Bandai Namco’s latest Soulslike has ‘Elden Ring’ DNA, courtesy of its open world, but it can’t maintain the quality of FromSoftware’s Game of the Year effort. Code Vein II drops you into a ...

The first Code Vein was a moderately well-received soulslike with a lot of anime overtones. I appreciated its willingness to embrace the soulslike subgenre, and the twist on vampires was fun enough.

Sequels carry certain expectations with them, like the promise of building on the promise of what came before and correcting past mistakes. Bandai Namco’s Code Vein 2 is exceptional in that it manages ...

Code Vein II starts off with a fairly standard story trope that requires the player, as the silent protagonist, to travel to the past to save the future. The present is currently doomed by the Luna ...

The Soulslike genre -- difficult action games built on the formula established by FromSoftware's Dark Souls series -- is a common sight these days, but back in 2019, when the first Code Vein came out, ...