After six long years of waiting, Bandai Namco Entertainment surprised fans at Summer Game Fest with the announcement of CODE VEIN II. During a recent Bandai Namco Entertainment media event, we had the opportunity to interview Producer Keita Iizuka to discuss the highly anticipated sequel to the anime-styled souls-like game that captured hearts in 2019.

The original CODE VEIN carved out its own space in the challenging action RPG genre with its unique anime aesthetic, compelling vampire mythology, and innovative buddy system. Now, CODE VEIN II promises to take players on an entirely new journey through time itself, with the tagline “bound by blood” setting the stage for what appears to be a darker, more complex adventure.

A New World, A New Story

Unlike many sequels that continue where the previous game left off, CODE VEIN II takes a completely fresh approach. “It’s actually a new story, so it’s not related to the previous CODE VEIN” Iizuka explained. This means newcomers won’t need to play the first game to understand the story, while veterans can expect an entirely new experience.

The game is set in a world destroyed by a phenomenon called the Resurgence, which has caused vampires known as Revenants to emerge from the shadows where they’ve hidden throughout human history. Players take on the role of a Revenant hunter – a human who can use vampire powers thanks to an implanted heart – working alongside a powerful vampire companion named Lou MagMell to prevent the world’s destruction.

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“We wanted to paint a different kind of drama and a different kind of story from the original CODE VEIN 1, especially seeing the interactions between the revenants and the humans. It’s a different drama feel to the game,” Iizuka said about the narrative shift from playing as a Revenant to hunting them.

What makes this story unique is its time-traveling element. “We want to use this function to share the history of the vampires and the story of the vampires in the past and the present, and how they built up the present world,” Iizuka said about the game’s core mechanic of jumping between timelines.

The decision to incorporate time travel wasn’t just for spectacle – it serves the game’s deeper themes. “One of the main points is to bring across the story of the human and vampire relationship, as well as one of the key factors is the immortality of the vampires. And by adding on this time travel mechanic, we can further explore the bonds of the vampires as well as their interactions with the humans,” Iizuka explained when asked about the inspiration behind this core concept.

Enhanced Combat and the Buddy System Returns

Combat remains challenging but accessible, building on the foundation of the original game. The new “Vampiric Action” system creates a dynamic combat loop where players use weapon attacks, then drain blood from enemies, and finally use that blood to power special vampire abilities. “As you attack the enemies with your normal weapon, you will get their blood as a resource, and then after that you can use a drain attack by consuming the blood from your enemies,” Iizuka explained about the combat mechanics.

However, Iizuka was quick to clarify one important aspect: “CODE VEIN II is not a super parry-focused battle. While we also have a parry function into the game. But this game is more like a full-character customization combat build system. This is one of the biggest features of CODE VEIN II.”

The beloved buddy system returns with significant improvements. “We decided to re-implement this system in CODE VEIN II because we do recognize it as one of the unique systems in the CODE VEIN games,” Iizuka noted. The team has learned from player feedback and made important changes. “We tried to include more interactions and bonding between your character, the protagonist, and the Buddy character. In terms of the enemies, the bosses, and the dungeon level design, we also tried to make that more focused on the Buddy system, so that it would be fun to explore and overcome the dungeons with your Buddy character.”

For those seeking the ultimate challenge, solo play remains an option. “The buddy system is optional just like last time, and you still have the freedom to customize and change the buddy character as you want. Of course, you can turn off the buddy system so you can actually challenge solo, but please be warned that it will be very difficult,” Iizuka warned.

Character Creation, Direction, and Visual Changes

One of CODE VEIN’s standout features was its robust character creation system, which continues to be popular years after the game’s release. CODE VEIN II promises to expand on this foundation significantly.

“The character customization in CODE VEIN II will be a leveled-up version from the previous game, so there will be more customization options,” Iizuka revealed. The team’s goal is accessibility and user-friendliness. “We want it to be easy for users to make very cool characters, so there will be different parts and patterns where you can pick and choose and select. You can have a lot of freedom and it will be very easy to make a very cool character.”

Fans may notice that CODE VEIN II has a notably darker tone than its predecessor. This shift is intentional and ties into the expanded vampire mythology. “The vampires have already existed in the shadows of human history and they’ve already saved the world once. So we want to use the setting of CODE VEIN II to explore more about the background and the lore of the vampires,” Iizuka explained.

When asked about the apparent visual changes in the announcement trailer, Iizuka clarified: “The announcement this time is to really bring attention to the unique setting of CODE VEIN II, as well as the time travel aspect. For the in-game character design, it’s still very much the same. It’s just more brushed up from the previous game.”

The game also introduces new vampire transformations. “For the vampire action, there will be the same variations as the previous CODE VEIN game and on top of that, there will also be the new vampire style. So you might have seen it in some of the videos just now, it’s more looking like a bat. And then, you can of course gain more actions and attack modes as you progress the story,” Iizuka said about the new abilities.

World Design and Exploration

The game features distinct environments for both time periods. “The present world is pretty much destroyed because of the phenomenon. All the buildings have also been destroyed, and there’s pretty much no one inside the world because of this phenomenon that has happened in the past,” according to the presentation materials. In contrast, the past world from 100 years ago shows “when Revenants, as well as humans lived together. The world is still quite intact because it’s kept intact by the Revenants’ power.”

Addressing navigation concerns from the first game, CODE VEIN II introduces new traversal options. “It does help with the pace of the game as well for the exploration. Also in the dungeons and the cities, when you encounter enemies, they can drop weapons for you to pick up. That’s one thing that we’ve added to the game too,” Iizuka said when asked about the motorcycle shown in the trailer.

Learning From Six Years of Feedback

The extended development period wasn’t just about creating new content – it was about understanding what worked and what didn’t. “The development of CODE VEIN II was actually planned after the release of the first game. Because the first game had DLCs and so on, so it was actually planned after the release,” Iizuka explained about the timeline.

“From the previous CODE VEIN game, the Buddy system was very well received and we got a lot of positive reactions. A lot of users voiced that they were able to overcome a lot of battles because of the Buddy system. Even though the Buddy system was very well received in the previous game, we felt that there was still something missing,” Iizuka reflected on community feedback.

The team also focused on accessibility improvements. “We have made several improvements to the interface as well as the UI, so it’s easier for people to play the game. Also, we’ve made improvements to the buddy character system, so we can get more use out of the Buddy character, and helping with people who may not be familiar with the Souls-like genre to ease themselves into the game as well,” Iizuka said about accommodating different skill levels.

Next-Generation Technology

CODE VEIN II will be the first game in the series designed specifically for current-generation consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. “We wanted to create a more immersive feeling for the game, especially when it comes to things like field exploration and gameplay itself. We tried to optimize that for the new consoles and try to immerse the fans into the game. That’s one of the ways we tried to meet their expectations as well,” Iizuka explained about leveraging new hardware capabilities.

Perhaps most surprisingly, CODE VEIN II completely separates itself from the God Eater universe, despite the first game’s apparent connections. “So basically for CODE VEIN 1, there were definitely some elements in the game where players were able to find connections with God Eater. However, for CODE VEIN II, basically it’s a completely new world. The story and drama is happening in that totally new world, so there’s completely no connection between CODE VEIN II and the God Eater series,” Iizuka clarified about the sequel’s independence.

Despite all the changes and improvements, the team is committed to preserving what made the original special. “The gameplay feel itself will still be similar, so we still want to stay faithful to the feel of the gameplay from CODE VEIN 1,” Iizuka assured fans when asked about potential changes to the game’s pacing

Summer Game Fest and Fan Expectations

When asked about choosing Summer Game Fest for the announcement, Iizuka explained: “One of the reasons we chose to announce Summer Game Fest after six long years is because there are a very limited number of windows where we can make big announcements. Summer Game Fest is one of the bigger events that can garner more attention. We’re also very happy to bring this great news to many expecting and waiting fans, as well as to get more fans to enjoy the CODE VEIN IP.”

The producer’s enthusiasm for reconnecting with the community was evident: “We are very happy to be able to finally announce this game after six years and be able to reconnect with our fans and also to offer them something that can meet their expectations. So we’re very happy. It’s great to be able to work again with the previous staff from the previous game like director Yoshimura and some staff from the previous team to give all of our fans a fun and more exciting experience.”

CODE VEIN II represents both a return to form and a bold new direction for the series. With its time-traveling mechanics, enhanced buddy system, and deeper vampire mythology, it promises to offer both newcomers and veterans a fresh take on the challenging action RPG formula that made the original so memorable.

While no release date has been announced yet, the game’s unveiling at Summer Game Fest marks the beginning of what will surely be an eagerly anticipated journey back into the world of vampires, hunters, and the bonds that tie them together across time itself.

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