What do you get when you mix Bandai Namco’s flair for anime with grueling RPG gameplay? You get something like Code Vein. This Dark Souls-Esque dive into a post-apocalyptic world filled with vampire-like creatures and over-the-top anime fashion has found a responsive audience with many gamers.
However, whatever your feeling is about the quality of the game, most can agree that there are some things that make absolutely no sense about Code Vein. So, grab your Blood Beads, wake up your Revenant, and check out these ten things about Code Vein that don’t add up.
10 The Premise Itself
This entry is not an attack on the story. The plot of being a vampire-like creature attempting to regain your memories and find out why the world is on its last leg is creative. However, the fact that the developers chose to do this with anime-style flair is interesting.
While anime can be dark, it is challenging to take this game as seriously as a Dark Souls or Bloodbourne due to the game’s anime characterizations and melodrama. It is unique, but, still, it’s a choice that doesn’t make as much sense.
9 Your AI Partner
One thing that definitely makes it stand out from a title like Dark Souls is the inclusion of an AI partner. They can have a variety of different skillsets and weapons choices for you to take advantage of. However, these NPCs can be a bit more trouble then they are worth. Their AI technology is not sharp enough to completely handle enemy attacks, and you may find yourself needing to carry the team.
8 You Can’t Handle The Game Alone
Even though you may want to forego your AI partner, the setup of Code Vein makes it almost impossible. You would think that the game would adjust the difficulty to allow you to get through battles on your own if you don’t want to deal with an AI character.
Many other games have done this. Unfortunately, the game wants you to play with companions for some reason, which keeps you from having more flexibility in tackling the game.
7 What’s With The Hats?
One of the things that makes this game really stick out is its fashion, which is pretty cool. It makes you feel as if you are starring in your very own dystopian anime story. However, again, this game is trying to be taken seriously in the RPG genre—a title inspired by Dark Souls.
If they are going for the seriousness of a game like that, it is questionable that they would allow such non-serious elements: one being hats. You can have four hats on your head, a large Beetlejuice-like top hat, or a neon cap. Why?
6 The Dependence on NPCs for Story
There is much lore in this game. A lot of the Revenant story and lore elements tie into the gameplay (ex. Blood Veils, Blood Beads, Haze, etc.). However, if you choose to forego your AI partner, you can miss out on story development and lore building.
Considering how the playing experience depends on the story, how troubling the NPC characters can be, and how you may want to go it alone, it doesn’t make sense that they would make story building so dependent on NPC dialogue.
5 The Healing System
In a game as complicated as this one, you would expect to have some say in healing. Well, the developers of Code Vein have turned this one into a “team affair.” Basically, you can only control when you heal your team members.
This situation means that they only heal you when you get to zero health. It isn’t clear why they would test something as serious as gameplay health with AI characters.
4 A Thirsty Revenant
At a point in the game players, you will enter a dark and dilapidated room. As you make your way in, you can hear the sound of a Revenant slurping liquid in the background. His back is to you, but the subtitles reveal he is parched. Did gamers really need to see a character treating a blood pack like a Slurpee? Is it for laughs?
3 How Code Vein Bests Dark Souls On Character Class Flexibility
Now, everyone knows that Dark Souls is legendary and that it is the premier title in this style of games. However, Code Vein’s character class flexibility could be seen as better than Dark Soul’s offering. In Code Vein, you can pick classes for your character (which are referred to as Blood Codes). However, you can change them throughout the game. Dark Souls requires you to commit to a character before understanding what they do, which lends to the challenging nature of the game, but Code Vein may astonishingly beat Dark Souls in this category. Who knew they would possess the forethought for this?
2 The Detail Of Character Design
Again, Souls-like games often allow you to customize your characters, but none of them approach the level of customization seen in Code Vein. You can make your main character look like your favorite anime character or create a personalized protagonist that you can take on this journey.
Considering how massive this game is, the features, and gameplay, it makes no sense that this game would have the capacity to house a character customization system this large.
1 Lackluster Settings
While this game is pretty extensive, the surroundings are not as robust as they could be. Considering that this is a highly-stylized post-apocalyptic title, one would think that the settings would be more varied and engaging. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Most of the coloring includes various hues of grey, purple, and a washed-out red. You will also notice similar-looking assets—abandoned buildings and crashed cars—everywhere you go. There is not much variety here regarding the surroundings, which doesn’t make sense when you think of what Code Vein was designed to represent in this genre.
NEXT: The 5 Best Things About Code Vein (& The 5 Worst)
