Code Vein 2 is largely more of the same despite its story reset, but I think I'm okay with that

I was caught a little off guard when Code Vein 2 was first announced, but not in a bad way. The original launched in an era where games influenced by Dark Souls were fewer in number, blending the boundaries between FromSoftware's creations and more traditional anime RPGs. Six years on, competition among the best soulslikes has ramped up dramatically. Yet I still find myself with a lingering affinity for the name, and while Code Vein 2 doesn't dramatically change the formula from the first entry, it builds on its strengths in almost every way. The result is an evolution fans will appreciate, while its all-new world and story means you don't need to be acquainted with the first to enjoy what it has to offer.

The 'soulslike' definition has become increasingly wide, and producer Keita Iizuka tells me at the preview event that Bandai Namco's official description for Code Vein 2 is actually a "dramatic exploration action RPG." Nevertheless, those broad-stroke fundamentals are here. Mistles serve as your periodic checkpoints, and resting at one replenishes your healing supplies and restores nearly all enemies in a zone back to life. Your stats are impacted by six core attributes along with the equipment you choose to wear. Die, and you'll have one chance to get back to where you fell and reclaim your lost currency (Haze). You know the drill.

Code Vein 2's biggest strength, however, is in the level of customization it offers. That starts at the character creation screen, with a gloriously in-depth editor that lets you build your ideal protagonist. There's a tremendous nuance here that I wish I'd had more time to dig into, because I could easily see myself losing an hour poring over my choices. Eye customization alone lets you adjust the basic sclera on each side, switch the style of the pupils (along with a three-part color system), and even tweak the way that light reflects off them to get that perfect anime design.

While there is an overarching level that you spend Haze to increase, your core attributes are more directly affected by your chosen Blood Code. Much as in the first Code Vein, you start off with some basic options but will gain additional variants from the companions you meet, and these can be switched out at any point to quickly and dramatically change your play style. You're then able to expand on this with up to four 'boosters' that can further enhance your favored approach.

This means you're not nearly as committed to a single stat as you might be in other similar RPGs, which is more beneficial here given the wider array of weapons and skills you have at your disposal compared to the original game. Along with the five weapon types from its predecessor (one-handed swords, greatswords, hammers, halberds, and bayonet rifles), there are also twin blades and rune blades, and then Bandai Namco promises more than 200 Formae to learn, which essentially act as your skills.

If you've played the first game, the rhythm of combat in Code Vein 2 will feel familiar from the start. Attacking enemies builds up bleed, which you can then 'cash in' using a Jail attack (the new equivalent to Blood Veils) to restore your Ichor. Ichor is then spent to use Formae, which can be thought of as an expansion of the Gift system of skills and spells. It's a rewarding resource triangle that gives you some clear combat direction without feeling overly restrictive. Everything moves a little faster out of the gate here, however, and I found myself more quickly dealing with groups of enemies in the open-ended dungeon zone.

Despite typically favoring heavier options in soulslikes, I was very taken by the rune blades, which are swung around your character telekinetically rather than held in your hands, making them tough to pass up. My Formae of choice was Stalking Saber, which sends the blades out to spin around a foe, dealing constant damage at the cost of having to fight unarmed while they do their work. Much as I did in the first game, I opted for the Stinger Jail, which is a long-range chain spear that lets you impale enemies and drain Ichor at a distance. All four Blood Veil attack styles return among the Jails, along with two new options: a wide-sweeping scythe and a swarm of bats.

On the defensive side, I switched out my shield for a bracer, meaning I lost my ability to block but could instead parry to break my opponents' stance. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the best idea for my first time playing, although it did feel good when I got the timing right. However, you're able to swap this out as you please, and there's even a Bloodborne-style quickstep you can opt for instead. Rounding out your arsenal are 'Bequeathed Formae,' essentially reserved for more powerful or niche options; here, I used a longbow that gave me a handy ranged option, but I could have instead plumped for a slow-inducing greataxe designed to break shields.

As mentioned up top, Code Vein 2 is a fresh start on the narrative side. A lot of the concepts are familiar, from the apocalyptic setting to the vampiric themes. Blood-drinking Revenants and human hunters alike are forced to cooperate in the wake of a phenomenon called the Resurgence, which was mutating people into monsters. The attempt to seal it away went wrong, instead birthing a moon-like entity known as the Lunar Rapacis, which gradually erodes the sense of self of Revenants if they are exposed to it unprotected.

Fast-forward 100 years, and you've been awoken from death by a Revenant called Lou, who explains that she has fused half of her heart into your body to bring you back. As a result, your fates are intertwined, and it's your job to help her master her unique ability to time travel. This allows you to head back to those early days of the Resurgence, meet up with the Revenants that were sealed away, and bring an end to the threat before it brings civilization to its knees. It's a good setup, but I'm hoping we get more direct interplay between the timelines as the story unfolds.

Functionally, each companion not only unlocks new Blood Codes but can also accompany you in one of two ways. You're able to either have them join you on the field, fighting enemies and ensuring you don't get overwhelmed by constant aggro, or you can 'assimilate' them into your person to enhance your own stats and abilities. If you prefer to run solo, the option is there; it's all about the freedom to play how you want. I found myself bringing Josée along with me most of the time, however, and she made a tangible difference in fights without it feeling like she was doing all of the work.

Your companion can also revive you when you fall. This 'restorative offering' acts as somewhat of a second-chance buffer against death, and allows enemies to pose quite severe threats without the frustration of being one-shot. There's a cooldown after you're brought back, which increases with each subsequent restoration (along with a decrease in the health restored) so that it doesn't turn into too much of a 'get out of jail free' card.

It took me a little while to get back into the flow, given the length of time since the original and the sheer number of action-RPGs I've played in the intervening years, but once I did, I found myself enjoying Code Vein 2 in much the same way that I did back then. It certainly feels like an evolution rather than a complete overhaul, but with more going on in basically every aspect. If you're a genre veteran, I'd liken it to the distinction between the more methodical, measured pacing of the first Dark Souls and the more intense, mechanics-heavy precision of DS3.

This pans out most obviously in the exploration, which feels like a notable step up. The introductory dungeon is naturally very linear, but the Sunken Pylon region really put my navigation to the test, tasking me with finding a path through several floors of a giant, broken industrial complex. Helpfully, while there's nothing that'll show you the 'correct' way forward, you can pull up highlighted footsteps showing your path the whole way through the zone, which proved a fantastic solution any time I found myself thinking, 'did I already go this way?'

The glimpses I saw of the story didn't give me enough to deliver any definitive verdicts, but there's certainly plenty of style in the way characters are presented. The dreamlike backstory sequences you wander through are perhaps a tad old-fashioned, but certainly a step up over simply reading lore or listening to dialogue. They even managed to generate a slight pang of pity for the person that the hulking Metagen Remnant boss towards the end of our demo sequence once was, but that rapidly evaporated once she'd turned me into floor paste a couple of times.

Code Vein 2 launches Thursday January 29, priced at $69.99 / £54.99. If you enjoyed the original, then I'm confident you'll like what's going on here, although keep in mind that this is a sequel mechanically rather than narratively. I didn't see anything in my time playing Code Vein 2 that breaks new ground, but last year's The First Berserker: Khazan was a warm reminder that there's a satisfying comfort to be found in games that execute on the familiar well, and this is certainly a game I could see myself happily sinking into during the quiet months.