Code Vein

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 642 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 451 out of 642
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 642
  3. Negative: 88 out of 642
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  1. Gamingking007
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    I honestly don’t know what the critics problem is. It’s a new it’s bound not be perfect but this game is simply beautiful in all aspects. Great story and characters , awesome character building and did I mention stunning to look at . I’m in love !
  2. Ivan
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    We immediately notice the enormous work done by the developers for the creation of vein code. Character creation is incredibly satisfying. The jobs system is something very interesting and allows you to take advantage of every gameplay mechanic without starting from scratch, as often happens with dark soul.Although you can bring along a companion to facilitate the game. Nothing preventsWe immediately notice the enormous work done by the developers for the creation of vein code. Character creation is incredibly satisfying. The jobs system is something very interesting and allows you to take advantage of every gameplay mechanic without starting from scratch, as often happens with dark soul.Although you can bring along a companion to facilitate the game. Nothing prevents you from facing the game alone. On the technical side there is some uncertainty. But we must say that it is the first episode. Certainly, in future chapters we will see certain aspects improved. Rated 10. Because of the reviews of the criticism very low. It's a game of 8 and up.… Expand
  3. MrFlankster
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    Here is what I think... I think people are marking this game down because it's a clone of Dark Souls, and Dark Souls enthusiast are offended that someone is imitating "their baby." The way I look at it is, imitation is the best form of flattery. I don't play many games anymore, except challenging ones like DS, so when this came out, I was excited. The DIFFERENCE is that this has a STORYHere is what I think... I think people are marking this game down because it's a clone of Dark Souls, and Dark Souls enthusiast are offended that someone is imitating "their baby." The way I look at it is, imitation is the best form of flattery. I don't play many games anymore, except challenging ones like DS, so when this came out, I was excited. The DIFFERENCE is that this has a STORY and an (shockingly) good one. I give it a solid 9.

    If you want customization up the wah-zoo, great exploration (albeit generic looking environments), awesome plot, great character development... all wrapped around the "souls genre" gameplay, look no further. Great game! Can't wait to try the co-op.    … Expand
  4. solokeyus
    Oct 2, 2019
    10
    Fun game challenging but fair if you love anime and dark souls you should play this! Hands down on of my fav games that came out late in the year but was worth the wait!
  5. Steyraus
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    Man this game is awesome.. yes its a soulslike based on anime, and that why its awesome.. The combat it tight and full of great moves and skills to explore. The world looks amazing and is fun to traverse, the character creator is extremely deep. Ive been playing this since launch and it one of my favorite soulslike game yet..
  6. PhantomJack24
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    Alot better than some reviewers would tell you. But dont go into it expecting dark souls 4 its trying to do it's own thing and very much succeeds.
  7. PepePt1
    Nov 8, 2019
    10
    As someone who doesn't really enjoy Souls-like games (excluding Bloodborne) , this game is crazy good.

    Gameplay (10/10): The combat is tight and satisfying, the bloodcodes/gifts allow HUGE variety in the gameplay and the character costumization allows for everyone to make their perfect character. As is expected from Souls-like games, Code Vein is pretty challenging at times, but due to    As someone who doesn't really enjoy Souls-like games (excluding Bloodborne) , this game is crazy good.

    Gameplay (10/10): The combat is tight and satisfying, the bloodcodes/gifts allow HUGE variety in the gameplay and the character costumization allows for everyone to make their perfect character. As is expected from Souls-like games, Code Vein is pretty challenging at times, but due to same changes like the partner system, it's a lot more forgiving; you could die during a fight, but as long as your partner is alive and he's fast enough, he can use a chunk of his HP to revive you and vice-versa.

    Story(9/10): The story is pretty good but nothing amazing, however, the world and the characters are incredibly written and very interesting (Even the silent protagonist is made interesting thanks to how the game handles the characters backstory).

    Art/Music(10/10): The art direction in the game is fantastic, mixing the SoulsBorne style with a more edgy anime look gives you an amazing result that adds so much more to the already interesting characters and well constructed maps. Same as the art, the OST in Code Vein is simply phenomenal, this epic soundtrack composed by Go Shiina (famous for God Eater), fits every single moment in the game; every boss encounter turns into an epic fight for your and your partner's survival and every conversation turns into an emotional moment thanks to this overpowering soundtrack. I can't think of a more badass moment than your partner dying and you having to survive while listening to this OST

    Overall, Code Vein is on par with Bloodborne as my favorite Souls-like experience and deserves more attention.
    (Also to everyone reading this, saying characters are over-sexualized or that the game is too "anime" is not a valid complaint in any type of media, if you don't like it, then this is not a game for you which is totally fine but don't critize a game just because it doesn't match your tastes).    … Expand
  8. Nitja
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    One of the best soulslike of the generation. This is a must buy game for any type of game specially rpg ones.
  9. manninggage
    Jun 20, 2020
    10
    I don’t know why truly fantastic games like this don’t receive the recognition it deserves, yet we have metacritic giving TLOU2 a 95, like this world is a lie
  10. 123repeater
    Oct 2, 2019
    10
    It's anime Bloodborne and I'm loving every minute of it. Great customization for any play style.
  11. Kraehe
    Sep 30, 2019
    10
    Similar to Bloodborne gameplay wise, but way better overall. Game of the Year candidate for me
  12. trevor1981
    Apr 20, 2020
    10
    Finally I got what I always wanted - a Souls game that would keep the players engaged, thanks to its story, and not just rely on the unbearable difficulty alone, that most of its predecessors coming from Miyazaki did. And Code Vein brilliantly achieves that. The writing was incredibly well done. In just no time I realised I was in love with the characters.
    Bandai Namco did the right thing    Finally I got what I always wanted - a Souls game that would keep the players engaged, thanks to its story, and not just rely on the unbearable difficulty alone, that most of its predecessors coming from Miyazaki did. And Code Vein brilliantly achieves that. The writing was incredibly well done. In just no time I realised I was in love with the characters.
    Bandai Namco did the right thing by creating a game that would first and foremost entertain, which is why some people got it wrong, probably because they've got used to being tortured. But still Code Vein can be extremely hard, if you stop partnering with any of the NPC's.
    To me personally this was the best souls experience ever. Even after getting the platinum trophy, I still play it.
    The visuals are amazing, the gameplay is long enough, and although it has its challenging moments, the developers did their best to ensure you'll have a good time with it.
    Among the advantages Code Vein has compared to previous entries are -
    1. Great storytelling and characters.
    2. Phenomenal visualisation. The level design is unlike anything you've seen before. Much better than DS3 and Sekiro.
    3. Phenomenal score by Go Shiino.
    3. Great voice acting.
    4. A map that will be a lot of help making it significantly easier to not miss out any important item.
    5. The co-op with other players is greatly simplified here. You don't have to place any signs like in DS3. You can be in one area and still be teleported to the other end of the game world to aid another player.
    6. Reasonable difficulty level, unless you choose otherwise.
    7. Even when you start a NG, it doesn't have to be NG+, so if you're doing an additional run for platinum trophy, that will come in pretty handy.

    Even the soundtrack I loved much much more than in Dark Souls. There are at least 3 pieces I will forever keep in my phone now. The track called 'Requiem', playing during one of the endings, I couldn't listen to without tears. Needless to say I was overwhelmed every time I finished the game.

    Although I have favorite animes, I never considered myself being a huge fan of the genre before, but now, thanks to Code Vein, I do. I'm eager to see just any anime title there is.

    Don't listen to the reviews downgrading this game!
    It's sheer brilliance!
    I was an idiot to refrain from buying it the day it came out, but later I wanted to kill myself for that. Not as a punishment, but just to support the developers, I additionally got 2 more copies - one for my brother-in-law and another for my best friend.
    I will gladly give my money to Bandai Namco and buy just any title they make. Thank you, guys, for these wonderful emotions.    … Expand
  13. VajraEnki
    Oct 15, 2019
    10
    Me gustaría iniciar diciendo que la evolución del personaje es extraña. Comenzando por lo malo, al subir de nivel no puedes asignar parámetros, unicamente suben tus caracteristicas generales. Lo bueno es el sistema escogido para las habilidades. Hay unas 30 clases diferentes y cambiarás entre todas ellas a lo largo de todo el juego, porque cada una de ellas tiene entre 6 y 10 habilidadesMe gustaría iniciar diciendo que la evolución del personaje es extraña. Comenzando por lo malo, al subir de nivel no puedes asignar parámetros, unicamente suben tus caracteristicas generales. Lo bueno es el sistema escogido para las habilidades. Hay unas 30 clases diferentes y cambiarás entre todas ellas a lo largo de todo el juego, porque cada una de ellas tiene entre 6 y 10 habilidades que una vez masterizadas se heredan; es decir, puedes por ejemplo masterizar al mago y luego cambiar a clase great sword conservando los hechizos. Otro punto importante es que hay una enorme cantidad de habilidades de buff, no solo las básicas de aumentar fuerza y defensa por un tiempo determinado sino otras como absorber parte del daño o aumentar notablemente todos tus parametros por 2 minutos con la condición de que cuando el contador llega a cero mueres.

    El sistema de combate es realmente bueno por todo lo mencionado previamente. La movilidad está entre bloodborne y souls3 en función del peso que lleves, los movimiendos son fluidos y rara vez te dejan expuesto si estás atento y conoces tu build.

    Los mapas gozan de belleza, algunos sencillos y de apariencia lineal, otros los peores put** laberintos que jamás he conocido en 25 años, verdaderas pesadillas que retan a explorar hasta el más minimo barranco y a hacer backtracking hasta desentrañar todo el mapa. Lo malo, que son mapan independientes en vez de una compleja estructura interconectada como la que nos tienen acostumbrados otros títulos como Nioh, Sekiro o la saga souls.

    El ritmo entre gameplay y cinemáticas está mal medido, esto es, 2 minutos para presentar un boss y luego 3 para despedirlo es un total ruptura de ritmo. La saga souls fue inteligente midiendo esta situación, el boss caía y solo quedaba el silencio y tus pensamientos, algo que se echa de menos.

    La duración... No diré nada sobre esto porque me parece una jugada interesante por parte de los desarrolladores. Cerremos con que la duración es buena.

    Por último mencionar que este juego sería uno de los grandes del año si tubiese pvp, pues tiene todas las caracteristicas para ser el mejor soulslike pvp creado hasta la fecha. Una oportunidad de oro desperdiciada que quien sabe si pondrán en un futuro.

    En fin, quizás me he dejado cosas pero creo que he mencionado todo lo que, en lo personal, me parece lo más importante. Entré con escepticismo y es gracias a ello que he salido con una buena experiencia, y se lo recomiendo a cualquiera con ganas de un soulslike. Tiene puntos negativos obvios (lo cuales ya he mencionado y ahora ustedes conocen) por lo que consideren comprarlo en todo caso a mitad de precio si eso les aporta tranquilidad.

    ¡Saludos!    … Expand
  14. hepoport
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Are you looking for an easier Dark Souls? Do you like typical anime characters? Do you like wandering around msomewhat mediocre maps while looking for items and trying to progress? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you'll probably like Code Vein. The game's story itself is decent, if pretty familiar. The lore is cool too in spots, but the characters are your typical assortment of anime tropes. Their character models also have a lot of clipping problems. No matter what character you're looking at, their hair clips through everything. Thankfully you can change your hair at any time. I initially gave my character the longest hair I could, but watching it clip through my entire outfit every time I moved got old.… Expand
  15. Avorax
    Sep 29, 2019
    10
    Nice Game , pretty and nice combate.the skillset IS really good.The bad side is the carácter face creation is not very good.
  16. Labeebthefirst
    Sep 29, 2019
    10
    I'll keep my review simple. Bought it. Played it. Co op with my cousin most of the way through. The artwork and styled is amazing. Is it perfect. No. But I got my money's worth. To bad they dont have the reviewers on their pay roll
  17. Taryl
    Jan 31, 2021
    10
    Great story, super combat system. Very, Very good graphics! I hope to see code vein 2 Very soon!!
  18. Altun
    Oct 5, 2019
    10
    I just finished this game and it feels fantastic. Get rid of your companion if you really want a soulslike experience. Just like coop in dark souls, companions make the game super easy.
  19. ace1325
    Sep 29, 2019
    10
    I hate people giving it bad reviews for being to hard and Call it bad combat mech. Because of that

    or girls are half naked sometimes Its truly a anime souls game and i really loves it
  20. Ben37
    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.
  21. raskin_oleg
    Oct 14, 2020
    10
    Amazing! This game is really great! Recommend to anyone of my friend. 10/10
  22. Aloth
    Sep 28, 2019
    10
    Excellent combat with various built options, amazing customization and visual style! The partner Ai works pretty well too. Great game!
  23. Smithys35
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    A brilliant game so far more you play the better it gets a hidden gem 10/10 playing it on PS4 pro
  24. AndreaM84
    Oct 21, 2019
    10
    This game is a gem, I really don't get all the negative reviews. Been playing it for over 20 hours and CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT!!!
  25. MontesZC
    Sep 29, 2019
    10
    Плюсы:
    Звуковое сопровождение
    Оптимизация
    Озвучка
    Редактор персонажа

    Минусы:
    Один вариант обработки сглаживания(TXAA)
    Отсутствие фото-режима
    Главный герой молчит и кивает головой
  26. fellgo
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    Souls lite combat, anime, dark aesthetics and the most fantastic character creator you have ever seen.
  27. VendonJura
    May 8, 2020
    10
    Code Vein is like Dark Souls but Lite and Anime Graphic style. This was one of the best games I have bought and played in 2020 and I totally loved it. It has some cool features, allot of classes to choose from, allot of unlockables where you have to find and do stuff which could go wrong and you would miss something so I would recommend everyone to check for informations about that onCode Vein is like Dark Souls but Lite and Anime Graphic style. This was one of the best games I have bought and played in 2020 and I totally loved it. It has some cool features, allot of classes to choose from, allot of unlockables where you have to find and do stuff which could go wrong and you would miss something so I would recommend everyone to check for informations about that on youtube or google so you won't do something wrong and miss allot of stuff.

    This game is also kinda complicated. Some attributes are hard to understand I also recommend to check it out. The best part of this game is that you will get a bank storage which is really amazing and not like in some laughable game companies Ahem Bugout 76, no in this game you will get enough space to store your items in and guess what? You don't need to throw more money to do that it's not Bugout76.

    There are even different endings and you can play with your friends together. It is a kinda weird party mechanic in this game but it still works. If you liked Dark Souls, you also might like Code Vein BUT be warned, people say that this game is much easier than Dark Souls well it is kinda true but as more often you clear this game and start all over, as harder this game will get. Let's say when you are on 7th playthrough, you will have your Dark Souls chalange feeling 100%.    … Expand
  28. elitegeek79
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    Go ahead and ignore the critic scores. You know how it is, these people play 1 hour of a game and they can hardly get past a tutorial.

    My favorite game of the year yet! AMAZING!!! Combat is near flawless in my opinion. The graphics are just good enough that they don't cause any slow down (least for me) and I play on line with regular ps4. Switch between so many classes on the    Go ahead and ignore the critic scores. You know how it is, these people play 1 hour of a game and they can hardly get past a tutorial.

    My favorite game of the year yet! AMAZING!!!
    Combat is near flawless in my opinion.
    The graphics are just good enough that they don't cause any slow down (least for me) and I play on line with regular ps4.

    Switch between so many classes on the fly, so much depth to the levels, upgrades, weapons and NPCs.
    Character creation alone is worth the price of entry! So fun!
    On-line is similar to monster hunter with distress calls-easy and fun to get a game.
    Good story, characters, settings-such a cool aesthetic.
    I'm tired from playing since I got it on pre-order, but had to get my vote in to make up for these corrupt ignorant critics.

    I am not the best at souls games and I can play this, at the same time you can get a challenge too.    … Expand
  29. Magnifico1227
    Sep 27, 2019
    10
    I don' think we will have another came this great this year like Code Vein. Bandai Namco has done a really great job. The game's graphic looks overwhelming and the story will keep you wanting to keep playing and playing. This is too much good for casual players.
  30. iKover
    Sep 28, 2019
    10
    Amazing game. This game was a must buy since the first beta. No problems with the game.
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Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 69
  3. Negative: 2 out of 69
  1. PLAY! Zine
    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.
    Read full review
  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. JeuxActu
    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.
    Read full review
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