CODE VEIN
CODE VEIN screenshot 1CODE VEIN screenshot 2
ActionRPGSouls-likeAnimeCharacter CustomizationAction RPGCo-op

161 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 252

Peak in the last 7 days: 301

CODE VEIN Steam store

Game description

In the face of certain death, we rise. Team up and embark on a journey to the ends of hell to unlock your past and escape your living nightmare in CODE VEIN.

Basic info

DeveloperBandai Namco Studios
PublisherBandai Namco Entertainment
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateSep 26, 2019
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7 SP1 or Windows 10 (64-bit)
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2300
Memory6 GB
GraphicsGeForce GTX 760 or Radeon HD 7850
Storage35 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 444 reviews from the past 1 year

64.5/ 100
Bottom 20%

Steam rating: Very Positive (83%)

Metacritic: 72 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

An anime styled soulslike about vampires, this action game scores 64.5, with combat feel and repetition as common complaints.

👍 Strengths

58 reviews praise the strategic build system, saying blood codes, class switching and many weapons and skills allow plenty of experimentation. 52 like the visuals, with a bright, colorful anime art style and effects that look great, and a few rave about the character editor. 50 enjoy the story, with some saying it grew on them and that the ending makes the journey worthwhile. Multiplayer ranks 423rd of 642.

👎 Where it falls short

Gameplay appears in 83% of analyzed reviews and ranks 1136th of 1396. 79 reviews say the combat feels clunky, with weak hit feedback, stiff controls and long staggers. 71 find the difficulty uneven, citing bosses that hit very hard, chain stuns, and companions that some say make fights too easy. 40 call the dungeons and enemies repetitive, and a few say layouts repeat with little variety. Content Volume ranks 1250th of 1351, and Story & World ranks 940th of 1096.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“animations being clunky from time to time” · 79 reviews
“character editor destroys even AAA games in quality” · 52 reviews
“Story grew on me, genuine charm and effort behind it” · 50 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 83% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Controls & feel -2.15 · Responsiveness, precision, and how the menus handle
Negative “animations being clunky from time to time” · 79 reviews

Progression 15% · Difficulty 51% · Onboarding 20% · Freedom 24% · Strategy 35%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 68% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Story +1.06 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “Story grew on me, genuine charm and effort behind it” · 50 reviews
Negative “story and characters are boring and stilted, dialogue uninspiring” · 21 reviews

Characters 32% · World 31%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 37% of reviews · Bottom 10% of the games we've analyzed

Variety -2.76 · Fresh content and situations versus repetition
Negative “extra dungeons are far too repetitive and tedious” · 40 reviews

Volume 13% · Replayability 7%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 52% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +1.63 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “character editor destroys even AAA games in quality” · 52 reviews
Negative “white blood cathedral map design causes visual strain and disorientation” · 6 reviews

Audio 23%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 26% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +0.96 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “buddy system is well-designed and allies effectively support in combat” · 15 reviews
Negative “coop not truly cooperative, no shared progression, must repeat content in each world” · 8 reviews

Community 2% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 29% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.54 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “combat unbalanced, enemies phase through each other” · 8 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 12% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.22 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “hitbox problems and target lock breaking randomly feel underpolished” · 17 reviews

Performance 10% · Developer support 5%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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