There’s a Dynamic Partner System, But You Can Still Play Solo
One of the biggest differences Code Vein brings to the Souls-like genre is the ability to bring an NPC ally with you at all times.
Each of the partners you can bring have their own strengths and Gifts to use, and the AI does a seriously good job of holding their own. Partners can also help to revive you if you’re killed, among other things.
While much of the game feels like it’s designed around the partner system, you do still have the option of playing the game solo like any other Souls-like game.
This, of course, makes the game much more difficult, and is one of the many ways you can customize the difficulty, even though there are technically no difficulty levels.
You Can Customize Your Play Style to a Ridiculous Degree
Souls-like games have always been about letting you play the way you want, but Code Vein truly lets you customize your own playstyle to a tee.
The biggest way this happens is with the game’s Blood Codes, which essentially function as classes. Across the experience, you’ll unlock a wealth of different Blood Codes, and each one has its own stat boosts and unique Gifts (abilities).
The best part is that you can master Gifts by using them, which then enables you to equip them while using other Blood Codes. There’s a huge amount of Gits, and mixing and matching can really let you create the class that you want.
On top of all that you have two different weapon slots, and while there are only five weapons types, there’s a lot of variation within each type. What I mean by that is that weapons within the same type will attack differently, so two one-handed swords might have different animations and attacks.
The final pieces of all this is your Blood Veil, a piece of equipment you put on. Blood Veils strengthen stats, the power of some Gifts, damage you take from certain types, resistance to status effects, and more.
They play directly into the differences between Blood Codes, and provide even more customization over your experience.
Combine all of these elements together and you have truly a staggering number of options for creating your very own style.
It’s Surprisingly Story-Heavy
If you’ve played any game like Dark Souls in the past you know those stories are usually told through a mix of environmental storytelling, flavor text, and cryptic hints. While all of that exists in Code Vein, to some degree, the title takes a much more direct approach to its narrative as well.
Code Vein puts its emphasis on a party of characters that help you out, most of whom can be taken into the field as partners. There’s a generous amount of cutscenes, supplemented by dreamlike memory sequences that you play through by finding collectibles.
In this way, Code Vein sticks much more closely to a typical JRPG than something like Dark Souls, even if it does have the gameplay trappings of the latter.
Still, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. As we noted in our review, we found the story surprisingly engaging, and while it’s relentlessly tragic, it packs in some emotional twists and turns.
It’s More Accessible Than Most Souls-likes
Difficulty can be a huge turn off for a lot of people, especially with a genre that’s infamous for it. While you can argue that difficulty is often part of the game’s design, allowing more players to experience a title, regardless of their skill level, is never a bad thing.
Luckily, Code Vein takes some great strides to make itself more accessible, even while having the options for players to keep the experience difficult.
The partner system is a huge part of this, with supportive AI that really helps you through. However, a couple other elements add to that.
The map system tracks your movement through each area, leaving footstep marks for where you’ve been already. This seriously cuts down on the amount of random wandering you might need to do.
Whenever you die, you need to return to the place of your death to recollect all of the Haze you lost, the game’s main resource. Code Vein does provide another option, however, as you can use the Hot Spring at your Home Base to instantly recover half of your Haze, while losing the other half forever.
It’s a trade-off, sure, but it still provides an option for those that might be frustrated at losing everything. Remember, option is the keyword there.
Code Vein is still plenty difficulty, especially later on, but it’s great that the game has options to make things both easier and more difficult.
If you need any help while playing through Code Vein, make sure to check out our Code Vein guide wiki, for plenty of helpful tips and walkthroughs.
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