It is an uneven journey, but for those who love their action with a heavy dose of melodrama, it’s a trip worth taking.
Five years after its “Anime Souls” debut carved out a bloody niche, Code Vein II has returned as a maximalist fever dream that is bigger, weirder, and more ambitious than ever.
After spending a heap of time diving into its neon-soaked world, it is clear that Bandai Namco hasn’t just made a sequel; they have built a sprawling, time-bending odyssey that attempts to marry the punishing challenge of a Soulslike with the heart-on-sleeve melodrama of a prestige anime.
The narrative is the beating heart of this experience. You play a Revenant hunter paired with Lou, a mysterious girl who can rewrite history by travelling to the past, though it costs her pieces of her own heart.
In a future besieged by “Horrors,” the story dives deep into character bonds across multiple timelines, creating a complex web of fate.
Yes, the anime clichés remain, the proportions are exaggerated and the shared hot springs occupy a shockingly large part of the plot, but beneath the fan service lies genuine depth.
The game skillfully rewards your social life, as building relationships unlocks specialised Blood Codes, which are essentially classes, making your emotional investment a literal combat asset.
The transition to an open world is the game’s most ambitious swing, and for the most part, it lands. The time-hopping mechanic is surprisingly intuitive, using colour-coded markers to guide you through history.
There is even a clever “Lost Haze” system where your dropped XP can be recovered from the same spot in a different time period. However, the world isn’t always a joy to traverse.
The new motorcycle companion feels rigid, and the map design is frequently cumbersome. While the game tracks your path through caves, the lack of vertical signposting often turns exploration into a frustrating ordeal.
On the technical front, the game struggles to keep up with its own vision. On the PS5, the “Performance Mode” is more of a suggestion than a reality, and visual clipping frequently breaks the immersion.
The sound design is also a missed opportunity, with a handful of repeating themes making the vast world feel unnecessarily quiet. Yet, despite these rough edges, Code Vein II succeeds because of its sincerity.
It tries to do everything: an Elden Ring-scale world, complex time-travel, and the best character editor in the business.