Bandai Namco unveiled the second title in its anime soulslike property, Code Vein II, during all the announcements and “Direct” game shows last week. Just recently they sat us down to watch (sadly, not play) a small snippet of the game and it is looking pretty impressive.
It’s hard to try and co-exist in a genre that has Elden Ring in it, but Code Vein has several things going for it. In the video demo, the Bandai team walked us through the range of combat options, and there is a lot to throw at the various enemies that you’ll come across. There are both ranged and melee attacks, as well as various special abilities with strange names like “jails” and “formae”, and by mixing all this stuff together you end up with a character build that is ideally suited to your tastes and risk appetite.
Bandai Namco seems to be pinning a lot of Code Vein II’s hopes on this customisation. They’ve added substantially to the options available to you for the character builder, and then also added a wealth of combat build sets that you can find as you explore. We’re promised that this system will be “deep” but also streamlined and accessible so as to not be confusing.
You also get to find partners on the journey, and they’ll help you out with the various difficult scraps that you’ll get into along the way. Speaking of the journey, they gave us a tiny glimpse at the difference between the two time periods that you’ll be travelling between (the “present” world and the “past” world). It was a little hard to get a sense of whether the two time periods play differently, but they certainly look different. The demonstration also showcased the bike that you’ll get which will make travelling longer distances quicker. Again, it was difficult to get a feel for just what this brought to the table, but it certainly looked impressive.
Finally, Bandai Namco showed off about a minute of a boss fight. Without being able to actually hold the controller in the hands it is a little difficult to get a feel for how enjoyable it will be, but the original Code Vein did a better job than most Soulslikes, and this one looks like it has some decent weight and opportunities for tactical depth. Some might find it on the slower side compared to some Soulslike peers, but to be honest, I prefer my games in this genre to be slower and more deliberate than testing twitch reflexes, and I did like what I saw here.
The video that we got a look at was by no means comprehensive enough to start drawing thoughts together about Code Vein II, but I am interested. The anime aesthetic and customisation do help it to stand apart, but the nuanced combat system, which seems to be working hard to give every play style a fair chance, just might be the big opportunity that Bandai Namco has to further carve out a space for this property.
The game launches in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC.
