New Code Vein Gameplay Clip Shows Off Combat, Wolves

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Namco Bandai’s upcoming vampire hack-and-slacker Code Vein, which is definitely not Dark Souls despite the fact it seems to have the same gameplay, the same basic online components, and a trailer image that directly referenced Dark Soul’s famous “prepare to die” tagline. Despite releasing sometime this year, there’s still startlingly little we understand about this game, in part out of design, in part because I imagine Namco Bandai is counting on the association to drive most of the hype, kind of like Shadows Die Twice.

But while we haven’t gotten much, we have gotten something: a minute and a half gameplay trailer was released last week, which shows off some basics of combat, a few “finishers”, and how environmental damage might affect how you play.

Steel yourself Revenant, the Lost will not go easy into the darkness! Prepare to fight with all of your gifts when CODE VEIN (X1, PS4, PC) is unleashed in 2018!

Without the dramatic music and the flashy effects of some other trailers, we’re left with a game that distinctly looks Souls-inspired, but at least the art (and your chipper AI companion, who seems very vocal – a stark contrast to the meditative, lonely silence of the Souls games) makes it appear distinct. We see your character summon wolves to tear enemies apart, we see how burning floors seem to hurt you (but standing in fire has no ill effect on enemies), and we even see some delightful wall-clipping, which if nothing else clues you into the authenticity of this little show. Doesn’t look particularly hard, but they could just be cherry picking to avoid that.

Regardless, we don’t have a solid date for when we’ll get our hands on this ourselves, which probably means we can expect it later this year, around November. Here’s hoping it plays as good as the game that inspired it.