Code Vein II Review (PC)

It took Bandai Namco more than six years to release a sequel to Code Vein, a game that the Japanese company touts as its flagship soulslike title. When the original game hit all major platforms back in 2019, it was seen as an edgy Dark Souls wannabe, but with vampires. The mix of anime visuals and soulslike gameplay mechanics, set Code Vein apart from other big games that tried to copy FromSoftware’s formula. The second game in the series, Code Vein II, is less of a sequel in the sense that it continues from where the first one left off story-wise, and more of a second installment in the same franchise. Code Vein II features a self-contained story that spans both the present and the past. Another major difference between the two Code Vein games is that the latest one is open-world. Not only that, but every item, location and point of interest are shown on the map, so the game lacks that sense of discovery when you find a powerful item or a chest in a spot that you ...