Code Vein 2, the apocalyptic sequel of horrors, catastrophes and cursed heroes!

Bandai Namco, which knows a thing or two about modern reinterpretations, in 2019 decided to pick up the gothic spectacle of the world of bloodsuckers, reinventing it with strongly dystopian connotations, effectively overturning the light/darkness order and giving players an experience in which classicism and originality blended quite well. Nearly seven years after Bandai Namco Studios’ gem, we are finally about to return to the grimdark and hopeless, or almost hopeless, world of the creators of God Eater: Code Vein 2 has been officially announced for release on January 30, 2026, and after the media buzz of recent months, expectations have risen all the way to the spires of the black buildings that form the backdrop of the city through which we will move.

However, Code Vein 2 seems to want to make the bridge that connects it to its predecessor rather thin: the figures of the vampires are no longer a biotechnological aegis to appeal to in order to survive, but, from what has been seen, it seems they will be reinterpreted as creatures belonging to a distant past, from which the world and humanity have gradually moved away.

Until our own day, when the planet imagined by the game’s creators lies in ruin, populated by the Revenants, including the protagonist we will control, and the humans: the appearance of the Rapacis Moon, a name perhaps more suited to a predatory species in nature than to the bright celestial body above our heads, will upset the already precarious existing balance... and bring bloodshed, a great deal of bloodshed.

Sangue that will not serve only as splatter graphic embellishment for the most refined palates, because it will constitute the real engine for the growth and sustenance of the main character. Being a role-playing game devoted to the most chaotic and frenetic action possible, with myriad enemies on screen and a refined combo system (or so they have promised us!) since the first chapter, Code Vein 2 seems eager to play its aces precisely in terms of in-game management: draining enemies of the red nectar of the gods to bolster the vital forces and abilities we will have at our disposal will be essential to master the moves, but it is in the system of dodge, counterattacks, and skill management that the difference between life and (non) death will be made.

Anche for as far as the plot is concerned, there will be no shortage of new features: traveling between past and present together with the co-protagonist Lou, as fascinating as she is unsettling, the gameplay will be heavily influenced by the choices we make in one era or the other, generating a whole series of narrative twists that will contribute, for better or worse, to giving a bit of depth to what appears to be, in the end, yet another title in the vein of the brutal Dark Souls: fight, die, come back to life, fight, win and die again, in a cycle that fans of the genre know very well.

Code Vein 2 will initially be available on PC, Series X/S and of course PlayStation 5: the graphics are top-notch, with its very high-resolution effects, and the intense clashes seen in the latest trailers give reason to hope for a good final result: if it keeps its promises, the new action title from Bandai Namco will kick off the new year with a bang. All that remains is to wait, so we can finally return to the battered lands where the value of sacrifice, the mark of war and the seal of death are not merely concepts or bogeymen used to scare children, but rather a mark from fate, written in blood.