What makes a good Souls-like experience? Or in 2026, what constitutes a good Ring-like experience? Similar to how the Souls games spawned a new genre after Dark Souls’ popularity, Elden Ring has led to a sort of Neo Souls-like genre; the is souls that is, but now with a more open world and dedicated jump button. Bandai Namco tries again with Code Vein II, but even over six years later, the road to the top is still long.
A clear step up
Table of Contents
Code Vein II is another Souls experience where you know what you’re getting the moment you start: a dark world, an intense combat system, upgrade options and characters to help you along the way. It’s still not that easy, because the Souls charm ultimately lies in how you combine these systems, not just include them.
Code Vein II is a clear step up from its predecessor. The fights are somewhat more fun, the cutscenes are better directed, and the setting is more interesting. We’ve toned down the vampire connection somewhat, and focus more on the universe we’re actually in.
A much better start than last time.
Andreas Bjørnbekk/Gamer.no
The characters we meet, like the companion Lou or the wizard Voda, are interesting and give Code Vein II a sense of mystery in a completely different way than in its predecessor. That’s good, because when the series has now taken the step into a new world, it’s important that the main characters captivate from the start.
A fragmented world
I still haven’t figured out what it is about the Code Vein series that longs for gray concrete and rainy weather, but Code Vein II doesn’t shy away from them. Still, a whole new world has made Code Vein II good.
We find ourselves once again in a post-apocalyptic world. The Resurgence was a destructive force that corrupted humans and animals and left civilizations in ruins. Revenants – powerful warriors – managed to save the world from the Resurgence at the last minute, locking away the power. But the world was only temporarily safe.
Now, a hundred years later, you have been brought back to life to save the world from final destruction. It can only be done through Lou, our personal Fire Maiden-esque partner. She can travel back and forth in time. And it is in the past that the solutions to save the future are found.
Motorcycle is never wrong.
Andreas Bjørnbekk/Gamer.no
By solving tasks in the past, rescuing warriors who actually died, and taking down dangerous enemies, we can bring back parts of the present world. This is how Code Vein II’s areas expand bit by bit, and whether it’s on foot or on a motorcycle, it’s up to you to explore them.
In better world
Where Code Vein’s world was mostly gray and boring, Code Vein II’s is somewhat more exciting. There’s still a lot of gray – far too much – but at least it’s occasionally interrupted by forests, stylish buildings and cool effects. It helps that we move back and forth in time, as it gives us a deeper relationship with our surroundings and the situation we find ourselves in. Having more spectacular views doesn’t hurt.
Still, it’s a shame that Code Vein II struggles with its presentation. The visuals have received a clear boost when it comes to things like faces, but otherwise there is little that impresses. I have commented quite a bit on the game’s gray world, but gray is not a weakness in itself. It’s simply about the way it all appears, and in several encounters it feels as if we’re running through a somewhat improved, but still depthless and boring world from the PS3 era.
Gray yes, but at least a cool view.
Andreas Bjørnbekk/Gamer.no
Coupled with a lagging and frustratingly poor frame rate that always makes itself felt (the game supposedly runs at 60 fps, but without frame rate limitations), it just doesn’t feel as fluid and playful as it should.
All right systems
Code Vein II’s combat system is almost identical to the original, but still feels better in the hand. The battles are a little less tough and the skills more fun to perform than before, but when it comes to precision or agility the game never measures up to competitors like Lies of P, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Lords of the Fallen, or of course Dark Souls and Elden Ring itself. It has a lot to say for the experience that the game doesn’t run as well as it should, but really it’s a bigger point that the controls are still a little slower, a little less responsive, and that the attacks don’t feel quite as powerful as in other games.
It is rewarding when strong attacks hit the enemy.
Andreas Bjørnbekk/Gamer.no
Code Vein II’s big innovation is the way companions can now fight with you at all times, and how they act as a temporary life jacket should you lose your life. Main characters you meet can become part of your team, and so they become more than just side characters you rarely meet. Fighting with a partner means you have more people to play with, and it’s nice to have someone else to take the enemy’s attention if things go awry. At the same time, we also have the opportunity to combine our forces, and in that way become stronger – but of course fight on our own. This way you will have to weigh the pros and cons, and it is by no means a stupid thing.
What is this actually?
As I said, Code Vein II takes place in a gloomy world, but it is difficult for Bandai Namco to create an atmosphere. It is not without reason that the series has been called “Anime Dark Souls”, because the people in particular are modeled after Japanese cartoon style. This design choice actually works just fine until the absurdly sexualized female characters start to show, which is strictly from the start.
Appropriate attire for post-apocalyptic combat?
Andreas Bjørnbekk/Gamer.no
Whether it’s the costumes or the bodies that are most to blame here is hard to say, but Code Vein II is as hypersexualized as it gets, and I actually get quite uncomfortable when the main character kind of marries a girl who resembles a somewhat tall 15-year-old whose outfit consists of panties, a micro top and an oversized jacket.
Conclusion
Code Vein II is mostly a good step forward for Bandai Namco. The battle system is better and the setting makes a bigger impression than last time. But the presentation still fails through a lagging frame rate and a graphics engine that simply does not appeal. In addition, I am constantly pulled out of the experience by absurd outfits, and the overall experience is neither as complete nor as rewarding as one would expect from games in this genre.
With others, Code Vein II takes two steps forward and one and a half steps back, but if you dig the one, there’s probably a lot of fun to be had from here this time as well.
