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Code Vein Review Thread

sublimit

Banned
These are the guys that made god eater games. Those game had no impact with weapons when used on enemies and they seem to bring that here too. People are right the impact is missing. But the game has its positives. The customization is insane. You can go full weeb mode here. Along with the amount of abilities that you can use is pretty insane. And remember you can switch your blood code on the fly making different strategies with ease.

I'm enjoying my time even with the flaws. At least there's no screen tearing like there was in the surge 2 which made me sick at times.

Coop is fun as well. The game has a lot going for it with some flaws. No game is gonna best the souls series but this gives a different flavour.

People bashing the game just based on footage alone are going to miss out on a flawed gem here
Personally the two things that worry me the most (from what i hear) is the lack of enemy variety and the lack of interesting environments both in terms of aesthetics as well as level design gameplay-wise. These are the things Souls games (and Bloodborne) do so well and they are the things that most Souls -like games suffer the most like Nioh,The Surge and now Code Vein. Even Sekiro didn't had that level of enemy and environment variety that Souls games had.

I really hope devs who want to do Souls-like games put more effort in those departments in the future.
 
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blackjon24

Member
Going to be honest didn't really like the look of the game since day one was hoping it was going to surprise me but its reviewing like I thought it would. I might pick it up at 15$ down the road. NIoh 2 really isn't that far off I can just wait for that for my souls fill
 

Nero_PR

Banned
Man, I didn't like the gameplay in general. It was too floaty and I felt the bosses weren't hard enough (had too little moves and the attack patterns were too predictable). And too much anime for my taste. I like anime in general but nothing over-exaggerated. I like Dark Souls and Nioh since the art style is more grounded.
 

Karak

Member
Ah damn! Bought surge 2 instantly after skillup and you gave your thumbs up. Especially you since I thought you would give it a "wait for discount", but when you said it's a buy I knew I would not regret it and I love it! If skillup doesn't release a review I don't really know where to look next :messenger_sad_relieved:
I thought I would as well but Surge 2 fixed many of the issues I had with the 1st and its extensions to a more multi enemy combatant pool and more interesting weapon dynamics really worked for me
 
I haven't played it, but I have a feeling its better than what the scores allude to. The western gaming press seems to have a tendency to review Japanese games low or average for the past decade for some reason.
 

jakinov

Member
I haven't played it, but I have a feeling its better than what the scores allude to. The western gaming press seems to have a tendency to review Japanese games low or average for the past decade for some reason.
It's all ultimately subjective. But there's difference standards in different regions and people in the west have changed/raised their standards. They review them lower probably because they simply don't like them. It's probably not bias, racism or some conspiracy. There are still quite a few games that western reviews do like from Japan and they give great reviews.
 
Metacritic continues being a fantastic meme.
xMn2CcW.png
 

sublimit

Banned
It's all ultimately subjective. But there's difference standards in different regions and people in the west have changed/raised their standards. They review them lower probably because they simply don't like them. It's probably not bias, racism or some conspiracy. There are still quite a few games that western reviews do like from Japan and they give great reviews.
I don't think it's a matter of Western reviewers "raising their standards" but more about (as you say) changing them. Nowdays they treat games more as movies and they prefer western aesthetics (photorealistic or not) and more realism in their stories. I can only imagine how off-puting it must be to those reviewers who are salivating with the graphics and realism of games like The Last of Us,Uncharted,God of War,Tomb Raider etc. to see a game with a bunch of anime looking kids carrying weapons the size of trucks and a story that doesn't feel grounded to them. Fan bases also play an important role to those reviewers since if the game has a long history and their fans love it the reviewer even if he/she doesn't really like it they will give it a much better score than if it was a new IP that didn't yet have any followers.

I'm honestly surprised this game managed to get the review scores it got here in the West.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
It peeves me when modern day reviews criticize environments and rather or not a game is fare or not. It’s truly subjective because FromSoftware defined a lot of it. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Fextralife seems to think that it was a must have for Souls fans. I was kinda hoping to find a cheap copy as there’s a lot coming out this fall. I’m also replaying SotFS at the moment.

I’m just hoping its rewarding. The Surge 1 was fun and then I hit this point in the game where the enemies and the environment were not catching my attention. I would honestly rather play a Souls based game when I consider the time I want to allow to such a game.

sublimit sublimit i definitely agree about how journalist seem more like movie reviews. Sometimes it feels like you’re listening to a coworker talk about a game that you’re 100% sure didn’t enjoy a game with similar game design years ago or thinks that this type game design is flawed due to their limitations of enjoying a game. People point out anime’s flaws, but no one criticizes things like Cuphead for having bad animation or extreme versions of characters/objects.

Variety and weapon hit detection are awesome to me. I do think it’s disappointing when they aren’t present, but I don’t exactly feel like it’s a deal breaker either. I hope I get to play this before another game I want comes out. lol
 

sublimit

Banned
If anyone has any suggestions for the OT title please drop them here! :messenger_smiling_with_eyes: Sorry it's taking me so long to make it hopefully i'll have it ready at some point later tonight.
 
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Isa

Gold Member
Looking forward to the OT. For shits 'n' giggles Booby Souls, Sucky Souls.

From what I played yesterday I had a good time. I have bounced around a few different Codes and setups which is fun, and I LOVE having a dedicated ally with us, and the gifting stuff to allies seems cool. I also really like some of the weapons designs, and overall the gfx are very nice. I hope this does well for them, it deserves a chance. Plus they didn't omit the hotsprings. granted it lacks conversations so far from what I've played but I like how you can use it to recap story beats, that's an new spin on journals or loading screens. Excited to play more again today.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
If anyone has any suggestions for the OT title please drop them here! :messenger_smiling_with_eyes: Sorry it's taking me so long to make it hopefully i'll have it ready at some point later tonight.
Code Vein |OT| Dairy Edition
Code Vein |OT| Depression Edition
Code Vein |OT| We Couldn't Start a New IP
 

KàIRóS

Member
Whoa, I didn't know there was an anime Dark Souls game coming out, can any Dark Souls fans test it for me and tell me which critics are right? lol

Big fan of the Souls games here, I've played them all from Demon's Souls to Sekiro and everything in between (Lords of the Fallen, Nioh, The Surge, etc)

The only critic I've found that is correct is that this is indeed an entrly level Souls-like game, it's very forgiving compared to all other Souls-like games, just imagine Dark Souls but you always have another player helping you, some reviews say the NPC allies have terrible AI but they are totally wrong, unless you absolutely ignore enemies and let them gang on your allies they will rarely die and even then you can revive them and they can revive you too, you also have many long range attacks that deal a lot of damage and a parry that is equal to always having a buckler/parrying dagger equipped in Dark Souls and on top of all this, you can have a real player help you Online for a total of 3 party members, you can always go alone but many areas were clearly designed with the NPC allies in mind (having 3+ enemies ambushing you for example)

Another wrong thing that you'll see in many reviews is that enemies don't react to attacks, I don't know what weapons these reviewers were using but I use Greatswords and Hammers and enemies are always getting stunned and get knocked out with charged attacks, even bosses.

I'm more inclined to believe reviews that gave the game 70+ than those that gave 70- I'm still at the beginning but so far I'm liking it, the combat options are opening up a lot and I can heavily customize my character even though I've only played like 10 Hours.
 
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jakinov

Member
I don't think it's a matter of Western reviewers "raising their standards" but more about (as you say) changing them. Nowdays they treat games more as movies and they prefer western aesthetics (photorealistic or not) and more realism in their stories. I can only imagine how off-puting it must be to those reviewers who are salivating with the graphics and realism of games like The Last of Us,Uncharted,God of War,Tomb Raider etc. to see a game with a bunch of anime looking kids carrying weapons the size of trucks and a story that doesn't feel grounded to them. Fan bases also play an important role to those reviewers since if the game has a long history and their fans love it the reviewer even if he/she doesn't really like it they will give it a much better score than if it was a new IP that didn't yet have any followers.

I'm honestly surprised this game managed to get the review scores it got here in the West.
I mean raising standards is really just a subset of changing standards but it's again all very subjective. Part of it can be simply that they expect more of something but the argument can bet why specifically more of that or less of this. I personally don't think it's an issue with the lack of realism or the aesthetics. Some of the better scored games from Japan are not very realistic at all or have anime style with big weapons and all that. I'm sure they might have a personal preference but a lot of these review sites tend to try (at least that was the case at a time I paid more attention) and get the person whose somewhat into the Japan culture (anime, JRPGs, etc) to review games from Japan. I think generally, we probably shouldn't dwell too much on why people don't like a game as much as we do and should just enjoy games that we like because again everything is subjective; different strokes for different folks.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
It's all ultimately subjective. But there's difference standards in different regions and people in the west have changed/raised their standards. They review them lower probably because they simply don't like them. It's probably not bias, racism or some conspiracy. There are still quite a few games that western reviews do like from Japan and they give great reviews.

Western reviews absolutely have not raised their standards. They have changed them to fit their current ideological political niche and anything that does not sit well with that gets tossed to the side. Just look at RockPaperShotgun's review where they were mostly glowing until they brought up "Sexism".

Western Reviews (referring more to mainstream media outlets like Kotaku, Polygon and the like and not youtubers like Karak, Clemps, or JRPG Journal) have been shit for a long while now and they are not getting any better. They are a dying platform and they know it.
 

DryPancakes

Banned
If you want a challenge play without companions as much as possible, as I understand sometimes is mandatory, but comapnions make the game too easy, which is a shame.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Watched a bit of this on stream, the cutscenes appeared to be a boy band hanging out with a bunch of strippers. If you can fast forward through all of that maybe the gameplay will make up for it.
 
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Watched a bit of this on stream, the cutscenes appeared to be a boy band hanging out with a bunch of strippers. If you can fast forward through all of that maybe the gameplay will make up for it.
Everything is skippable, even the slow walking memory sections.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
If you want a challenge play without companions as much as possible, as I understand sometimes is mandatory, but comapnions make the game too easy, which is a shame.
Have you fought the stripper Hatsune Miku boss yet? Alone?
 

Darak

Member
I jumped into this just after finishing the Surge 2 (which I enjoyed, but I liked the first one more) as I was starved for more souls-like gameplay.

So far, I'd say the game is balanced around going solo. I ditched the NPC after the first boss and had a much better time since then. I only finished the first 4 bosses or so, so it may be the case that late areas are harder.

I found the combat actually decent, despite a negative first impression. Most enemies move fast and have high poise, so at the beginning your weapons look like they are doing nothing while you are getting a lot of damage from nowhere. Once you figure out the mechanics and the enemies, it will eventually click. The feeling is considerably different from a Souls game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I also like the level design, even if it is so formulaic. Enemy location in particular is nasty and forces you to really pay attention to the surroundings. The levels are visually interesting and distinctive and there is usually plenty of room to maneuver, something I'm really enjoying after Surge 2's cramped levels.

It's a pretty good game so far, and a decent entry to the genre.
 

jakinov

Member
Western reviews absolutely have not raised their standards. They have changed them to fit their current ideological political niche and anything that does not sit well with that gets tossed to the side. Just look at RockPaperShotgun's review where they were mostly glowing until they brought up "Sexism".

Western Reviews (referring more to mainstream media outlets like Kotaku, Polygon and the like and not youtubers like Karak, Clemps, or JRPG Journal) have been shit for a long while now and they are not getting any better. They are a dying platform and they know it.
I'm sure some of them muddle their political views into their reviews but I doubt it's most of them. Again it's all subjective if one or a few people review games in a way you don't like. Don't listen to their reviews. They are simply just random people forming opinions on a piece of art. I don't think these reviews are dying anytime soon. Running a website is pretty cheap and they get to make direct deals with ad companies. You may not trust their opinion, for reviewing games from Japan and that's fine; find someone that aligns with your views which I assume you have with JRPG journal and Karak and Clemps.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
I'm sure some of them muddle their political views into their reviews but I doubt it's most of them. Again it's all subjective if one or a few people review games in a way you don't like. Don't listen to their reviews. They are simply just random people forming opinions on a piece of art. I don't think these reviews are dying anytime soon. Running a website is pretty cheap and they get to make direct deals with ad companies. You may not trust their opinion, for reviewing games from Japan and that's fine; find someone that aligns with your views which I assume you have with JRPG journal and Karak and Clemps.

I actually disagree with Karak quite often. Same with Colin Moriarty, but they focus on the game itself and not the mental gymnastic political views that they project onto the game. This is my biggest issue with modern game journalists. Instead of reviewing the game itself, they try to shoehorn some sort of socio-political issues they have with the game, just look at RPS.
 

sublimit

Banned
that first one is really good
I'm also starting to prefer that one more than mine (which i even fucked up and wrote "reverant" instead of revenant :p).I'll ask a mod to change it to "Dark Souls,Anime and Waifus"

EDIT or...how about Code Vein |OT| Prepare to Anime
 
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sublimit

Banned
RPGFan review:
RPGFan - 84
"If you're looking for a different spin on the Soulsborne series, Bandai Namco offers up their take with gameplay that feels inviting rather than punishing. "
 
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DryPancakes

Banned
Have you fought the stripper Hatsune Miku boss yet? Alone?

When you asked I hadn't, but now I have, it was really difficult, took me many tries and I completely forgot about parry. I've seen videos comepeltely breaking the game to defeat this boss, which is really not fun either.

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SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
When you asked I hadn't, but now I have, it was really difficult, took me many tries and I completely forgot about parry. I've seen videos comepeltely breaking the game to defeat this boss, which is really not fun either.
I still don't know how to parry lol
 
The line about sheep that the RPS review used is taken out of its context in the scene. Most of that scene is about Yakumo expressing how much friends mean to him. And the shit he went through to protect those he had and failed which he regrets. Keeping his cherished friends alive being incredibly important to him is the major takeaway from that scene. It is in no way shape or form saying that women are literal weak sheep to be protected. That's a complete mis-characterization of Yakumo and the scene itself.

Reading further it also gets details about the story wrong which makes it funny when you realize at the start of the review that they call it rubbish, but can't seem to recall extremely basic details that are mentioned multiple times throughout the story and loading screen descriptions. Anything to do with the story and characters in the RPS review is either factually incorrect or poorly written banking off of the "I am above this so let me pretend that it is incomprehensible" thing that people do when they don't like something and want to intentionally portray it in a negative light.
 
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Durask

Member
I'd have picked it up but my backlog is insane. I'll just be wasting my money.
Maybe on sale in a few months.
 
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