When you live in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world with vampires called “Revenants” as your peers, sacrifices are to be made in order for the others to survive. This is the world of Code Vein, and you are thrust into a very dreary situation at the start.
Code Vein begins with you customizing your character. This feature is amazing on its own due to the numerous options you can try out for customization. You can make your own customization below with specific accuracy with Japanese 2.5D visuals. Physique, color of the skin, hair, face, eyes, eyebrows, makeup, scars, accessories, clothing, purifier mask, and many more can be changed. For those who do not have the patience to do so, check out the basic appearance option for pre-made looks. All I can say is that the characters are way too beautiful for this game, and it’s fine as it is.
The gameplay of Code Vein is a combination of God Eater and the Dark Souls gameplay. You can roll, block, attack, and use special abilities to inflict damage or buff your stats. Abilities are learned by earning its requirements like killing an enemy, but it must be equipped in order to make it work.
There are a variety of weapons to choose from like heavy hammers, axes, one handed swords, two handed, and rifles. There could be more of them later on when the full game launches. Coats are for defense, and also changes your L2 counter attack and charged X button attack. Passive abilities can be equipped to increase the status of your characters. There are different classes as well with other versions that can be acquired as the story progresses.
After defeating an enemy, Haze or in-game money can be earned. This can be used in different ways like buying equipment, weapons, upgrades, and consumables. It can also be used to level up your character to increase stats. Collectibles can be picked up in dungeons as well, which can be used to acquire special items from NPCs.
Partners or AI allies will join you in your journey in dark dungeons underground to assist you in battle. Some areas have very fierce enemies, which requires a party to clear up. It is possible to clear them as solo, but getting partners and online players to join your party can increase your chances of survival.
Dying results in dropping the Haze accumulated throughout the journey, but can be picked up again on the spot that you died. Do not die again though because it will be lost forever and you will have to collect them from zero.
So far, the hitboxes are pretty spot on despite being a beta test. There are some glitches along the way, and some areas need to be adjusted just a bit. The Network Test was short, but I had a lot of fun playing it.
As a fully completed game later on with tweaks and changes to it, Code Vein has the potential to be much better than its cousin franchise, God Eater.
Network Test Code provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Tested: PS4