Code Vein II Reviews
Code Vein II, while remaining a more or less traditional souls-like game, improves on its predecessor in every way. Its ambitious Elden Ring-style open world and timelines make this journey particularly fun and addictive in its gameplay loop.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Code Vein II is a missed opportunity: it expands the universe and streamlines the gameplay, but sacrifices challenge on the altar of accessibility. Between a difficulty flattened by overly powerful teammates and various technical uncertainties, it remains a pleasant title but lacking the spark necessary to excel.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Even with those issues, I can’t ignore how much Code Vein 2 improves on its predecessor. The deeper focus on storytelling, the ambitious time travel premise, expanded combat options, and enhanced customisation all make it feel like a true evolution rather than a safe sequel. For me, this is the game I wanted the original to be.
Code Vein 2 isn’t exactly a bad game, but it’s a pointless one and, in many ways, worse than its predecessor—not to mention its outrageously inflated price. The open world hurts it, the technical quality is just above average, and the story fails to convey any emotion due to its cheap presentation. If you loved the first game and need another dose of anime vampires, it might be worth a try on sale. But if you’re expecting an evolution of the genre or a game that can hold its own against modern competition, you’ll be disappointed. It’s a mediocre title that will gather dust before you can say “Resurgence.”
Review in Czech | Read full review
Code Vein 2 is an ambitious sequel that aims to take the series to the next level, striving to become something greater, but this very ambition causes the game to walk a fine line and stumble. Despite its enjoyable combat, captivating atmosphere, and brilliant moments, the game suffers from technical issues and inconsistent quality across different sections. The result is a good, respectable title that has the potential to be great but never quite reaches that level.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Code Vein II delivers satisfying combat and some genuinely fantastic boss encounters, but uneven exploration and some pacing issues keep it from reaching its full potential.
While Code Vein 2 is far from terrible, and at times quite fun, it simply doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from the ever-expanding list of Souls-like games that are bringing new and fresh experiences to the table.
Code Vein II is an interesting and ambitious title, which could have done much more, but which remains stuck halfway between good intuitions and an implementation that is too often problematic.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Between blood, resurrections, and doomed futures, Code Vein II delivers a challenging soulslike packed with options, although its technical ambition does not always support the action.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The game offered us more than we expected in terms of depth and mechanics; it is not just another clone of Souls games, but rather an experience with its own identity. From the intelligence of the (Blood Codes) system, which made us care about character building more than just raising traditional stats, to the (Jail) system and the diverse weapons that made the combat characterized by speed and innovation. However, the journey was not perfect; the repetition in the design of enemies and side areas sometimes made us run toward the boss just to avoid boredom, and the technical performance distanced us from immersion in this graphically beautiful world. In conclusion, it is a distinguished game for those looking for boss fights and complex character-building systems, but you must be patient with the repetitive narrative style and technical problems.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
A fun Souls-like game that doesn’t feel too bad, aside from the fact that optimization is a major issue. An enjoyable rescue adventure from start to finish, with no tedious moments aside from the story dragging on unnecessarily at certain points.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
If you can remember one thing from this review: Code Vein II has ideas, systems and ambitions, but lacks the necessary polish, coherence and technical finish. Too many small frustrations pile up into a constant annoyance. After experiences with Lies of P, Black Myth: Wukong, Sekiro and other fantastic games in the genre, Code Vein II simply feels less sophisticated. Not because it's harder, but because I always feel like something's wrong. That comparison is inevitable and does not work out favorably here. It just doesn't click, no matter how hard I try.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
My experience with Code Vein II is a mixed bag. The story is both complicated within it’s lore but easy to follow within the events you play through. The gameplay is accessible but has a level of depth that may not appeal to everyone. While I had fun with the combat, it is greatly aided by the companion system and a solid amount of weapons to play around with.
Code Vein II is a genuinely enjoyable game with a lot going for it; the story is amazing, the graphics are for the most part, awesome, and the soundscape just makes everything feel that bit more epic. With a little polish and some patches, I feel like this could be one to add to anyone’s collection. So if you enjoy a good ARPG with an intense story, this might be the one to pick up just now.
The main campaign easily exceeds 40 hours, and can be extended through exploration, side content, and experimenting with different builds.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Code Vein 2 delivers serviceable soulslike combat and flexible builds, but its bloated systems, uninspired open world, and inconsistent performance keep it from standing out in an already crowded genre. It definitely has ambition, but many of its ideas feel more like background noise than meaningful twists, leaving the sequel competent but ultimately forgettable.
All-in-all, I don’t think Code Vein II is bad. It’s mostly an improvement over some of the stiffness and art direction of the first game, bringing new features, weapons, and jails for players to build their characters around. The music is still great, albeit more orchestral than the grunge of the first game’s collaboration with VAMPS. The biggest problem that this franchise (is it a franchise yet?) struggles with seems to be chasing the Souls-Ring feel but not nailing it as much as I’d have hoped for the second entry.
Code Vein II is a fantastic soulslike on paper, with the strong story and gameplay being where the game shines the most. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a terrible frame rate, very little to do outside of combat, and needless padding. When it was all over I was glad to put the game away, and left to wonder what could've been.
“Code Vein II” has a solid combat foundation, but its lackluster open world, bosses with inconsistent hitboxes and weak story drags it down severely. Much like its predecessor, it had a ton of potential, sadly, unrealized.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Over the past seven years, I’ve played about 35 soulslike games (in case you’re curious about how saturated the genre is); Code Vein II is not among the worst of them, but it’s one of the most disappointing.