Code Vein is very mediocre

[Kewlmyc]

I beat the game and you're right. It's to be expected though considering the developer, Shift, is kinda known for making more "anime" versions of better franchises (Monster Hunter, and now Dark Souls) that have worse combat and more jank. Actually "jank" is a little harsh. I would say "lack of polish".

It's a solid 7 out of 10 game while the games it's inspired by are 9/10 or 10/10.

I will say that sticking to the "light" dash instead of the "medium" and "heavy" roll made the game feel more like a shitty Bloodborne rather than a shitty Dark Souls, which made me like it slightly more.

 

[Cats]

It's fine in my opinion. Yes, it's a blatant Souls clone with a lot of shortcomings, but it's got a lot of variety and stuff to do, plus was fun to coop. I think it's an 8/10, it has some pros and cons versus Souls.

I like that there was no cost to coop, unlike Souls where it treats you like a criminal for wanting to play with your friends (embers), heaven forbid. So that was a big plus. You could just keep rejoining and helping as much as you wanted, from any location.

 

[lord_of_flood]

I'm about 20-ish hours in and it's good enough. Not a particularly great game, but it does well enough. The combat definitely felt weird at the start since the enemies hardly react to you attacking them, but I did adjust to it eventually and figured out how I wanted to play. I definitely like the Blood Codes and Gifts though, they provide a lot of room for experimentation in playstyle, which is neat.

The story is basically inconsequential though, and those "walking cutscenes" definitely don't help with how boring they are.

 

[ReginaldXIV]

In the grand scheme of Souls-like games, it's probably one of the better ones.

 

[Deleted member 25870]

I remember the last cutscene I watched just being some party member talking dramatically about this rice ball that he's eating (in the middle of a dungeon IIRC) and I rolled my eyes like 7 times.

Click to shrink...

You don't deserve Yakumo's love. Much less his companionship.

Yak obsession jokes aside. Quoting my thoughts from earlier this month in the OT:

It's a game that is at conflict with itself. It can't decide if it wants to go character action beat em' up, or if it wants to be a soulsborne. And that is my biggest criticism of it. At times it's basically a character action game hamstrung by a stamina meter and enemies with unpredictable hit stun and far too many AOEs.

The game also punishes you for trying to get creative in the first play through. Get an awesome blood code (class) and the next area throws statuses at you that render it nearly useless, or enemies that are immune to gifts you now have access to. It isn't until NG+ that things change and you have more variety to fully experiment in earlier areas where it was sorely needed before. Unfortunately, most won't get to this point. That is unless you're chasing trophies, or are one of the dedicated weirdos like myself and other members of the small community still supporting the game.

To anyone who finds the game easy, go solo. The bosses can be incredibly punishing without proper building and pattern learning. Many of them (and higher level enemies) can kill you in one hit, and it's a long walk back without any AI to res you.

Click to shrink...

 

[DaniThePinguim]

I played the demo and was bored out of my mind, awful aesthetics too

 

[Raigor]

trash anime souls ripoff

 

[Xyer]

I just beat it. Throwing that shit back on the shelf. The final boss is literally a

Spoiler: Final boss spoilers

Amygdala rip off. Lmao.

Awful game. Anyone playing it and not enjoying it should immediately drop it. It's not worth it for the ending.

 

[QisTopTier]

Nah, this is the best souls clone behind nioh imo. Ai partner ruins it so I disabled them and the combat was fun

 

[TimeFire]

The combat in this was horribly weightless and the map/ambient design was really, really boring.

It's a shame too because I loved the character creation, very customizable. Hope they get the rest right with a sequel, one of the best parts about Dark Souls is that I don't have to suffer through a generic anime story so please copy that too

 

[hikarutilmitt]

Ironically I can never get into Souls or Bloodborne, yet CV is working for me, even if only as an action game. Maybe it's because I played and enjoyed GE somewhat because it feels like I'm playing GE more than a From game.

 

[Bansai]

I like it, it hits that sweet spot of mediocre, but in a good way. It really feels like they were on a very constrained budget, but managed to piece together something really nice.

 

[Baphomet]

It's a very mediocre game but I liked the time I spent with it.

 

[Coi]

Nah, I disagree.
Got the platinum mostly because of how GOOD is the combat, the builds and the possibilities..
Everything else is pretty regular, but combat is really great.
And after reading some responses here, maybe the problem is that you're trying to play it like Dark Souls, when Code Vein has his highlights when you start to mix magic, skills and melee in an aggressive way. The game changes a lot when you go past the "hurrrrrr its a souls ripoff"
Also, coop it's great.

 

[Zukuu]

It's what happens when they want to copy Souls and focus on the totally wrong aspects of what makes Souls so good.

I aborted it some 20h in - it's just very, very, poor.

 

[thediamondage]

Its why I really like gamepass, I probably would never really check this game out but since its on GP i installed it, will take it for a spin at some point but if I don't like it after an hour or two, I don't feel bad at all for uninstalling and never touching again.

No matter what twitch, reviewers, metacritic, etc say some games everyone else hates and you love, and vica versa, and nothing worse than paying $60-70 for a game and realizing you are bored silly after a few hours.

 

[Skbzi]

OP, not trying to sound rude but I get the feeling there's very little you seem to enjoy based on the recent threads you have posted. Why not play something that you enjoy as we would like to hear some positivity going into the next year?

 

[Neonzel]

I've been somewhat interested in this game since it was announced, but I never got around to playing it. It's now on game pass and I'm kinda in the mood to play an mediocre game lol.
How long is it?

 

[DWarriorSN]

It's the kind of mediocre that i'm able to play, definetly not a good game tho.

 

[tiebreaker]

It's a decent 7/10 game. Game being easy is probably the selling point for me. You can change your character on a whim, no penalty.

 

[SuzanoSho]

Honestly, OP, this is something many people could already tell solely from the trailers.

I don't think it was ever gonna be anything BUT mediocre, many times it didn't even seem like it was trying...

 

[Dphex]

Played it last year around x-mas. mediocre is the right word, at first i was ok with it but there is no weight or impact to the combat and it is very bland area wise.

the most horrible area was this white cathedral, sooo boring.

 

[antitrop]

Could be a lot worse, but I felt like the combat wasn't balanced properly for any style of play. The AIs made it too easy and I didn't feel like the mechanics were polished enough to make it fun solo. Since the companions were given by default, it felt like going solo was intentionally going against the way the game was designed.

The helpers felt like a band-aid solution to the combat being mediocre and flaky feeling when solo, instead of a useful option for tough situations like in FromSoft games. It's all very style over substance, but they did at least try. There are redeeming qualities, but the core gameplay just isn't quite up to snuff.

 

[Village]

I thought , think the game is pretty good

 

[pizzaparty]

I tried it for about an hour on Game Pass and uninstalled it.

 

[Jeffolation]

Bought it for 9.00, greatly overpaid. Game was absoutely frustrating grarbage, that looked like it'd been hit with the ugly stick a few times. I couldn't tune out the story or lore quick enough, just rubbish, top down.

 

[Valentonis]

Yea I have to agree. It's not horrible or unplayable, but mediocre is the perfect word. Playing it just made me wish I was playing a God Eater game instead.

 

[Freezasaurus]

I will say this about Code Vein.... the character creator is fucking out of this world.

 

[Thanathorn]

The game leans to heavily on the cheap tactic of enemies catching you from areas you couldn't have possibly known they were hiding. It's nothing special but I enjoyed it and played all the way through it.

 

[ClearMetal]

From what little I have played it seemed the perfect 7/10 game. Combat is alright, performance on base PS4 is very dubious at times, the game has that typical stylized anime look that somehow looks good and low budget at the same time... but the character creator is fantastic and the story was surprisingly intriguing. I will have to pick it back up some day, because I do want to find out how it continues.

Also the male lead is voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (Genos from OPM, among other roles) in Japanese. That easily elevates it to a solid 8/10.

 

[scottbeowulf]

Gameplay was pretty good but it gets old fast and the story was all over the place. So yes, mediocre indeed. But if you can pick up for cheap it's worth a try. I can see how people are into it.

 

[4KLobster]

Second rate Dark Souls (reference being DS3), meaning it's a surprisingly good game.

Combat is quite satisfying, build variety with Gifts one can mix and match is very refreshing.

Level design is so-so (and that's where the gap with DS is the biggest), with samey environments and lack of beacons/directional clues.

Story is intriguing (think I am midway through the game, having cleared the snow level), some nice character touches among the anime tropes.

Also, the game could really use alternative outfits for female characters because it's really next level in terms of lousy "sex appeal"...

 

[Keyser S]

You're Code Vain
You probably think this game is about you
You're Code Vain (you're Code Vain)
I bet you think this game is about you
Don't you don't you?​

 

[RPGam3r]

I liked this Souls-like game a lot and would put it over Demon's Souls and Bloodborne, but below any of the Dark Souls entries.

 

[Kupo Kupopo]

I enjoyed it for what it was. It is not on the levels of the "From" games, but I liked the partner aspect and some of the bosses.

Click to shrink...

this. 'mediocre'? nah, i'm going with good. no great, not very good, but good enough to have some fun with...

 

[Xiaomi]

I thought it was better than Mortal Shell and Hellpoint but it's merely "pretty good" whereas if it worked on the level design and enemies more it could be something special. Also the character designs need a loooot of work. The character creator is great, thouh.

 

[Jawmuncher]

One of the highest quality souls games imo. I'll say it a million times, but it is on the same level as something like Bloodborne without question. The anime aesthetic is just a bit too much for some and that's fair.

 

[Failburger]

The only thing this game has to offer is the waifu maker.

 

[Renteka-Bond]

I loved the game, personally. Other than Nioh 2 for raw gameplay, it's probably the best 3d soulslike (what's the other alternative, Surge? yawn). It was my surprise GOTY of 2019. I thought the Memory slow-walking was really cool and well done (and way more interesting than just the 'watch Vaatividya' lore of From games) and, best thing, optional, as you can skip them if you really don't like them.

I'm a guy that liked Dark Souls 2 enough to platinum it twice but don't like 1 or 3, so what do I know, lol.

From 2 of my friends who I was able to get to play it (one at release and one just recently thanks to Black Friday), it's a good gateway into the Soulslike Genre because of it's breadth of easiness/accessibility and I've gotten them to try Nioh 2 as well due to it.

 

[Steel]

I mean, as far as average games go, it's pretty decent. But mediocre is one word to describe it. But mediocre in a playable way. I liked the vestiges, personally. Definitely a game you can feel the budget with the asset reuse, too.

 

[Pandora012]

I dunno, this is one of my goty. Combat was extremely fun for me, got me hooked like all those soulsborne games. It's a neat little game that i can't wait for a sequel to. Hopefully they can also improve combat, while super fun still has some issues.

 

[Jobbs]

I thought it was decent/competent. Some seem to be overly harsh on it for some reason.

Your enjoyment probably greatly hinges on whether or not you like anime, and whether you hate anime. For anyone who likes anime it's probably a great souls copy.

 

[Don Draper's Hat]

I'm currently playing through it now it's on Game Pass. It's an OK game.

One thing I would say about it though is it's unbelievably easy. Last night I came up against their version of Ornstein and Smough and destroyed them in my first attempt, and then the same again for the boss that immediately follows. I've died about 5 times and at least 3 of those was from falling off the side rather than being killed by an enemy. I seem to be levelling up at a ridiculous rate. Currently sat at Level 115. My strength is 999. I've done no grinding whatsoever, there's just an abundance of Haze.

 

[Morrigan]

It's so mediocre that I'm actually having more fun with Godfall. Not even kidding.

 

[RM8]

I mean OP went straight from this:

To this:

 

[Einherjer]

Yeah this was the only game I've downloaded from Gamepass and immediately uninstalled. Was just not fun.

Click to shrink...

This is on Gamepass?

Oh nevermind of course not on PC as always sigh...

 

[Sumio Mondo]

It's decent. Don't love it or hate it, just found it passable. I found the game pretty easy compared to most other games in this format.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I watched a little of Lobosjr playing it and it looked repetitive as hell. The pigtails and petticoats of it all was also a turn off.

 

[CrocodileGrin]

I think the environments can look awful at times or the map design being just as bad by being ugly and confusing. However, it's one of better Souls-clones I've played. I've tried hard to get into a game like Nioh 2 and it's just not clicking with me, yet I've put more hours having fun in CV.

 

[DarkFlame92]

havent played it,but these are my fears as well. What ive seen so far hasnt impressed me and the anime characters are making it worse even