Now Playing: Code Vein Demo - Article
by Jacob James , posted on 17 September 2019 / 3,744 Views
Recently I got to spend some time with the Code Vein demo and thought I'd write up some impressions. First announced back in April of 2017, this “souls-like” or “souls-clone” in the vein (wink wink, nudge nudge) of Dark Souls and Bloodborne may copy most elements from its sources of inspiration, but it doesn’t execute nearly as well.
Code Souls
Code Vein has all the trappings of a Souls game you’d expect. Your character slays enemies who drop souls, although here they're known as Haze. If you die, you have to make your way back to the Haze you dropped or it'll be lost. A small plant called the Mistle takes the place of bonfires, and there you can save, level-up, heal, and acquire/upgrade your skills. Resting at it, as expected, will respawn all enemies on the map. Pretty standard so far; the only real difference I noticed was that you don’t get to choose attributes to assign points to when leveling up. It just levels you and your attributes automatically.
As with any game these days, people love a good character creator. The Code Vein demo does a good job of showing off how creative you can get with the look of your character in the game. Initially, you choose it basic appearance but then you have a plethora of options available to you to make it more personalized. I’ve never been overly invested in character creators - I generally pick one of the many pre-designed choices - but Code Vein offers a great deal of variety without forcing you to spend a lot of time in the editor menu unless you really want to.
A Lot to Take in
The demo starts off in a rushed, overwhelming barrage of tutorial style information, in stark contrast to most souls-like games, where you're generally introduced to new elements of both the narrative and gameplay in small digestible doses. I realize it’s a demo and some liberties have to be taken, but the way it was done left me a bit shell-shocked and soured on the experience. Apparently, you're a Revenant, always in need of blood so as to not turn into “the lost.” You're quickly introduced to the notion of Blood Codes, which in effect act as your character type; Fighter, Ranger, Caster, Berserker, etc. In addition to that, Code Vein over-eagerly presents “gifts” (or skills), and “ichor” (or mana) to use those skills, on top of the previously mentioned features, all within the first 5 minutes and accompanied by a rather dull user menu.
Beyond that, the intro continues with the usual initiation routine; left analog stick moves the character, right moves the camera, R3 locks on, square and triangle for weak and strong attacks, circle dodges, and L1 guards. The tutorial gives you a taste of the aforementioned three basic Blood Code types, each with their own playstyle and pros/cons. Code Vein also has the traditional parry and backstab mechanics that Souls enthusiasts will be well versed in.
We’re Not in The Matrix
As if that wasn’t enough to absorb all at once, the tutorial dives even deeper, going into gifts and unlocking their latent potential, which is accomplished by gaining proficiency with the gift. All exciting, valuable mechanics, but is now really the time to touch on that? I would have liked to have seen this element introduced after gaining proficiency with a skill during the normal course of the demo. Presented the way it was, it added to the chaotic introduction of my first few minutes with this new IP. Complexity is welcomed, but I’m not Neo from the Matrix learning Kung Fu.
Now on to the actual game portion of the demo, which is where it should have started in the first place. You meet “Girl in White”, who gives you some backstory about your vampiric needs as a revenant and how not taking care of those needs results in you becoming one of the lost. It’s around this point that you meet Oliver, your AI companion who will fight alongside you. For those familiar with Souls games, you know that combat is meant to be difficult, and bosses are intended to be taxing, all of which can be alleviated by playing co-op with another player. But that’s an optional choice in Souls games. In Code Vein, it’s mandatory.
Is It Better Together?
I suppose the less initiated to the genre may enjoy and even prefer the AI companion’s assistance throughout. During my time with the Code Vein demo, I found his presence cheapening to the difficulty of the game. What used to feel like a heroic decent into the lair of a boss now feels like a menial trudge through endless corridors. That’s not to say there’s no fun to be had, as I did loosen up and relax my stance on this element throughout my playtime. Initially, though, I was put off by the change. I mean, the first boss I encountered I beat on the first try… that’s not supposed to happen in souls-like games.
After beating the boss, you're treated to some additional lore, in the way of a shadow memory-like experience. Beyond that, you and your new friends explore what will become your base, or hub zone. It’s here that you can take on missions, buy and enhance equipment, practice your skills and fighting styles against a training dummy, and more.
“Thanks For Playing,” is the next screen I’m staring at, indicating my time with the demo has come to an end. And yet, after moving through the on-screen pre-order now prompts, I’m greeted with another dialogue box stating that I’ve completed the main story of the trial version, and to please enjoy some exclusive content to this version. This exclusive content allowed me to: switch partners at the Mistle, try out more versions of various Blood Codes, and gain access to the High-Difficulty “Depths Map.”
Copycat
These “Depths” maps are an EXACT rip-off of the Chalice Dungeon in Bloodborne. Self-contained dungeons with higher difficulty and chances for better loot. I was even invaded by The Lost while in the Depths. The sad part is, the depths didn’t even feel overly difficult. It actually felt like what I expected the regular levels' difficulty to be. The bosses I encountered gave me some much-needed push back and, with a few solid attempts, I was able to achieve victory.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a predecessor’s good idea and running with it, but there’s just so much in the Code Vein demo that feels like a blatant copy, and a poorly executed one at that. What makes the souls-type games so engaging is the difficult combat and sense of exploration and progression. I don’t get that feeling with Code Vein. It feels like a first-timer-friendly, anime inspired, co-op adventure. Again, this wouldn’t be a bad thing if the game mechanics weren’t so evocative of a tough-as-nails genre similarity. Decide what you want to be, Code Vein!
The Code Vein demo left me about where I started before playing it - intrigued by an anime-style souls-clone, one that’s in serious need of balance and tightening up. I didn’t dislike my time with Code Vein, it just didn’t stand out enough to wow me. The core gameplay is fun, and the visual design choice is a nice change of pace. However, if this is a sample of the finished product, I’m left to wonder why it feels so unrefined. Here’s hoping the combat will deepen as you venture through the full retail version of the game.
Code Vein is set to launch on September 27th, 2019, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.
Jacob James grew up in the golden era of 8- and 16-bit games, forever shaping and molding him as a life-long gamer. Some favorites include: Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and Super Mario RPG. Jacob graduated FullSail University with a degree in Computer Animation, so he has a working knowledge and understanding of what it takes to make these imaginative and immersive games he spends so much time playing and reviewing. You can follow him at www.LiveLootLevel.com
