Code Vein 2 is everything I could’ve wanted from a sequel as a fan of the original game — except its dismal console performance

I was unsure about action soulslike Code Vein 2 during my first six hours of play. The game promises a large open world to explore, but it’s hesitant to hand over the reins while your total playtime is still in the single digits.

That’s not to say it’s a slow starter, though. Code Vein 2 does a great job of steadily introducing you to its new and overhauled gameplay systems in those opening hours. And overall, this is a much more confident game than its 2019 prequel.

The original Code Vein, which I’m nonetheless a fan of, was painfully linear (outside of one comically labyrinthine level about halfway through) by soulslike standards, had fairly one-note characters, and a difficulty that was more rollercoaster than curve.

Code Vein 2 comes seven years later and is a vast improvement on almost all fronts. It presents a world, story, and characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with. The open world, once it does truly open up, is wonderful to explore; packed with things to find and secrets to uncover without feeling overwhelming. I adore the new Blood Code system, too, which makes it incredibly easy and riskless to try out new weapons, abilities, and builds.

If you generally enjoy soulslikes, including Lies of P or the Nioh series - or if you were a fan of the original Code Vein - then Code Vein 2 gets an easy recommendation from me. Some of the original game’s problems do persist here, though. Namely, a lack of enemy and boss variety, some rather samey dungeon design, and a bit of a difficulty trench that makes much of the mid-game pretty breezy.

However, these issues pale in comparison to my main bugbear with Code Vein 2. Its performance on console needs some serious work, with the game often struggling to meet even 30 frames per second (fps) in the larger outdoor environments. There’s also little difference between the two console performance options; neither offers a particularly stable play experience.

If Bandai Namco is able to rectify this through post-game support, however (and there will likely be a good amount of it with an expansion set to release this year), then Code Vein 2 has a chance of becoming one of the best soulslike games of recent years. After all, the ingredients are already here.

The end of the world as we know it

If you’re new to the series, fear not. Code Vein 2’s story is, by and large, a separate entity from that of the first game. While some terminology and lore tidbits do cross over, the original is certainly not required reading in order to enjoy this sequel.

It does begin in a similar manner, though. The player character, having recently died, is resurrected as a revenant hunter. From your base of operations, MagMell, you’re tasked with slaying five heroes of old in order to prevent an imminent calamity.

It’s not as simple as just rocking up to their door and demanding a fight, though. You’ll first need to procure a key - a resonant object that played an important part in any given hero’s life - to release them from dormancy. To do so, you’ll travel back in time to the hero’s eras not only to explore their regions on the world map, but also to get to know them intimately and help them solve the crises of their time.

It’s a brilliant narrative hook. The heroes are all incredibly likable characters. Befriending and forming bonds with them in the past, only to have to put them down in their boss forms in the present, always left me feeling a little saddened. It was enough of a hook to get me to keep playing, especially as side quests involving the heroes can help them come to terms with past regrets and put a more positive spin on their fates in the future.

Full kit

Code Vein 2 puts player expression at the forefront. Like the first game, you’ll start with a fantastic, in-depth character creator, and it’s even better in the sequel. You can customize your character to a pretty granular degree, from clothing and accessories to hair highlights and even how light bounces off their eyes.

I’m not ashamed to admit I spent a whole hour making my hunter, and to some, that’s probably no time at all, given the options on offer. You can fully change your appearance at MagMell at any time, too, if you ever want to make adjustments both small and large.

There’s a healthy amount of weapon types, too, from massive axes and hammers to hit-and-run mid-range options like bayonets and rune blades. In addition to standard weapons, there are plenty of armaments to supplement your build, also. Formae, for example, come in offensive and defensive varieties. There aren’t a terrible amount of these in the game, but they do offer you options for ranged attacks, shields, evasion, and more.

Then there’s the Jails, supplementary weapons that you’ll use to drain essence from enemies to restore the Ichor you need to spend on skills. You can assign four skills to a weapon, and they come in the form of offensive maneuvers or support spells. Learning how and when to use skills in battle is essential in Code Vein 2, and using them in tandem with your regular attacks and your Jail offers a pretty satisfying combat loop.

Code of conduct

The Blood Code system returns in Code Vein 2, and they’ve been significantly overhauled here.

Put simply, a Blood Code is essentially a template for your desired build. Individual Blood Codes have their own spread of stats baked in (you can level up your character, but like in the first game, this is a general increase to health, attack power, and the like). This lets you best take advantage of different types of weapons and playstyle-altering boosters.

It’s a novel idea, and one I think works well here. Blood Codes mean that you don’t have to lock yourself into any one type of playstyle, like you might have to in the likes of Elden Ring or Lies of P, before having access to stat reallocation in those games.

Not liking the heavy strength-based playstyle? Swap out your Blood Code for something Dexterity or spell-focused. In terms of builds, you’re really only limited by weapon upgrade materials, which are plentiful out on the world map and can be found easily via exploration. You’re also actively incentivized to try out several Blood Codes, as maxing out familiarity with them will reward you with unique and powerful boosters, which are similar to Elden Ring’s talismans (or Dark Souls’ rings).

Blood Codes also feature the 'Burden' system. Weapons and other equipment will contribute to this burden, and your Blood Code's stats are effectively the amount of 'weight' that can be applied to them. If you're under the stat burden, you'll gain various benefits, while going over will incur penalties. Overburdened Vitality, for example, will lower your dodge efficiency under a certain health threshold.

With friends like these

Rounding out combat in Code Vein 2 are your partners, with whom you can explore the open world. You can choose which partner to take with you at any Mistle (that’s Code Vein’s version of checkpoints/bonfires), and they offer varying stats and perks based on their own playstyles and personality.

Partners are a fantastic system, too, and offer something of a stealth difficulty option, of sorts. Your partner can fight alongside you, for one, handy when you need a distraction when facing multiple enemies. Alternatively, you can ‘assimilate’ your partner, absorbing them into your Jail, giving you noticeable stat boosts and increased power. This is incredibly useful during boss fights, especially if you’re confident going one-on-one with Code Vein 2’s most challenging foes.

Speaking of challenge, one complaint I have is that, like the first game, difficulty is a bit all over the place. I greatly struggled in the first 10 or so hours of play. Enemies have incredibly high poise, rarely staggering from even heavier-hitting attacks. Most can hit like a truck, too, leading to some growing pains as you’re finding your feet in the early game.

However, once you’ve got some solid upgrades behind you - be that a powerful new weapon or Blood Code - things start to become significantly easier. The first major boss was quite the gatekeeper for me, and certainly the one I struggled most with in the entire playthrough.

After this, while the game wasn’t necessarily any easier on paper, I’d earned enough upgrades through thorough exploration that few areas, enemies, and even bosses gave me any trouble whatsoever. In fact, it wasn’t until the last couple of late-game dungeons that difficulty shot right back up, honestly feeling a little over-tuned.

Code Vein 2 has a bit of a difficulty trough, then. The game is bookended on either side by significant challenges, but you’ll likely breeze through a good three-quarters of the game’s overall content. Enemy and boss variety is pretty lacking, too, meaning you’ll quickly learn the ins and outs of most enemy types before the halfway mark. That’s definitely a shame, especially as the world presented in Code Vein 2 is otherwise incredibly creative, with some truly astounding boss designs.

The frontier wasn't built in a day

Overall, I love Code Vein 2, but there was one major aspect of the game that often prevented me from enjoying it fully. Performance on console (at least on PS5, where I reviewed the game) is frankly abysmal.

While interior locations run well enough, often maintaining the 60fps target, things plummet in the larger outdoor environments. There is a ton of environmental clutter, from rubble and foliage to abundant particle effects, which certainly doesn’t help. But even the act of swinging the camera around can cause the frame rate to chug uncomfortably. It can be a nightmare against bosses, too, with some of the flashier attacks resulting in a notable decrease in overall performance.

In short, it’s a mess. It’s something that I hope Bandai Namco can address post-launch, as Code Vein 2 is an otherwise brilliant game, unfortunately hampered all too often by poor performance.

Should I play Code Vein 2?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility

There aren’t many dedicated accessibility options in Code Vein 2 at launch. The game does feature fully remappable controls, though, and decent subtitles support that lets you adjust size, background opacity, and speaker identity.

How I reviewed Code Vein 2

My playthrough of Code Vein 2 lasted around 42 hours. This was near enough a 100% completion run, tackling all main and side quest content. In that time, I fully upgraded several weapons, Blood Codes, and Jails, and was able to craft some seriously powerful builds.

I’ll definitely be looking at a New Game Plus run close to when the planned DLC drops later this year. I played the game on PlayStation 5 with the DualSense Wireless Controller, on an LG CX OLED TV.

First reviewed January 2026