CODE VEIN II Review Summary

Story and characters: The story is praised for being engaging, interesting, and well-integrated with the gameplay. Characters are noted for their personalities, designs, and the emotional depth they bring to the game.

Visuals and art style: The game's visuals and art style are highly praised, with players appreciating the detailed and smooth art, as well as the anime aesthetic. The game world is described as beautifully designed and visually striking.

Enjoyable gameplay experience: Players find the game enjoyable overall, with a good story, engaging gameplay loop, and fun exploration. The game is praised for its enjoyable narrative, lore, and the convenience improvements that make it comfortable to play.

Character customization and aesthetics: The game offers a wide range of character customization options, allowing players to create detailed and unique characters. The visual design and aesthetics of the game are highly praised, including the anime-style graphics and appealing character designs.

Weapon variety and mechanics: The game offers a variety of weapons with unique movesets and abilities, enhancing the combat experience. Players appreciate the new weapon types and the strategic depth they add to the gameplay.

Clunky and unsatisfying combat: The combat system is criticized for being slow, clunky, and lacking depth. Players find it unsatisfying and stiff, with issues related to stun-locking and aggressive enemy AI.

Empty and boring open world: The open world is described as large but empty, visually forgettable, and lacking in meaningful content. Players feel there is no sense of exploration or reward.

Poor game optimization: The game suffers from severe performance issues, including inconsistent FPS, low average FPS, and significant FPS drops. Players report that the game runs poorly even on high-end hardware, with complaints about overheating CPU and excessive use of GPU resources.

Lack of online co-op: Many players are disappointed by the absence of an online co-op mode, which was a feature in the first game. This lack of multiplayer functionality has been a significant point of frustration.

High pricing and lack of value: Players feel the game is overpriced given its current state and lack of features. The high price tag is seen as unjustified, especially with the game's performance issues and lack of content.

Open world design and exploration: The game features an open world that, while initially overwhelming, is easy to explore and navigate. It draws comparisons to Elden Ring and the Tales series, offering structured exploration and rewards.

Combat mechanics and improvements: The combat system is smooth, quick, and improved from the first game. It includes a variety of weapons, movesets, and combat styles, catering to different playstyles and offering a fun and engaging experience.

Character customization and creation: The game offers extensive character customization options, including appearance, clothing, and accessories. Players can spend significant time creating and customizing their characters.

Challenging boss fights: Bosses are noted for their aggressive and non-stop attacking patterns, making fights challenging. Some bosses have elaborate movesets and unrealistic speed, providing a tough but engaging experience.

Story and character interactions: The game features a story-driven gameplay with complex storylines and character interactions. It includes companion stories and dialogues, enhancing the overall immersion and engagement.

Severe Performance Issues: Many players report significant performance problems, including low FPS, stuttering, and frame drops, even on high-end hardware. These issues are widespread and affect various aspects of the game, from open areas to cutscenes.

DLSS Performance: While DLSS helps with performance for some players, others report optimization issues with DLSS enabled. The game runs smoothly with DLSS on high-end hardware but struggles on lower settings.

Visual and Animation Quality: The game's visuals and animations are criticized for being subpar, with some animations described as fitting more in a PS1 era game. Particle effects and visual clarity are also mentioned as problematic.

Mixed recommendations for purchase: Players have varying opinions on whether to buy the game. Some recommend it for fans of similar games or those with decent PCs, while others advise waiting for discounts or patches due to current issues.

Wait for discounts or patches: Many players suggest waiting for a significant discount or for patches to improve the game before purchasing. This is due to current performance issues and the game's overall state.

Recommended for fans of Code Vein 1: Fans of the first Code Vein game are likely to enjoy this sequel as it addresses many of the limitations and issues present in the original game.

Potential for modding improvements: Some players express hope that modders can enhance the game, suggesting that community modifications could address current shortcomings.

Consider buying on PS5: A few players mention that they might consider purchasing the game on PS5 instead of other platforms, possibly due to better performance or preferences.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with the Steam Deck experience of the game. Key problems include severe performance issues, cutscenes locked at 30fps, the negative impact of Denuvo DRM, optimization problems, and graphical issues. These factors collectively contribute to a subpar gaming experience, particularly on the Steam Deck.

Monetization: The game faces significant criticism for its overpriced and restrictive DLC outfits, censorship of artistic designs, flawed combat and mission design, and unfavorable comparisons to other popular games. These issues collectively contribute to a frustrating and disappointing player experience.

Mod reliance: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant performance issues in the vanilla version of the game, which are often addressed through various optimization mods available on Nexus Mods. Users report that the game runs poorly without these mods, experiencing low frame rates and general clunkiness. Specific mods, such as the Unreal Engine Optimization mod and FSR 3 mod, are frequently mentioned as essential for improving performance. While the game is playable without mods, the consensus is that mods greatly enhance the gaming experience by fixing performance-related issues.

External guides: The primary issues identified from user feedback include significant bugs that hinder game progression, a lack of sufficient guidance or explanations for game mechanics, and mixed feedback on gameplay mechanics. Addressing these issues could greatly enhance the user experience.

Fan love for the series: Players express a deep affection for the series and a desire for more content or sequels.

Control binding issues: The binding for picking up items and skipping dialogue is poorly designed, causing frustration.

Age rating impact: The age rating of the game affects the content that is shown within the game.

Outfit customization needed: Players want the ability to dye outfits included in the Ultimate/Deluxe editions.

Collectors edition content: The collectors edition of the game includes additional items such as an artbook and a figure.