Code Vein II does not set out to reinvent the wheel, and in many ways that is both its greatest strength and its biggest shortcoming. Bandai Namco’s follow-up sticks closely to what worked the first time around, including challenging but approachable combat and a world teetering on the edge of collapse. What has changed is the scale. Everything feels bigger, with more layers throughout. Even if not every new idea comes together as cleanly as it should, and the larger areas can at times feel like more filler than killer, the overall experience still works.
This feels very much like a sequel made with fans of the original Code Vein in mind. If the first game did not click with you, there is a strong chance you will run into the same friction here, even with the improvements. It remains, in holistic terms, the same style of game. But if you were already on board, Code Vein II does enough right to feel like a meaningful step forward, even if it never quite reaches the highs it is clearly aiming for.
One of the more noticeable improvements this time around is the story. Code Vein II places a greater emphasis on narrative and makes a solid attempt to give its world emotional weight. The core concept centres on time travel and the idea of stopping an oncoming disaster by travelling to the past, identifying key heroes, and killing them in the present. As a result, story and exploration are closely intertwined. It can be dense at times, but it is more focused than what we saw before, and that helps it land more often than not.
“Code Vein II does not set out to reinvent the wheel, and in many ways that is both its greatest strength and its biggest shortcoming.”
Jumping back and forth through time works best once you become familiar with the locations and characters you encounter, and when you return to see how their actions shape the world. Watching places evolve gives the setting a stronger sense of history and makes the story feel less like background dressing and more like something the player is actively taking part in.
That said, the writing still leans heavily into anime melodrama. Big emotions, extended pauses and, at times, very long monologues are common. Sometimes this approach works and adds to the tense atmosphere. Other times, it feels as though the game is trying too hard to make every scene feel grand when it does not need to be. The main takeaway is that if you already enjoy dense anime melodramas, you will likely feel right at home in Code Vein II.
Combat remains the core of Code Vein II, and for the most part, it delivers. The fundamentals will feel familiar to anyone who has played a soulslike. Players must manage stamina, study enemy patterns, use abilities strategically, accept death when a move is misread, and know when to fall back.
“Build changing is one of Code Vein II’s biggest strengths.”
Build changing is one of Code Vein II’s biggest strengths. It encourages experimentation with different weapons, abilities and modifiers without locking players into a single playstyle. The game offers room to explore a wide range of weapon types and skills. However, there are moments where it feels as though a specific build is required to handle certain bosses. Even so, combat is not always as satisfying as it should be. When attacks connect, they do not consistently feel as weighty or impactful as expected for the genre.
Boss fights are the bigger standout and are generally much stronger, particularly when they lean into spectacle and clearly defined patterns. Even these encounters can feel uneven, depending on your build. Dying because you invested heavily in parrying or blocking, only to face bosses that appear to negate those mechanics, can be frustrating.
The experience remains highly enjoyable, just not quite razor sharp. In a genre where the feel of attacks matters greatly, that slight lack of impact keeps Code Vein II from standing out as much as it wants to. Where the game truly shines is its companion system. Partners feel like a core part of the experience rather than optional support. They fight alongside you, provide meaningful assistance through secondary damage types, and can even pull you back from the brink of death by briefly sacrificing themselves.
Players can also merge with companions to gain boosted skills, with each partner emphasizing a different stat-focused build. Learning when to rely on a partner, rather than pushing too far on your own, helps manage healing items that only refresh when you rest or defeat a boss. This approach also makes Code Vein II more approachable for players who do not want a brutally punishing experience.
From a narrative standpoint, companions are handled more effectively as well. They feel as though they have real stakes in the world, and having them present during major crescendo moments is genuinely rewarding. It is one of the areas where Code Vein II feels most confident in its identity.
Exploration is where Code Vein II begins to play things a bit too safe. The environments look good and offer strong variety, but the level design sticks closely to familiar patterns. Narrow paths, combat encounters, shortcuts and hidden items make up most of your time, with only the occasional detour that feels genuinely surprising. With the world being more open, there are hints of something more ambitious. Early on in particular, there is an abundance of vertical space, environmental hazards and areas that shift depending on the timeline. These ideas, however, are not pushed far enough to make exploration truly memorable.
“Code Vein II is a solid sequel that builds on the original without fully escaping its limitations.”
More often than not, progress is driven by the promise of the next fight rather than curiosity about what lies ahead. That is partly because item pick-ups rarely feel exciting, with most rewards amounting to crafting materials for food that never proved especially useful. Traversal options help maintain Code Vein II’s pace, but they do not fundamentally change how the world feels to explore. The result is an experience that is functional and serviceable, but rarely distinctive outside of story-gated sections of the map.
Visually, Code Vein II also sticks to familiar ground. The anime-gothic aesthetic returns in full force, supported by detailed character models and striking enemy designs. Environments are generally bleak, though there is enough colour and contrast to prevent them from feeling overly flat or monotonous. After several hours in the city, for example, locations begin to blur together, but the time-shifting mechanic alters these areas in ways that help refresh the experience.
Performance is mostly stable, though occasional audio hiccups cause enemy sounds to disappear or cut in abruptly during busier fights, briefly pulling focus away from the action. This only becomes a real issue when it coincides with a slight drop in frame rate, sometimes resulting in an avoidable hit.
The soundtrack, by contrast, is a highlight. The music effectively sets the tone, particularly during boss fights where the melodramatic writing does not always carry the moment on its own. The character creator also remains excellent. It is deep, flexible and dangerously easy to lose time in. Players who enjoy fine-tuning their character before even starting Code Vein II will find plenty to engage with here, especially given the ability to change appearance freely once the main hub is unlocked.
Code Vein II is a solid sequel that builds on the original without fully escaping its limitations. It is more confident, flexible and focused, supported by a companion system that genuinely elevates the experience. Uneven combat feel and conservative level design, however, keep it from reaching its full potential. If you enjoyed the first Code Vein, this is an easy recommendation. There is more depth, stronger systems and a story that makes a greater effort to matter. Newcomers to the series may find themselves appreciating the ideas more than the execution.
