Bandai Namco has unleashed a new trailer for their bloody and stylish Code Vein, bringing some behind-the-scenes insight into the game, showing off gameplay and plenty of story elements too. Speaking of the story, the player will take parts of vampire lore that’s persisted throughout the ages, and melding it with JRPG conventions, to tell as story about violence and loss.
As the player journeys through the world, assisted by Revenants, which are somewhat akin to the Pawns from Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma, their goal is to collect blood to stave off their own insanity. The reason for this remains vague but it has something to do with the Great Collapse, a fall of humanity that occured after a vampiric parasite, shortened to BOR, infected the planet. The Revenants themselves even need to drink blood to prevent becoming cannibalistic, a state called being Lost.
This creation of Revenants caused major conflict, as the Revenants warred with both Humans and their own factions in a bid for power after the collapse. It’s unclear what role these elements will play in the story, but that’s just the tip of this blood-soaked iceberg. But the story is just one aspect of this game, a game where the combat is the real draw.
Some of this information focuses on how this new RPG will draw from similar games. Code Vein will draw some inspiration from God Eater, but will include a ton of it’s own unique gameplay elements to craft a unique experience. A big new addition for Code Vein is the Gifts system. Gifts are unique combat abilities for each character, with many of them offering some significance to the backstory for that character, and the BOR parasites in each Revenant offers a wide array of short and long range combat abilities. Players will need to draw on their inner life force drawn from the BOR parasites to use these Gifts, which in turn can be used to restore energy. There’s a careful balance to this dance of death, and managing your abilities is key to surviving and succeeding in the world of Code Vein.
If you want to see more details about the game, why not take a look at some more gameplay footage showing combat and the Gifts system. There’s new trailers also showing Revenants like Io, Louis, Yakumo and so many more. Each character has their own story and motivations, and unlocking their past may well be part of the game experience here, we’ll have to wait for release to find out.
We do also know that multiplayer will be part of the game, so fans will be very eager to get their hands on that, and to see how it ties into the wider arcs of the story. After all, Bandai Namco delayed the game earlier this year in order to “exceed expectations,” suggesting that the game needed more time in the oven to deliver a satisfying ending and overall experience.
Code Vein was scheduled to be released in Japan on September 27th. The western launch would have hit a short while later on September 28th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Now, we don’t have a firm launch date.