"This is not how i imagine our dinner date."

A former Blood Bag turned Revenant by Valentin Voda many years ago. He had organized a mission to stop the human trafficking gang that held them and many others captive. Upon its success, they were taken into Voda house and was later offered a chance to become a Revenant, which they took. They are dangerously loyal to Valentin and his house as not only does Orishi consider him to be their savior, but many years as one of his personal guard has led to them to see fulfilling his orders as their life's purpose.

The screenshots are from my PS4, so they're not too good quality. Nevertheless, I think some of the screenshots are very cool, so why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I wish I could have removed that ugly BN watermark

wanted to draw my code vein hunter bc i got attached to her more quickly than i thought i would despite being Bad at the Game <3

Code Vein is often summed up as an anime version of Dark Souls. Some may say this summary is reductive but at its core that's exactly what it is and I don't find anything wrong with that. It's not that anime Dark Souls is all there is to it, it does do some new and different things, but that's the easiest and quickest way to describe it. If you like Dark Souls gameplay mechanics and Japanese anime art styles there's a good chance you'll like Code Vein.

My sister was actually the first one in our family to purchase Code Vein. She had told me a little bit about it but I didn't really know much. She offered to let me play it one day and one of my very first impressions was "Oh, this is like Dark Souls."

Another thing I noticed very early on is that Code Vein's character customization is extensive. Seriously, I've spent hours tweaking characters trying to make them perfect. My most recent character is BB, pictured below.

Now in comparing Code Vein to Dark Souls I'm not saying that the game does nothing different or unique. To the contrary Code Vein has a few interesting mechanics that aren't strictly Souls-like mechanics.

For starters when you level up, your HP, stamina, weapon damage, and Gift power (spells) all go up simultaneously. Your other stats are actually determined by your "Blood Code" which is essentially a character class. Your Blood Code can be changed pretty much at any time, the one big exception being during active combat. You can switch Blood Codes even mid exploration, so long as you aren't actively engaged in combat. What this means is you can change strategies and play styles on the fly without ever having to deal with any sort of respec systems. Your level ups give stat increases every build can use and specific play styles are formed via a combination of Blood Codes (class), Blood Veils (armor), weapons, and chosen spells. This is a very welcome change for me. It simplifies more common level up systems and allows players to quickly and easily adapt to various situations and scenarios.

Another notable feature of Code Vein is their persistent companion system. You get an a.i. companion pretty much off the bat and can have one with you pretty much at all times. You can summon and dismiss them at "Mistles" Code Vein's version of bonfires. Their usefulness can vary but overall they tend to make the game a fair bit easier than other Souls-like titles. Companions even have the ability to revive you from time to time under the right conditions. For players who prefer things more challenging it appears you can play without a companion for at least most of the game.

My biggest complaint so far is some irritating map designs and enemy placement. Specifically Code Vein often features bottomless chasms, narrow paths, and large long reaching enemies all in the same spots. My character has perished due to falling in pits, ravines, and chasms more than I'd care to admit.

Another thing that seems off to me is the variance in difficulty as the game has progressed. The first boss was pretty easy but that can be appropriate for a first boss. The second boss in the game's main story path is significantly more difficult and could be jarringly so for some players. Then you get to the third boss and they're significantly easier than the previous one. The difficulty level spikes up and down hard between the first three bosses. That said I've only fought three bosses so far.

Another part that hasn't quite grabbed me so far is the story. Unlike most souls-like games that tend to use item descriptions and environmental story telling to drip feed clues to the player about what has happened in the game's settings, Code Vein goes for more traditional cutscene cinematics. This isn't really a problem for me however, the plot is very melodramatic. I don't feel very connected to the story or characters so far. While the story isn't the most terrible in the world it is pretty lackluster in my opinion. The theme of the game is interesting however. You play as a revenant, a vampire like creature in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and by extension blood is rare. Those parts I like even if I'm not very engaged with the main narrative.

I'm still fairly early into the game but despite some obvious flaws I'm really enjoying it so far. My overall impression is good. It's an easier Souls-like with an anime aesthetic and a couple of new ideas. It's not perfect by any means but I think a lot of people will enjoy it if they give it a chance. Hardcore gamers may not prefer it due to its lower difficulty when compared to similar titles. However, gamers who like the Dark Souls formula but struggle with the difficulty may end up having a good time with it.

A gurgled, painfilled gasp crawls out of his throat. "...E–Erhard..." Hands reaching out to grasp for anything to hold onto, to regain a foothold on reality as everything spirals around him. His mouth tasted like blood and ash with eyes blinded to the world around him.

“Where are you…? B–brother…?” Fingers finding their ground in front of him, desperately twisting into cloth that felt worn and wet with blood. “Shh, Kayra, it’ll be alright…”

The words spoken right by his ear, now becoming aware of the weight bearing down on him like he was being shielded from the world yet there was an undeniable surge of agony from the smallest shift in his movements. There was no refuting the evidence that something vital had been struck whether it was just him or both? It was hard to tell without his sight.

"You... You have to go." Weakly pushing at his brother to go. "Leave me here..."

"I–I'm afraid that's not an option in my condition, even if it were I would not leave you here..." They knew death was possible at any moment but–! "I won't abandon you ever..."

"Please, Erhard, you have to hold on...! Someone will come...!" He felt his hand cradle his head gently as if he was a child again. "Erhard! ...E–Erhard!" He tried his best to suppress the sob in chest as his brother hums softly, weakly to him of a lullaby their mother once sang to him.

Every sound, every motion to articulate his grief leaves him in pain.

...anybody, please...

"....please, my brother, anyone..."

Why did he feel so cold...?

It was spreading throughout his entire body like a disease without an antidote.

"H–hey! Are you alright...? Wake up!"

Somebody was calling him...? Was it his brother...?

"Kharon! Hey...!"

The nightmare finally breaks as he's shaken awake, eyes shooting open and reaches up to touch his face. It was wet...? "It was just a dream..." A memory restored to him through his incursions with Josee. It had been haunting his every waking moment since he started this mission to save their future and his.

...the things he had lost...