When the original CODE VEIN launched, it carved out a distinctive space in the crowded soulslike genre by blending punishing combat with anime stylings, deep build customisation, and a surprisingly emotional story about immortality, memory, and survival. With CODE VEIN II, BANDAI NAMCO doesn’t simply offer more of the same. Instead, it expands the formula in a bold direction, introducing time travel, a more intricate narrative structure, and a reworked build system that deepens combat in meaningful ways.
The result is a sequel that feels both familiar and refreshingly ambitious—a game that understands what made its predecessor work while daring to stretch beyond it.
A World on the Brink of Collapse
The setting wastes no time establishing the stakes. Humans and Revenants still coexist uneasily in a broken world, but a new calamity—the Luna Rapacis—has pushed that fragile balance to its breaking point. Revenants are devolving into mindless monstrosities known as Horrors, and civilisation teeters on the edge of annihilation.
Enter the player, a Revenant hunter, and Lou—a mysterious girl with the ability to manipulate time.
This premise immediately sets CODE VEIN II apart from the first game. Rather than simply surviving in the ruins, you’re tasked with changing the past to prevent the future from falling apart. It’s a narrative hook that gives the sequel a stronger sense of purpose and momentum from the outset.
A Tale Across Time That Actually Matters
Time travel in games can often feel like a gimmick, but here it’s woven tightly into both the story and gameplay. You don’t just visit the past for exposition—you actively alter the fates of key Revenant characters whose choices ripple into the present timeline.
This creates an engaging dual-structure narrative. In the present, you witness the consequences of despair and collapse. In the past, you see hope, conflict, and pivotal moments that shaped the world. The emotional weight comes from knowing what will happen if you fail to intervene.
Characters you meet in the present as broken or corrupted figures are encountered in the past as hopeful, conflicted individuals. Watching these arcs unfold—and trying to steer them toward better outcomes—adds an emotional dimension that the first game only occasionally reached.
Lou herself is an intriguing companion, not just as a plot device but as a character whose powers come with consequences. Her presence grounds the time-travel concept in something personal and human.
Combat: Faster, Sharper, More Expressive
If there’s one area where CODE VEIN II truly shines, it’s combat.
The series’ signature mechanic—draining blood to fuel abilities—returns, but with notable refinements. The flow of battle feels faster and more reactive. Enemy animations are sharper, telegraphs clearer, and fights feel less about attrition and more about adaptation.
Reading enemy patterns remains crucial, but the new build system allows for far greater flexibility in how you approach encounters. Weapons, skills, and blood-based abilities can be swapped and customised with impressive freedom, allowing players to create highly specialised builds or versatile hybrids.
You’re encouraged to experiment. Want a nimble, dodge-heavy build that focuses on rapid draining and status effects? You can. Prefer a heavy-hitting tank who absorbs damage and retaliates with devastating blood skills? That’s viable too.
The game respects your time by letting you reconfigure your approach without punishing grind.
The New Build System Elevates Player Expression
The revamped build system is arguably the sequel’s biggest mechanical improvement. Instead of being locked into rigid class archetypes, you can now mix and match weapons, abilities, and passive enhancements with unprecedented freedom.
This makes progression feel less like unlocking predefined paths and more like crafting your own fighting identity.
It also dramatically improves replayability. Different builds genuinely change how the game feels, encouraging experimentation across multiple playthroughs.
Partner Characters: More Than Just Support
Companions were a defining feature of the original game, and CODE VEIN II expands on this brilliantly.
Partners are no longer just AI helpers who occasionally draw aggro or heal you. Each one now has deeper narrative ties to both timelines and brings unique combat enhancements that meaningfully affect your playstyle.
Some partners enhance mobility, others boost blood drain efficiency, and others provide defensive synergies. Choosing a partner becomes a strategic decision rather than a cosmetic one.
Their personalities and backstories are also more fleshed out, making the bonds you form feel more authentic. Dialogue between missions and during exploration adds warmth to an otherwise bleak world.
Level Design and Atmosphere
The post-apocalyptic environments retain the gothic, desolate aesthetic the series is known for, but the inclusion of past timelines allows for more varied settings. You’re not just trudging through ruins—you’re seeing these places before they fell.
This contrast adds visual variety and emotional resonance. A cathedral in the present might be a Horror-infested nightmare, while in the past it was a place of uneasy refuge.
Level design is more interconnected than before, rewarding exploration with shortcuts, lore fragments, and hidden encounters that flesh out the world’s history.
Difficulty That Feels Fair
Like its predecessor, CODE VEIN II is challenging, but it rarely feels unfair. Boss fights are intense and often spectacular, demanding careful reading of attack patterns and smart use of abilities.
Thanks to the flexible build system and partner mechanics, difficult encounters rarely feel like brick walls. Instead, they feel like puzzles waiting to be solved through better preparation and adaptation.
Presentation and Style
Visually, the game leans heavily into its anime-gothic identity. Character designs are striking, environments are moody and atmospheric, and combat effects are flashy without being overwhelming.
The soundtrack complements the action beautifully, shifting between melancholic themes and adrenaline-pumping battle tracks that heighten the drama.
Voice acting across both timelines is strong, helping sell the emotional stakes of the story.
Where It Stumbles
Despite its strengths, CODE VEIN II isn’t without flaws. Some areas can feel slightly padded, and a few side objectives lack the narrative weight of the main storyline.
Occasional camera issues in tight spaces can also make intense fights more frustrating than intended.
And while the time-travel mechanic is compelling, it can occasionally make the narrative feel dense, requiring attention to keep track of events across timelines.
Final Verdict
CODE VEIN II is a confident, ambitious sequel that improves on nearly every aspect of the original. The addition of time travel gives the story emotional depth, the revamped build system offers unparalleled player freedom, and the refined combat delivers some of the most satisfying battles in the soulslike genre.
It’s stylish, challenging, and surprisingly heartfelt—a sequel that understands its identity while daring to evolve.
