00:00Code Vein 2 reminds me of a certain genre of person.
00:03You know the type, the ones who are cool and hot, but also addicted to acting like more
00:08than they are.
00:09They're the people I want to grab and shake sometimes, yell at to stop trying so hard,
00:15just be yourself.
00:17A shame Code Vein 2 is too busy aura farming to listen.
00:21Look at its combat.
00:22Code Vein 2 seems like a tired and true soulslike.
00:25Bonfires, limited heals, and lots of somersaulting, but in practice plays closer to a classic
00:32hack and slash, with an aggressive, hit-first, think-never style.
00:37It's propulsive stuff, bolstered by a real forward momentum to its dungeon design.
00:42A propulsion that can feel at odds with the more considered pace of the soulslike Code
00:48Vein 2 pretends to be.
00:50The same goes for its open world, both refreshingly dense and ultimately unneeded.
00:55There's some beautiful sights to see, drenched in an arresting, gothic, art deco anime style,
01:02but a bit too much of my time was spent wishing I was bashing more skeleton skulls in instead.
01:08More than anything though, Code Vein 2 wanted me to believe in its characters, betting its
01:13entire emotional core on making deep connections with my AI companions.
01:18Unfortunately, the writing falls mostly flat, everything a bland collection of cliches and
01:25tired backstories.
01:27Sometimes, Code Vein 2 shouted at me loud enough to feel sad that my cold, dead heart stirred.
01:34But, that was more thanks to the gorgeous soundtrack working emotional overtime than any kind of
01:41affecting storytelling.
01:43Still, there's a satisfyingly fast-paced action RPG hiding in Code Vein 2.
01:49Just be prepared to dig through some annoying pretensions to find it.
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