with how it controls, it sorta makes you NOT WANT to use it, even though its essential due to the size of the world and is key to getting from area to area with a quicker succession rather than waste time on foot. I mean.. If Code Vein 2 had chicken kicking....what? I'm just saying, it would've helped quite a bit, I know I'm not the only one thinking it either, don't lie, you know you're reading this and nodding in agreement, I can tell and sense it.

Much like Prime 4 took the interconnected world to justify its open world mechanics, so to does Code Vein 2 as the open world itself acts as the direct connection for navigation for points of interest and dungeons themselves, but even that is done to an iffy degree due to the navigation system itself being a bit of a headache, at least for me it was. For me issue is regards to the dungeon layouts themselves being weirdly laid out as if the concept was tact onto it later on in the development cycle to lengthen the time to beat the game to give gamers more bang for their bucket and in doing so makes the navigational map a bit un-even with the map itself overlapping surface area maps from up top to down below underground, some way further away than the map actually indicates to you, making you run around like a chicken without a head... because... I kick it's head off. No apologies. The atmosphere of these dungeons is great, don't get me wrong, but when you're spending more time figuring out just where the heck you should go rather than fighting and enjoying the ambience and combat the game and developers want you to experience, then the plot has been sort of lost, to be honest. Luckily overall for the game, its not all gloom or doom or miss steps because the combat that you loved from the first game is back and better than ever and remains a critical key to why this title, even with several shortcomings actually is pretty dang fun due to the Blood Code mechanic that allows you to swap builds you make at any point in your adventure, evolving further in this iteration that it has before, giving it deep customization tailor made to you as the player that allows various weapon upgrades, move mixing of materials, level up a weapon to make it stronger - it just improves on everything that made the original Code Vein's combat work and amplifies it like a kid on a sugar rush or like Donnie from Wild Thornberry's... ya that kind of crazy. Nonetheless, you will come for the story and the open world, but you will definitely want to stay for its combat, I don't think there's any doubt in my mind - it's what holds the game together from being a total whomp out overall.

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''YOU ARE ONE UGLY MUTHA....''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day Code Vein 2 honestly gets too ambitious for its own good. While I agree it's necessary sometimes to take a big risk or to change things up to try to improve and expand about an already successful project, however sometimes adding too much can also be a detriment to a project when its no executed fully to its ultimate potential... this is Code Vein 2 in a nutshell. Again, when the combat is kicking in and you're plowing and smashing and slashing through your enemies, strategizing how to take down the many boss fights, figuring out what materials work here, which weapon load outs to choose there, the game is fantastic, even with some of the repetitive enemies, it still keeps the vast majority of your interest. However the open world aspect leaves much to be desired due to the head scratching navigation system, layered mapping, lock out stuns lasting for a good ten seconds when it should be 3 to 4 at best, easily ''get lost'' navigation making almost half your time backtracking trying to figure out where to go or where you came from, really hurts the games pacing and not only can take you out of the heat of the moment if you were just involved in a battle, but also take you out of the immersion of the story they build up as well, which is never good for you as the player. In a world hell bent on shaking things up, for better or for worse, sometimes is just your best bet to stick with the motto of ''if it aint broke, don't try to fix it'' and it feels that's the way Code Vein 2 should've went. Once again to end it off, the game is a lot of fun when the combat opens up and allows it to be, but all the in between and before it make it harder to enjoy in the meantime, which sucks because the story, atmosphere and premise are all top notch, its just the expanded world just didn't work this time around in my opinion and that's why I feel as a fan of the series, if you still want to play this, which I still recommend, that you at least wait till price drop and then think about it - then I think you will be mostly satisfied. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says WAIT.

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