User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 642 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 88 out of 642
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  1. Sep 27, 2019
    10
    I am having a blast with the game great character customization options liked the story and I’m really having fun building different classes
  2. Nov 9, 2019
    8
    Code Vein is one of the most surprising games of 2019, who knew Anime Souls could be so fun

    Pros Boss Fights are Fun but tough The memories are enjoyable if you want to find out someone's backstory The Blood Codes are interesting and have a wide variety The Combat is fun Story is good Cons Some areas are way too confusing Some dialogue is cringe Potato AI (if you use them)
    Code Vein is one of the most surprising games of 2019, who knew Anime Souls could be so fun

    Pros
    Boss Fights are Fun but tough
    The memories are enjoyable if you want to find out someone's backstory
    The Blood Codes are interesting and have a wide variety
    The Combat is fun
    Story is good

    Cons
    Some areas are way too confusing
    Some dialogue is cringe
    Potato AI (if you use them)

    If you are a hardcore Souls/souls-like fan I definitely recommend you check this game out as it is fun but tough at times.
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  3. Dec 8, 2019
    9
    dispite a few small issues great overall cannot wait for dlc good story, decent combat, just a lot of fun
  4. Nov 10, 2019
    8
    It should be noted that Bandai Namco is unabashed about using the Dark Souls formula that they published for From over the years. So much so that one optional boss fight literally uses a Souls sound effect and boss structure. However to say that Code Vein is only a Soul's clone is to sell the game very short. Bandai has made the game a wonderful mix of coop Souls and allows forIt should be noted that Bandai Namco is unabashed about using the Dark Souls formula that they published for From over the years. So much so that one optional boss fight literally uses a Souls sound effect and boss structure. However to say that Code Vein is only a Soul's clone is to sell the game very short. Bandai has made the game a wonderful mix of coop Souls and allows for masochistic solo play. It is very important to note that most of the game is tuned for coop play - either AI or human, and to go solo significantly ups difficulty. I personally found that the AI coop made it more accessible while player coop made it to easy. The story is serviceable and fun but not as deep as a Souls game. It is a shame that users cannot award half points as this is clearly an 8.5 for me. Expand
  5. Feb 24, 2020
    8
    Solid soulsbourne type game with fun bloodcodes (builds) and weapons. Good world design. Fun.
  6. Mar 24, 2020
    8
    This game is more like an 8.5 personally. It was a pleasant surprise for sure.
    I think the characters are very likeable and the story is overall quite good. There are some surprisingly touching moments in there.
    The combat is not as tight as dark souls but it's enjoyable and there's room for a lot of build diversity. I think one of the downsides is environmental variety. A lot of
    This game is more like an 8.5 personally. It was a pleasant surprise for sure.
    I think the characters are very likeable and the story is overall quite good. There are some surprisingly touching moments in there.

    The combat is not as tight as dark souls but it's enjoyable and there's room for a lot of build diversity.

    I think one of the downsides is environmental variety. A lot of levels are ruined cityscapes but there's a strong visual design and some cool landmarks along the way. The areas were more interesting than other souls like games such as nioh or the surge in my opinion. They could use some more enemy types too but I never really got bored of fighting the enemies.

    I really like how the game allows you to grind levels very easily. They aren't stingy in awarding haze so I never felt underleveled when fighting a boss. It's also really nice having a minimap which tells you where you've been walking. And also every boss fight has a checkpoint nearby so you don't have to run long distances if you get beaten.

    I think there are some fantastic bosses here. There were a couple which took ages and when I finally beat them my heart was ready to explode which is what you want in these games.

    Also the character creator is top tier. Even at the end of the game I still felt really great about how my guy looked. There are a lot of different outfits to wear as well so there's a lot of room for customization in general. One issue though is with clipping. My character's hair was very long and often went through his clothes which isn't a huge deal but can be a little immersion breaking.

    Finally, I'm not a big fan of having a silent protagonist in general but I appreciate that your character will nod, shake hands and on a couple of occasions actually speaks. Overall the silent protagonist thing worked quite well here.
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  7. Oct 11, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. E adorei dinâmica a jogabilidade e trilha sonora me agradou bastante e a história me lembra bastante animes bem mais me divertir bastante jogando ele Expand
  8. Nov 28, 2019
    9
    I felt compelled to create a Metacritic account to support this game, the game has a very good customization system, combat has its inspirations but still managed to make its own style stand out with the use of codes and veils , besides the weapons like the bayonet that I found something very different from any other game. But besides the combat, something that stands out is its narrative,I felt compelled to create a Metacritic account to support this game, the game has a very good customization system, combat has its inspirations but still managed to make its own style stand out with the use of codes and veils , besides the weapons like the bayonet that I found something very different from any other game. But besides the combat, something that stands out is its narrative, serious as the history of this game arrested me, you need to search the memories can be massive for some but for me it was the missing pinch that made me explore the whole game in search With a better understanding of the characters and the world around them, I started this game expecting a bad story but I was completely wrong. And last and for me the most important is the soundtrack ... Ooooh boy as the soundtrack of this game is good, a certain song is repeated during the memories (which can be annoying to some) but in the narrative near the final stretch The track of this game is amazing, during boss fight moments and especially during the mid to late cutscenes. In technical matters, I did not suffer from any bugs during the game, the only thing I should point out was frame drops when there were a lot of particles on the screen and when changing to a new map but nothing that disturbed my experience, I highly recommend this game to those looking for a good narrative and inspirational combat in the Souls like genre.

    Me senti na obrigação de criar uma conta no Metacritic para dar meu apoio a este game , o jogo tem um sistema de customização muito boa, combate tem sim suas inspirações mas ainda sim conseguiu deixar seu próprio estilo em destaque com o uso dos códigos e véus , além das armas como a baioneta que achei algo muito diferente de qualquer outro jogo. Mas além do combate, algo que se destaca é sua narrativa , sério como a historia desse jogo me prendeu, você necessitar de buscar as memorias pode ser massante para alguns mas pra mim foi a pitada que faltava que me fez explorar o jogo inteiro em busca de maior entendimento sobre os personagens e o mundo a sua volta, comecei esse jogo esperando uma historia ruim mas estava completamente enganado. E por ultimo e pra mim o mais importante é a trilha sonora ... Ooooh boy como a trilha desse jogo é boa , uma certa musica se repete durante as memorias ( o que pode ser irritante para alguns ) porém na narrativa perto da reta final a trilha desse jogo fica incrivel , nos momentos de boss fight e principalmente durante as cutscenes da metade para o final. Em questões técnicas , não sofri com nenhum bug durante o game , unica coisa que devo apontar foi quedas de frames quando havia muitas partículas na tela e em momentos de mudança para um novo mapa mas nada que atrapalhou minha experiencia , recomendo e muito esse jogo para aqueles que buscam uma boa narrativa e um combate com inspirações no gênero Souls like .
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  9. Feb 4, 2020
    9
    Code vein me parece un gran paso para crear un souls like con estética anime puesto que presenta una historia muy interesante y un árbol de habilidades destacado, por eso creo que criticar de manera constructiva también es necesario .puesto que , a mi parecer le falta al juego una mayor cantidad de variedad en las armas y que las misiones de los NPCs podrían ser más significativas paraCode vein me parece un gran paso para crear un souls like con estética anime puesto que presenta una historia muy interesante y un árbol de habilidades destacado, por eso creo que criticar de manera constructiva también es necesario .puesto que , a mi parecer le falta al juego una mayor cantidad de variedad en las armas y que las misiones de los NPCs podrían ser más significativas para ellos ya que creo que solo están ahí para hacer que vayas de acá para allá . Pero a pesar de todo creo que code vein es un gran primer paso y ojalá este sea el inicio de una nueva IP con mucho futuro por delante Expand
  10. Mar 7, 2020
    9
    Overall i love this game as much as Bloodborne, if you have played Bloodborne that should of already grabbed your attention.

    The customisation is something everyone noticed in this game, its massive, it has so much depth which i have never really seen in a game before. The Combat feels amazing, it feels just like any dark souls and bloodborne game but like them it has it's own unique
    Overall i love this game as much as Bloodborne, if you have played Bloodborne that should of already grabbed your attention.

    The customisation is something everyone noticed in this game, its massive, it has so much depth which i have never really seen in a game before.

    The Combat feels amazing, it feels just like any dark souls and bloodborne game but like them it has it's own unique thing whihc is the blood codes. I enjoy this combat so much it really made the game more enjoyable.

    The world is large, but its not all connect like a dark souls or bloodborne game and the biggest thing i hated was the world felt repetitive most of the timt, it was lacking where as if you play similar games it always feels different like with bloodborne. I love the world but it needs more in Code vein.

    Now the story and bosses, if you do everything possible to understand the story and lore you will really respect the game for what it is, the story is amazing and something i could never forget (depends on which ending) and the final boss is defiently a favourite HOWEVER the game is far to easy, bosses dont really have any challenge besides 3 or 4, and i did paly the game a second time on the hardest diificuly option and it was still the same outcome. This game never really had be stuck for to long unlike Laurence in bloodborne dlc.

    Overall this game is worth playing and i hope Code Vein 2 will exist in the near future.
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  11. Apr 16, 2020
    10
    Game of the Year contender. Best gameplay, story, music, voice acting and rpg element
  12. Mar 12, 2020
    9
    Отличная игра, людям, которым понравился Remnant и теперь они хотят поиграть что-то похожее, но на ближний бой )
    Мне не нравится soul`s like игры, в том классическом стиле и понимании, которые они существуют, но мне вполне в десяток раз понравился этот проект.
    + я любитель аниме и визуал, вполне взыграл дополнительно к моим интересам. Спасибо кто прочел и разработчикам, за труды и
    Отличная игра, людям, которым понравился Remnant и теперь они хотят поиграть что-то похожее, но на ближний бой )
    Мне не нравится soul`s like игры, в том классическом стиле и понимании, которые они существуют, но мне вполне в десяток раз понравился этот проект.
    + я любитель аниме и визуал, вполне взыграл дополнительно к моим интересам.

    Спасибо кто прочел и разработчикам, за труды и локализацию (субтитров достаточно)!
    P.S: Прошу попросить гения, кто рисовал "Собор святой крови", держать взаперти. Потрясающая локация, которая спутает не только глаза, логику и инстинкты, но и ориентацию и взгляды.
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  13. Nov 22, 2019
    10
    I know the grade I give for this game doesn't fit, but it's more for opinion. Well, like games that have a kinda anime footprint, they end up having scenes where hair, clothes or the like cross each other, and so on. but in other respects he looks like a dark souls but anime that caught my attention, I don't know about you.
  14. Dec 21, 2020
    10
    Code Vein ha sabido empaparse de las mecánicas de combate rigurosas de un Dark Souls y ofrecer a su vez algo nuevo y distinto. Técnicamente cumple y su diseño artístico es fantástico: colorido a la par que oscuro, paisajes decadentes dentro de un mundo en ruinas. La banda sonora no se queda atrás, ofreciendo melodías de tono gótico y cambiando de registro para imprimir épica a los tensosCode Vein ha sabido empaparse de las mecánicas de combate rigurosas de un Dark Souls y ofrecer a su vez algo nuevo y distinto. Técnicamente cumple y su diseño artístico es fantástico: colorido a la par que oscuro, paisajes decadentes dentro de un mundo en ruinas. La banda sonora no se queda atrás, ofreciendo melodías de tono gótico y cambiando de registro para imprimir épica a los tensos combates contra jefes. El diseño de los escenarios es laberíntico pero no se hace pesado, recorrerlos es como ir resolviendo puzles/zonas en los que las piezas acaban encajando satisfactoriamente. Cada combate es un duelo a muerte en Code Vein y para afrontar el reto debes equiparte bien, entrenar mucho, estar atento a cada rincón del escenario, y potenciar los atributos con los Códigos de sangre. Esta es una novedad diferencial con respecto a los Souls.

    Habiendo sobrepasado las 20 horas de juego puedo decir que Code Vein me ha sorprendido en positivo. Esperaba un juego notable y es realmente sobresaliente. No es un vulgar imitador de Bloodborne con una carcasa Anime. Su lore es algo discreto; en cambio su ambientación y la atmósfera de terror vampírico que logra crear son muy notables, así como sus protagonistas carecen de carisma, pero pueden ser personalizados con mucho detalle.

    Code Vein es potencialmente adictivo si se supera la barrera de una dificultad elevada, que puede llevar a la frustración a los jugadores menos pacientes o habilidosos. Por este motivo, creo que el juego ha sido duramente castigado por parte de cierto sector de la prensa de videojuegos. Qué injusticia: Code Vein es un Action-RPG excelente que mira de tú a tú a la franquicia de Miyazaki.

    Mi valoración personal de CV:
    Gráficos: 8,5
    Sonido: 9
    Jugabilidad: 8,9
    Diversión: 9,5
    Total: 9
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  15. Oct 4, 2019
    9
    As someone who’s played every souls-like game and gotten platinum trophies on all but two (Sekiro and Surge 2), I can easily say that this is one of the best. I absolutely love it! So much so that after buying the deluxe edition and playing through it, I just got done ordering a collectors edition from Japan so I can have the Mia statue. If you remotely like these types of games, get it.
  16. Oct 18, 2019
    10
    Such an underrated game with great story, really fun to play! You should play and support it
  17. Dec 2, 2019
    9
    I really like it.It's like Dark Souls/Bloodborne, but it doesn't make you wanna kill yourself with a PS4 controller. So it's not easy but LOT easier than those two. Character customization is great.
    I'm not sure about the story, but that is secondary subject in this kinda game.
  18. Oct 1, 2019
    9
    Very enjoyable souls-like, a bit floaty for the combat it does take some getting used to. Other than that a very good attempt at that souls like format. Also very much enjoy that there is a solid (albeit goofy) story attached to the game.
  19. Sep 30, 2019
    8
    This game is amazing, the combat is great, the story is has some suspense and mystery that draws you in making you want more. Overall this game is a good time!
  20. Nov 3, 2019
    9
    Great game! Clearly underrated. Playing solo makes it more difficult than any other soulslike.
  21. Jan 24, 2020
    10
    it's sad to see these stupid game journalists give such a beautiful game a low score. sure it has some flaws but the enjoyability factor FAR outweighs the minor flaws.truly an amazing game
  22. Oct 1, 2019
    9
    Not sure what the critics are all about. I really enjoyed the game and am glad I didn't listen to reviews and gave it a shoot.

    It's semi dark souls anime if you want to call it that. The character creation is top notch. The combat is fun and challenging. Sometimes easy with your acquaintances. Boss battles still dark souls esq. I'd say if you like anime and souls like games give this one
    Not sure what the critics are all about. I really enjoyed the game and am glad I didn't listen to reviews and gave it a shoot.

    It's semi dark souls anime if you want to call it that. The character creation is top notch. The combat is fun and challenging. Sometimes easy with your acquaintances. Boss battles still dark souls esq.

    I'd say if you like anime and souls like games give this one a try. The story was entertaining.
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  23. Oct 11, 2019
    9
    Code vein is great, the gameplay, music, and design overall is good. The character creation is one of the best I've ever seen in a dark souls clone. One reason I think people didn't like this game is because they went into it expecting dark souls. I did too, and at first I was confused and worried that it wasn't going to be what I expected, but I had to realize that this game was going toCode vein is great, the gameplay, music, and design overall is good. The character creation is one of the best I've ever seen in a dark souls clone. One reason I think people didn't like this game is because they went into it expecting dark souls. I did too, and at first I was confused and worried that it wasn't going to be what I expected, but I had to realize that this game was going to be different. Yes it feels like dark souls and is very similar, but you should go into expecting something different cause it is. of course people are completely entitled to their opinion. I personally recommend this game to anyone who loves the dark souls series. While is similar in many ways and the differences are well made, allowing for a variety of builds. The only thing that is keeping me from a 10 is that this game can kinda be easy, the entire game you can have a someone with you, you can choose to do it by yourself though. I actually think this is a good idea to have a way to balance people who want a good challenge to turn it off, and people who are more casual gamers and not great at it. Overall this is another amazing dark souls like Anime game. Expand
  24. Oct 11, 2019
    9
    Code Vein is the literal definition of a Soulslike done right and is honestly one of the biggest surprises of the year for me so far.
    This game literally gets a 9/10 based on the character creation screen alone which is perhaps the best we have ever seen in a game despite the subjective art style. You name it you can probably make it in Code Vein's character creation screen.
    However the
    Code Vein is the literal definition of a Soulslike done right and is honestly one of the biggest surprises of the year for me so far.
    This game literally gets a 9/10 based on the character creation screen alone which is perhaps the best we have ever seen in a game despite the subjective art style. You name it you can probably make it in Code Vein's character creation screen.
    However the gameplay is also very well done as it combines the technical systems of a Souls game but adds anime bombast to it which is most likely to be a weebs wet dream (sorry if I offended anyone), The blood codes is also a great idea as it adds a class like system to Code Vein that whilst the Souls games had it was entirely down to player impact to build their characters into a specific class. Code Vein combines classes with traditional Souls leveling systems to creating a very fun and addictive combat loop.
    Whilst it retains the Souls like gameplay Code Vein does not carry over the notorious difficulty of these games, in fact during my 30 hours with the game I only died 10 times compared to the thousands of deaths in Nioh and The Surge 2 which had extreme spikes in difficulty. I would say the difficulty is very welcoming and is akin to an action game like NieR Automata and Metal Gear Rising Revengence which may or may not be a turn off depending on the player.
    Overall if you are looking for a great action game to play this year Code Vein should be on your radar and is one of the best games released all year round.
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  25. Oct 10, 2019
    9
    Code Vein is a great game and also a game for beginners into Souls like games. While this game isn't easy, due to the AI partner you can have by default, it makes it a bit easier than other Souls like games.

    For fans of higher difficulty, you can opt out of having an AI partner and do it solo in true Souls style. The character creator is very good and gives you lots of options to
    Code Vein is a great game and also a game for beginners into Souls like games. While this game isn't easy, due to the AI partner you can have by default, it makes it a bit easier than other Souls like games.

    For fans of higher difficulty, you can opt out of having an AI partner and do it solo in true Souls style.

    The character creator is very good and gives you lots of options to create a unique character, or just use a default option.

    Due to the various blood codes, you can also change up your playstyle from caster, to quick melee, or heavy hitting melee, or tanking.

    Very highly recommended, unless you don't like Anime graphic styles
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  26. Oct 1, 2019
    8
    Un buen juego con algunos fallos. Si te gustan los juegos tipo Souls y el anime, es muy disfrutable,
  27. Sep 30, 2019
    9
    This game is a pure joy. After following this game closely since it's teaser trailer in 2017, one question has been nagging at the back of my mind. "Will this game be as good as it deserves to be"? Having played through all the Soulsborne games, and loving every one of them, my primary concern was if the game-play would hold up. I loved the aesthetic of this game and that was brought intoThis game is a pure joy. After following this game closely since it's teaser trailer in 2017, one question has been nagging at the back of my mind. "Will this game be as good as it deserves to be"? Having played through all the Soulsborne games, and loving every one of them, my primary concern was if the game-play would hold up. I loved the aesthetic of this game and that was brought into full tilt when the character creator was revealed to, frankly, be the new industry standard. After spending 20 hours with this game, and with no sign of the end in sight, I was able to put most of my concerns to rest.
    I'm utterly in love with this game. I love the direction, story style, personality, concepts and artistic vision of this game. And with no signs of micro-transaction intrusion, the game looks like all of it's mechanics are allowed to function as intended. And that's where I think this game will fall short of it's contemporary peers from FromSoftware. The elephant in the room is that the combat isn't Soulsborne levels of polish. And nothing out right now is, so it's in good company. But the comparisons are levied more directly at this game because it draws so heavily on the gameplay loop that Soulsborne established.
    So is the combat that is here satisfying? That's the main question. And I can confidently say that it is, despite it's flaws. The controls are snappy to the point where your character seems to have no momentum and can feel "floaty", but that lends itself to a much more frenetic style more akin to Bloodborne. And when you find yourself in large scale fights with many enemies, this ferocious agility is allowed to really shine in ways that put the large mob fights in Dark Souls to shame. Soulsborne excels far above it's peers in 1 on 1 combat encounters with extremely tight weapon mechanics but usually falls short when more than 3 enemys come barreling at you. Code vein feels like the opposite. 1 on 1 combat usually allows the wrinkles of the mechanics to be felt more acutely but, when 4 or 5 enemies come at you and your partner, strap in for a flashy, wild combat encounter.
    The weakest points of the game I've felt so far have been the boss encounters, sadly. They certainly work and are stronger than bosses in most games but pale in comparison to the show stopping memorable fights that liter the Soulsborne series. Initially a lot of the bosses felt cheap and shoddy as my character was inflicted, continually, with status ailments repeatedly. Each boss had a different status ailment that made the fight significantly more difficult. But after digging into the decently well explained character build mechanics with it's blood codes and skill sets, I came to understand that these boss fights were trying to make me build entire class load outs specifically to counter what they threw at you. The poison boss required you to invest in poison resistance skill and poison cure skill as well as a veil with elemental resistances. The water boss would slow you and then run circles around you until you removed that debuff and build tanky to take their hits, which were very difficult to dodge. This system, once understood, allowed me to build my character out to counter these bosses and make them significantly easier and much less frustrating. If customizing your character and skills for boss encounters sounds tedious to you, however, then this will likely seem less satisfying for you.
    Outside of boss fights, the mob combat, exploration and level design reach levels of care that are as close as anyone has come to the Soulsborne games outside of FromSoftware. With spidering paths that loop back on spawn points 2 and 3 times very often, the world rewards your exploration and gives you that same feeling of finding shortcuts that I became to accustomed to. Each area is riddled with hidden paths, secret items and side bosses that I can only come away that familiar feeling that I love from these sorts of games.
    There are bugs, but they have reared their ugly head only a scant few times during my play-through such that I don't think they bear dwelling on. And with multiplayer that works at launch, I can't complain.
    With my astronomical expectations of this game, after 3 years of following it closely, I thought it would be impossible for me to come away from this experience as anything other than disappointed. It's my pleasure to tell you that, while not exceeding my high expectations, it has certainly lived up to them and even surprised me a few times. I'm very excited to see where this IP goes from here with a bit of polish put on the mechanics to get it closer to that Soulsborne level of quality. If this series is able to get a bit closer to that lofty bar with the charm and aesthetic prowess that it exudes in a sequel, then we'll have something game changing on our hands. As of now, Code Vein is an absolute delight that is able to stand as a valiant and satisfying first stab at an alternative to Dark Souls.
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  28. Oct 2, 2019
    10
    Great game, does what every souls like game should. It takes some ideas from dark souls and then they put their own spin on it.
  29. Oct 23, 2019
    10
    Critics DO NOT KNOW BALLS
    That's why user score is much higher than critic score
  30. Oct 2, 2019
    10
    It's anime Bloodborne and I'm loving every minute of it. Great customization for any play style.
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 69
  2. Negative: 2 out of 69
  1. Dec 2, 2019
    80
    Code Vein brings a few interesting additions to the recognizable souls-like formula. It's stylish, anime-like and has some cool moves & classes, and lets you bring an AI friend to keep you from feeling lonely while being really useful in combat. Well, most of the time. If you are itching for some quality souls-like experience, try this - it could be just what you were looking for.
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 25, 2019
    65
    Code Vein has its heart in the right place but I really wouldn’t want to spend my time playing stuff that have been already done better somewhere else. If a potential sequel finds its own identity, it would be an interesting addition to the genre. [13/2019, p.58]
  3. Oct 24, 2019
    50
    CODE VEIN is a vast disappointment, miles away from any of From Software's games, and the only thing to save is the blood code system which allows lots of freedom in the character customization.