Info about CODE VEIN II:

Official game description:
Compare Editions
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Deluxe Edition
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The Deluxe Edition includes:  
• CODE VEIN II  
• Custom Outfit Pack: Contains 3 costume sets and 1 weapon  
• Expansion DLC: Mask of Idris  
\*Expansion DLC: Mask of Idris will be available by January 2027.
Ultimate Edition
================
The Ultimate Edition includes:  
• CODE VEIN II  
• Custom Outfit Pack: Contains 3 costume sets and 1 weapon  
• Expansion DLC: Mask of Idris  
• CODE VEIN Character Costume Set: Contains 6 costume based on characters from the original game, CODE VEIN  
• CODE VEIN II Digital Mini Artbook & Soundtrack  
\*Expansion DLC: Mask of Idris will be available by January 2027.
About the Game
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In a future world where humans and Revenants coexist...  
Due to the sudden appearance of the Luna Rapacis, Revenants have transformed into mindless monsters called Horrors. As a Revenant hunter, the player shall halt the world's inevitable collapse by traveling to the past with a girl called Lou who possesses the power to manipulate time.  
An epic adventure awaits, where you and your chosen partners explore a post-apocalyptic world, face fierce battles against powerful enemies, and uncover an epic story that transcends time.  
• A Tale Across Time  
Embark on a journey that spans both the present and the past as you search for clues to prevent the world’s destruction. Alter the fates of key Revenant characters you encounter in the past, while uncovering lost histories and the hidden truths of the world.  
• Intense and Satisfying Combat  
Dive into adrenaline-fueled battles where reading enemy moves and mastering your arsenal are key to survival. Unleash powerful skills, adapt on the fly, and conquer relentless foes in fights that deliver both intensity and triumph.  
• Unique Battle System  
Experience Code Vein II’s unique gameplay mechanic, where the player drains and acquires blood from enemies to unleash a variety of skills. With the series' new build system, you can freely customize weapons and skills to suit your own battle styles.  
• Powerful Partner Characters  
Explore the world with trusted and powerful allies who can fight alongside you or enhance your abilities. Each partner brings unique abilities and deep connections that shape your journey.

Release date: Jan 29, 2026

Categories: Action RPG, Character Customization, Soulslike Combat, Story-driven Gameplay, Open-World Exploration, Companion System, Weapon Customization, Dark Fantasy

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 75; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: 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.
- Mods: score 40; verdict: Buggy but Playable; summary: 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.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: 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.
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Poor; summary: 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.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Story and characters (weight 0.96): 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 (weight 0.59): 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 (weight 0.58): 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 (weight 0.56): 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 (weight 0.28): 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.
- Companion and partner system (weight 0.12): The companion and partner system is noted for its usefulness in combat and exploration. Players appreciate the variety of companions and their unique stories, which add depth to the gameplay experience.

Common complaints:
- Clunky and unsatisfying combat (weight 0.64): 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 (weight 0.61): 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 (weight 0.6): 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 (weight 0.55): 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 (weight 0.53): 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.
- UI and HUD problems (weight 0.5): The user interface is described as cluttered, confusing, and overwhelming. Players find it difficult to navigate and adjust to the changes made in the UI/UX design.
- Censorship and identity issues (weight 0.5): The game faces criticism for censorship, which players feel dilutes the IP's identity. Some players also feel that the game has lost the essence that made the first Code Vein special.
- Repetitive and aggressive enemy design (weight 0.14): Enemies are often recycled and lack variety, with many players finding them boring and overly aggressive. Boss fights are criticized for being reskinned normal mobs with excessive aggression.

Gameplay feedback:
- Open world design and exploration (weight 0.44): 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 (weight 0.43): 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 (weight 0.42): 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 (weight 0.41): 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 (weight 0.39): 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.
- Multiplayer and cooperative features (weight 0.38): The game includes cooperative multiplayer features, although some players find the partner system less useful. There is no traditional multiplayer mode, which may disappoint some players.
- Criticisms and drawbacks (weight 0.08): Some criticisms include the lack of traditional multiplayer, the partner system feeling useless, and the game being perceived as a copy of Elden Ring. Additionally, some players find the open world lacking in enjoyable content.

Performance notes:
- Severe Performance Issues (weight 0.49): 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 (weight 0.06): 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 (weight 0.03): 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.

Recommendations:
- Mixed recommendations for purchase (weight 0.21): 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 (weight 0.21): 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 (weight 0.02): 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 (weight 0.01): Some players express hope that modders can enhance the game, suggesting that community modifications could address current shortcomings.
- Consider buying on PS5 (weight 0.01): A few players mention that they might consider purchasing the game on PS5 instead of other platforms, possibly due to better performance or preferences.

Other player notes:
- Fan love for the series (weight 0.02): Players express a deep affection for the series and a desire for more content or sequels.
- Control binding issues (weight 0.01): The binding for picking up items and skipping dialogue is poorly designed, causing frustration.
- Age rating impact (weight 0.01): The age rating of the game affects the content that is shown within the game.
- Outfit customization needed (weight 0.01): Players want the ability to dye outfits included in the Ultimate/Deluxe editions.
- Collectors edition content (weight 0.01): The collectors edition of the game includes additional items such as an artbook and a figure.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.27): Players are disappointed due to the game's poor optimization, performance issues, and perceived downgrades compared to its predecessor. Specific complaints include clunky combat mechanics, lack of cooperative multiplayer, censorship issues, and a disconnect from the first game's lore and themes. Additionally, the character creator and customization options are seen as worse than in the first game.
- Frustration (weight 0.22): Frustration stems from widespread performance issues, including poor optimization, low FPS, and stuttering, even on high-end hardware. Players are also frustrated with game design choices such as combat mechanics, enemy design, and the lack of certain features like cooperative multiplayer. Censorship and high pricing further contribute to this frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Players express disappointment due to numerous optimization issues and poor design choices, particularly in enemy and boss mechanics. The game's open world is criticized for being inferior to similar games, and the lack of connection to the first game's lore and themes is a significant letdown. Additionally, the game's performance issues and lack of multiplayer mode contribute to the overall disappointment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Despite its flaws, players enjoy the game's design, story, and characters. The combat system, customization options, and overall aesthetics are appreciated. Many players find the game fun and engaging, with improvements over the previous game contributing to their enjoyment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Players are satisfied with the game's smooth performance, especially with technologies like DLSS, and appreciate the good animation work and character customization. The story and overall improvements in the game contribute to a positive experience, with players finding the game technically fine and polished.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Players are satisfied with the game's overall quality and improvements in combat compared to the first game. The voice acting and character roles are particularly praised, adding to the enjoyment and satisfaction with the gameplay.
- Anger (weight 0.03): Anger is primarily caused by the game's poor optimization, multiple bugs, and performance issues, making it unplayable for some. Players also express anger over the high retail price and the feeling that the developers do not value their input. DRM issues and ineffective magic and special attacks further contribute to this anger.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Players are excited about the game's unique gameplay experience and intriguing story. The anticipation of additional story DLC and the game's build upon the first game, including Elden Ring's exploration, contribute to their excitement.
- Hope (weight 0.03): Players hope that future patches will improve the game's performance and address current issues. They also hope that the game will become more interesting and connected to the first game's lore as they progress further.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players experience joy from the game's character creation, story, and combat system. The emotional connection to characters and the overall enjoyment of the game contribute to their joy.
- Hopeful (weight 0.02): Players are hopeful for further updates and optimizations that will improve the game's performance and add new features. They also hope for increased replayability and surprises in future updates.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness is expressed due to the game's performance issues, which make it difficult to recommend until fixed. Heartwarming and sad moments in the story also contribute to this emotion.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgic about the first game and miss its focused storytelling. The time travel story in the current game evokes a sense of nostalgia for some players.
- Disappointed (weight 0.01): Players are disappointed due to poor optimization and performance issues, which significantly impact the gameplay experience. The lack of interaction features and persistent performance problems contribute to this disappointment.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Frustration is caused by ongoing bugs and performance issues, including FPS drops, which hinder the overall gaming experience.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are pleasantly surprised by the return of a beloved voice actress in the year 2026, adding a sense of joy and nostalgia to their experience.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players express love for the game and its features, finding enjoyment and appreciation in various aspects of the gameplay experience.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust is expressed due to the poor quality of the game's trailer, which players find particularly bad.
- Positive (weight 0.01): Players have an overall positive experience with the game despite some issues, finding enjoyment and satisfaction in various aspects of the gameplay.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from the game's story and lore, which players find illogical and difficult to follow.}