Code Vein
Code Vein garnered a lot of attention when it was announced, as it’s seemingly an extremely anime version of a Souls-like. After we got our hands on the game at E3, however, we found out it’s anything but another Souls-like game. The first, and most obvious, difference Code Vein sports is a much larger emphasis on story. Trailers released so far for the game have detailed plentiful cutscenes, lore, and more defined characters. In fact, these characters also tie into gameplay, as you’ll always have a partner with you in battle.
Code Vein is all about methodical combat, and the demo we played was fairly challenging. We died four times before finally being able to overcome the enemies and make it to the area’s boss. Draining enemies of their blood allows you to use six different abilities that you can swap out. These abilities have a variety of effects, like coating your weapon in frost, shooting a small projectile, or doubling the damage your next attack does. To top everything off, Code Vein’s gothic anime art style is gorgeous, and really sets it apart from any other game in the genre.
