Code Vein 2 arrives as a visually striking but mechanically flawed action RPG, where gothic post-apocalypse aesthetics clash with an underwhelming open world and uninspired character writing. The game drops players into a world where vampiric Revenants must prevent a double apocalypse by assassinating legendary heroes—but beneath the stylish combat and gothic charm lies a narrative and optimization mess.
Set for release on January 29, 2026, the game costs $70 and runs on Bandai Namco’s engine, offering a standalone experience despite its title. While the combat is fast and forgiving, the open world feels hollow, and the characters lack depth, leaving players to slog through repetitive dungeons and poorly optimized exploration.
At a Glance
- Genre: Anime Action RPG / Soulslike
- Release Date: January 29, 2026
- Price: $70
- Developer/Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Reviewed On: Intel Core i7-13700F, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, 16GB RAM
- Performance: Framerate instability in open-world sections; recommended RTX 3080
- Key Strength: Fast-paced, button-mashing combat with AI companions
- Key Weakness: Underdeveloped world, shallow storytelling, rough optimization
Combat: Fast but Forgiving
The core of Code Vein 2* is its hack-and-slash gameplay, which leans heavily on rapid light attacks and forgiving mechanics. Unlike traditional soulslikes, where precise timing and stamina management are crucial, this game rewards aggression—even the toughest enemies can be taken down with relentless button-mashing. Special moves, elemental weapons, and Jail abilities (which drain enemy health) add variety, but none are strictly necessary for progression.
companions join the fight, drawing aggro, healing you upon death, and even sacrificing themselves to keep you alive. This makes combat feel less isolating, though the lack of meaningful strategic depth means most battles devolve into endurance tests rather than tactical challenges. The stamina system, borrowed from soulslikes, feels restrictive rather than rewarding, often yanking players out of combos at inopportune moments.
A World That Feels Hollow
Code Vein 2 markets itself as an open-world RPG, but the distinction between past and present is negligible—destroyed buildings and flipped cars remain static across time jumps, making exploration feel meaningless. The world is compact, with dungeons ranging from maximum-security prisons to sunken cities, but the open areas are cluttered with redundant upgrades and an underwaked crafting system that offers little payoff.
Performance issues compound the problem. While dungeons run smoothly, stepping into the open world triggers framerate stutters and occasional freezes, even on high settings with an RTX 3060 Ti. Lowering graphics helps, but the instability persists, turning exploration into a chore rather than an immersive experience. The recommended RTX 3080 suggests the game was not optimized for mid-range hardware.
Characters and Story: Clichés Without Depth
The game’s cast is visually distinct but narratively shallow. Characters like Lavinia (a gothic matriarch with Resident Evil vibes) and Lou (a pale, ethereal figure with a golden heart) stand out aesthetically, but their personalities are defined by tired anime tropes—small but fierce, cold but warm-hearted, mysterious but obvious. The story hinges on operatic tragedy, but the execution is lazy, with short cutscenes and underdeveloped motivations.
The soundtrack, filled with romantic strings and delicate piano, carries much of the emotional weight, but the textured loading during dramatic moments undermines immersion. The game’s attempts to foster connection through combat fall flat when the characters themselves lack substance, leaving players detached from the stakes.
Final Verdict
Code Vein 2 succeeds as a fast-paced, accessible action game but stumbles in storytelling and optimization. The combat is satisfying for players who prefer button-mashing over precision, and the gothic aesthetic is undeniably stylish. However, the open world feels empty, the characters are forgettable, and the performance issues make exploration frustrating. For fans of soulslikes, this is a missed opportunity—a game that could have been ambitious but instead settles for surface-level polish.
If you’re drawn to anime action RPGs and don’t mind rough edges, Code Vein 2* offers a decent (if not great) time. But for those expecting depth or a polished open world, it’s a disappointment.
