There are a lot of games out there that are compared to Dark Souls which is typically nonsense.  Dark Souls has really just become another way of saying that a game is hard.  One such game is called Code Vein.  I am not saying that the creators at Bandai Namco didn’t take any inspiration from the Souls series, but the biggest similarity is the difficulty.  Now that I’ve gotten that comparison out of the way, let’s talk about Code Vein.

You play as a vampire type of character (who is completely customizable) that has been given special powers, called gifts, at the low price of your memories and a desire for blood.  Having no past memories can be a bit bothersome, and so your quest is to retrieve, not only your memories but those of your companions as well.

Your companions are not controlled by you in any way and they all have their own personalities and backstories (once we find their memories).  As a result, you will want to have a different companion with you depending upon the situation.  You will only have one with you at any given time and they only behave the way that character would.  In games like Mass Effect, you could tell your team to stand pat for awhile or attack a certain enemy.  That is not the case here, meaning that you will most likely be changing up your companions fairly often.

The real trick you have up your sleeve are your gifts.  This is essentially magic that will either hurt an enemy or aid you and your partner.  These, along with your weapons, can be changed on the fly so you are never caught with your pants down.  Over the course of the game you will be able to unlock more abilities to help you out of some of those particularly tough spots.

Now say you come up to a boss that you just can’t get the jump on.  Every time you try, they manage to flatten you.  Well not to worry.  You can call in a friend to help you.  Not another NPC, but an actual online friend.  This would give you an extra ally in battle and could really turn the tide in your favour.  However, the partner of your friend will not come with them so it will at most be you, your companion and one friend.  They can’t make it too easy on you.

Normally this is where I would be ending the article and telling you when and on what device you can purchase Code Vein.  Things are a little more complicated on that front.  I can tell you the game will be released on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.  The release date is less clear-cut.  According to Bandai Namco’s website, the date is August 28, 2018.  Multiple other sources are saying 27 September.  It is most likely the latter date and there is an error on the Code Vein page. But perhaps we’ll have the game in our monster slaying hands sooner than everyone is reporting.  One can only hope.