BLOOD SIMPLE

CODE VEIN 2's cast threaten to suck up the fun

- By Baxter Burchill

I've never felt more kinship with a silent protagonist than in Code Vein 2. Just like being stuck listening to someone ramble about their Definitely Interesting job, there my character was listening to a giant goth mother monologue a string of proper nouns, pulling the time-honored technique to survive a boring conversation: smile and nod.

But dig past the pretensions, and like most one-sided conversations in life Code Vein 2 is a lot simpler than it lets on—for good and bad. A standalone adventure despite the title, Code Vein 2 sets itself in a post-apocalypse occupied by the vampiric Revenant, with a simple concept hiding beneath mountains of terminology: travel back in time to meet a handful of anime hotties that you have kill to in order to save the present.

There's a handful of secondary tools alongside your main weapon for when simple smashing just isn't enough.

Code Vein 2 carries the hallmarks of the Soulslike—limited heals, bonfires and invincible dodges that had me somersaulting more than an Olympic gymnast—but it leans on the number-go-up RPG side of things and its forgiving battles create an experience that's more accessible.