Code Vein II is positioned as a standalone entry rather than a direct continuation of 2019’s Code Vein. In hands-on sessions and comments from Bandai Namco, the team explains that the sequel uses a clean narrative slate, embracing a time-travel premise to grant players greater agency over the story and to avoid potential plot baggage from the first game.
Set roughly a century after the original, Code Vein II unfolds in a brand-new world where Revenants—undead humans with vampire-esque abilities—must confront the aftermath of a failed attempt to seal a phenomenon known as The Resurgence. The failure gave rise to a looming threat called Luna Rapacis and left some Revenants transformed into Horrors. The player takes on the role of a Revenant Hunter, a customizable protagonist, who partners with a mysterious girl named Lou MagMell, capable of traversing time. The duo must visit both past and present to locate and defeat the fallen heroes of the Resurgence, shaping events across timelines as they proceed.
Bandai Namco notes that the time-travel premise is designed to offer players agency over how events unfold, enabling manipulation of past moments to influence the present and future without compromising the original game’s continuity. The result is a standalone narrative that allows the developers to experiment with timelines while keeping the new game self-contained. For players who may not be concerned with the original’s lore, Code Vein II provides a fresh entry point that prioritizes a brisker sense of possibility.
During a recent hands-on session, the character creator and customization options stood out, and the Sunken Pylon dungeon provided the first extended window into the new world. The Sunken Pylon is described as a multi-story industrial facility that proved challenging to navigate. Josée Anjou, a legendary warrior who appears in the past, becomes a central figure in the demo as the player aids her in addressing a pollution problem that taints the water of the area. A notable assist is a golden path indicator that can be summoned to show the objective route, with a blue line tracing the already traveled path—an aid that, in practice, can feel cluttered on crowded maps.
The game’s combat adheres to Soulslike expectations, with traditional checkpoints that restore health and respawn enemies. New elements spice the action: the Jail, which functions like an equipment hub and is the home for Formae—supernatural weapon abilities powered by Ichor. Drain Attacks let the player siphon Ichor to fuel Formae, and Formae can take the form of defensive shields, projectiles, or devastating melee extensions. The Blood Code system has been reworked as well, offering multiple combat styles and six attributes that affect stats such as base defense and maximum Ichor.
A standout addition is the Partner system, which allows players to summon a second character to aid in battle. Partners can draw enemy attention and provide additional support, while the Link Traits and an accompanying meter called Link Points (LP) deliver additional strategic depth. LP drains when the player takes damage before HP does, giving partners a meaningful role in maintaining survivability. Partners can be recalled at any time via Assimilation, creating ongoing opportunities to coordinate attacks or hold a line while the player delivers damage. While solo play remains viable, the demonstrated value of double-teaming—especially against tougher foes—was evident in practice, though the player often preferred having a partner by their side in key encounters.
The two boss encounters in the demo punctuated the session. The first, a deformed titanic behemoth named the Metagen Remnant, embodies the Sunken Pylon’s pollution and presented a test of positional awareness. The Remnant alternated between long-range fire beams and faster tail attacks that dripped poison when the player lingered too close, demanding a mix of Formae and timing to stagger the creature and execute high-damage sequences. The second major encounter takes place in the present after time-travel shenanigans return the player to Josée’s domain, where Josée herself emerges transformed into a giant, blind demon wielding a massive sword. In this moment, the player teammates with Lou to bring the foe down, a battle that the previewer regarded as the highlight of the demo for its combination of combat choreography and narrative weight.
Bandai Namco emphasizes that facing fallen heroes in this fashion will be a recurring motif, with the manner and timing of confrontations shaped by how players manipulate time. The publisher frames Code Vein II as a tragedy-laden adventure that foregrounds character drama as a defining feature—an approach intended to distinguish the title from other Soulslike offerings by leaning into emotional stakes and narrative consequence rather than plain challenge alone.
Overall impressions from the hands-on preview were mixed but positive about the direction. The time-travel premise is seen as a genuinely intriguing hook with meaningful potential for branching outcomes, but there is also a note of caution: time travel can overcomplicate a story if not carefully balanced with the action. The combat system, particularly the Partner mechanic and the Formae economy, appears to offer depth and momentum, even as some environments—like the Sunken Pylon—can feel bulky and labyrinthine on first exposure.
In short, Code Vein II presents a poised attempt to reframe Bandai Namco’s undead action game while preserving the core appeal of its combat and adding a substantial narrative twist. The question going forward will be whether the time-bending conceit and its associated system redesigns translate into a distinct, memorable identity that can surpass the original while maintaining a coherent, emotionally resonant story.