Code Vein New York Comic Con 2017 Preview

After the end of Dark Souls, many fans of the hardcore action-adventure fantasy game have been yearning for something to replace it. Code Vein as announced mixing together vampire anime and the difficulty the Dark Souls franchise is known for Code Vein hopes to establish a brand new franchise full of bloodthirsty enemies. After my playthrough in NYCC, I can say Dark Soul fans are in for a treat.

Code Vein uses many of the concepts from Dark Souls including interface and gameplay mechanics. In the demo, I played I was accompanied by an NPC named Mia. Regardless if this addition was to make the demo playable for newcomers it also showcased that allies play a significant role in Code Vein. Thye not only provide offensive support but will provide defensive capabilities and even revive the player if they're killed. This support gave me more incentive to help my teammate instead of allowing her to act as a bullet sponge. 

Controls and mobility work the same with the player balancing stamina and health while inflicting damage against any hostile enemies. Understanding enemy patterns, both minor and bosses, are essential to surviving and attempting to plow through using brute force will just get you killed.

Immediately from the start, the post-apocalyptic dystopia is made apparent. Crumbling buildings and ravaged landscapes litter the screen and vampire themes are everywhere. When I got to the boss everything came together.

Queen Knight served as the primary antagonist for the Code Vein demo, showcasing the game's unforgiving difficulty. While I was able to travel through the first portion of the demo with ease this boss completely removed any confidence I had in playing this game. All of its attacks were meant to punish, patience and tactics outweigh force. Eventually, I was successful but not without having failed many times.

Code Vein doesn't attempt to give everyone a chance to play and enjoy the game, instead, it wants you to learn from your failures and become better. It's vexing knowing that you'll have to repeat the same thing over and over again knowing that anything can lead to your next death and have you ripped back to the last checkpoint. It's clear that Bandai Namco isn't attempting to grab new fans with Code Vein but tell and different tale using the same systems that made their creation become a symbol for difficulty. Code Vein is for those who love hard games.

Code Vein launches on Xbox One, PS4, and PC in 2018.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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