Video Game / Code Vein II

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Code Vein II is a Souls-like RPG developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It's a sequel to the original Code Vein, serving as a Soft Reboot of the series.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world similar to our contemporary one, society has long since fallen. Long ago, the world was wracked by a great disaster known as the Resurgence. The Resurgence engulfed the world, transforming man and animal into vicious monsters known as Horrors. As civilization fell, immortal, vampire-like beings called Revenants rose from the shadows of history, took leadership from mankind, and found a way to seal the Resurgence. However, the seal was incomplete and weakened over time. 100 years later, it finally broke. Known as the Upheaval, the war to seal away the Resurgence started anew. In a final act of sacrifice, a group of revenants revered as “the Heroes” restored the seal, but doing so created the Luna Rapacis, a colossal celestial body whose light suppresses revenant power on the surface.

Unfortunately, the world once again faces ruin. Following another century of being sealed away, the Resurgence has returned in the form of powerful monsters known as Resurgence Offspring. Lavinia Voda, a revenant inheriting the sacred task of saving the world, has ordered her fellow revenants to slay the Resurgence Offspring as they await regeneration. Unless they’re killed, the world will face certain doom, but to do this, the revenants require the help of those same heroes who gave their lives so that the world could see another day.

This is where you, the Protagonist, come in.

Originally a human and Revenant Hunter, you suffered a near-fatal wound that nearly led to the loss of your heart. It is only thanks to the mysterious revenant named Lou that you're given a second lease on life, sharing half her heart with you. Her help doesn't come for free, however. You're tasked with going back in time before the world fell into ruin, and only with the strength of the fallen heroes on their side can the Revenant Hunter hope to destroy the Resurgence Offspring, stop the Resurgence from awakening, and save the future.

The game was announced on June 6, 2025, at the Summer Gaming Fest and was released on January 30, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam).

A DLC titled "Mask of Idris" will be released sometime in 2027. Set in an alternate dimension known as the Forsaken World, where the fragments and passions of collapsed timelines have converged and threaten to spill over into the main world, players must embark on a journey to quell the threat alongside new companions.

Code Vein II provides examples of:

• Adaptational Backstory Change:
  • Revenants as a whole. In the first game, Revenants were created as a means to defeat the Horrors as conventional weaponry proved ineffective against them. In II, they're no longer artifically created but are instead (mostly) born naturally, with the addition of some Revenants being born into Bloodlines, akin to noble houses. Humans can be turned, but this is a heavily monitored process, as human populations are dwindling and there's no easy solution to the blood supply problem.
  • Many weapons from the previous game, like the Hanemukuro, Riot Breaker, and Nagimukuro, return with slightly revised descriptions that reference their original first-game roots, claiming they "drifted in from beyond the Frontier."
• Adaptational Name Change: The iconic Blood Veils from the first game return in a reimagined form, called Jails, which ditches their mantle, cape, and hood designs for new back-mounted equipment that alters stats and enables unique attacks. Also, Revenants are now simply called vampires, though this does not carry over to the localization.
• Alternate History: According to his Character Trailer, Zenon was born as a Revenant in 999 A.D. What Code Vein II’s version of the Middle Ages looked like compared to real world history is honestly anyone’s guess.
• Alternate Universe:
  • Jadwiga's questline reveals the existence of parallel worlds, though it's only a passing mention. Valentin's sidequest expands on this in-depth, since his sidequest revolves around sealing temporal rifts created as a result of time being changed.
  • The preview for the upcoming Mask of Idris DLC expansion reveals the existence of the Forsaken World, which is a convergence of numerous failed timelines, though the exact specifics haven't been explained.
• All There in the Manual: A lot of the game's background lore is explained only in the Database. This includes detailed information on not just the named characters you meet and the Frontier itself, but also historical characters like the Progenitors. The Protagonist's epithet of "Hero with a Heart of Gold" in the "A Hero's End" ending is only revealed in the Database.
• Ambiguous Situation: The relationship between Revenants and the Resurgence. While all living things are susceptible to its corruption, Revenants are especially vulnerable to it. The endgame later reveals the Resurgence is somehow tied to the Revenants, with Lavinia and Valentin (correctly) assuming that if Revenants cease to exist, the Resurgence will disappear with them. Despite that, the nature of why the Resurgence is so intrinsically tied to Revenants isn't explored, even when they find a way to destroy the Resurgence without needing to sacrifice all Revenants with the upheaval. However, Zenon theorizes that the Resurgence is the world's attempt to eliminate Revenants since they are an unnatural existence, since the power of the Resurgence scales directly with the number of Revenants in existence.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • Unlike the previous game, Bayonets this time around don’t use Ichor to fire and instead use ammo from magazines, so you no longer need to manage Ichor for shooting or skills, but you still need to find or buy ammo and reload your gun when you have to.
  • Items found and chests spotted are marked out both on the minimap and called out by your partners.
  • Partner banter has been toned down and those preferring a solo experience can 'Assimilate' their partners for a buff; this allows players to continue farming affection for the Irreplaceable trophy (a long ordeal that may take until the Golden Ending to complete) without having to actually use NPC help.
  • Once you complete a main quest associated with a Hero, you won't be able to jump back in time to visit them. After clearing two main story quests, you'll unlock a Bond in MagMell that lets you freely tavel back to the Past in the Free Exploration era, allowing you to interact with the Heroes again and obtain their Blood Codes, as well as their respective sidequests as you progress through the story.
  • After starting New Game Plus, you have the option to decrease enemy difficulty via an in-game option in the settings, dropping it back down to standard difficulty. You will have to rest at a Mistle for it to take effect, though.
• Artifact Title:
  • The term "Revenant", at least in the English localization. In the original Japanese script, "Revenant" is done away with entirely and are simply called vampires since they more closely resemble their traditional western counterparts. The English localization continues using the name "Revenant" despite them having vastly different origins than their counterparts from the first game.
  • Some weapons still have "Lost" in their names, despite the Lost not existing in this game; the enemies are called Horrors, or Aberrants (as implied by some item names).
• Bayonet Ya: Like in the last game, the Bayonet is a rifle with a barrel-mounted blade that works like a gunblade: light attacks slash nearby enemies, while heavy attacks fire projectiles.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: It's not uncommon for a Revenant who's on the brink of going into a frenzy or becoming a Horror to beg for somebody to kill them before they turn into a blood-crazed monster.
• Beware My Stinger Tail: A returning attack from the first game, the Stinger Jail has a great but narrow range and can send enemies flying.
• Bloodsucking Bats: The new, fittingly titled Bat Jail initially deals moderate damage but surrounds the victim in bats that periodically drain Ichor, providing the player with a steady trickle of resources to use.
• Bishōnen Line: A variant with the Hero bosses. Fully completing each Hero's quest line to fully Set Right What Once Went Wrong not only moves their respective cocoon, it causes the boss within to take on less monstrous forms that lack a stage 2 and are far more lucid; the resulting fights feeling less like MercyKilling Fallen Heroes and more like giving each a proper send off. Oddly, though, Valentin's is the only one that backtracks this; his Hero Valentin form is humanoid and fairly normal looking, whereas his second boss form, Soul Savior Valentin, is a Draconic Abomination.
  • Josée: As Josée the Blind Hero, Josee has transformed into a huge, blind swordswoman with a disturbingly long neck, and her second phase sees her sprouting insect limbs from her back and neck. As Hero Josée, while still huge, she instead takes the form of divine-like, kitsune miko appearing dancer, her signature Rune Blades by her side, and actively enjoying the battle instead of begging for death like her Alternative Timeline self.
  • Holly: While Hero Holly the Reaper looks the most humanoid of the three, that doesn't mean she's a pretty sight to look at, resembling a shattered mannequin with a golden human skeleton within and glowing red eyes and a huge scythe, and she starts the fight riding on top of a huge black humanoid that has to crawl on all fours. Hero Holly by contrast looks more like an elegant figure skater (even if she still has some horror elements, such as the golden hand gripping her face, which symbolized the hands on her father's head) dancing around the arena... while duel wielding a pair of tri-barreled gatling guns.
  • Lyle: One Armed Hero Lyle is a hulking brute, missing his right arm and growing an entire second torso out of his back (representing the dead companions he carries in his heart), his wrath quick to sending him into a rampaging fury with his enormous greatswords. Hero Lyle by contrast is a skilled, slim, four armed swordsman with twin blades and a pair of golden heart shaped Morph Weapons.
  • Zenon: Unique among the heroes, Zenon only has a single boss fight, as his overwhelmingly powerful personality has led to him not stewing in his own negative emotions over the century. Instead, Zenon regains his sense of self mid-fight from a hulking minotaur, wreathing his head in a giant headpiece depicting his wife and his original self as his emotions and personality retake control.
  • Inverted with Valentin. You first fight his Hero form, where his arms have been removed (not that it stops him from just manifesting energy arms as needed) and he swaps between the masks of each bloodline to perform various attacks, representing his helplessness combined with shouldering the burden of all Revenant kind. Later on, during the Luna Fraterna ending, you go to the past and fight his Soul Saviour variant, where he has mutated into a giant horrific dragon after absorbing the Resurgence with the intent of wiping out Revenant kind.
• Bittersweet Ending:
  • "A Hero's End," which is the default ending unless you've been diligently following your companions' sidequests and boosting your relationships with them. The Resurgence is wiped out for good, and the protagonist is hailed as a hero and savior of humanity for generations to come. Unfortunately, that bright future comes at the cost of Revenants being rendered extinct, including Lou. Fortunately, provided you completed the requirements, the Protagonist can get one more shot at saving everyone.
  • "Luna Fraterna" ends with Lou and the Protagonist successfully sealing away the Resurgence in the Past, although it comes at the cost of them being forced to sleep for eternity to ensure the Resurgence cannot pose a threat again. Fortunately, it leans more on the sweet side of things, especially if you averted the Heroes' tragedies and changed their histories for the better, as doing so allows you to pursue the Golden Ending, which takes place after "Luna Fraterna".
• Body Motifs: Hearts. Lou's chest is transparent/missing, exposing her gold colored half-heart at all times, the protagonists powers come from the other half of Lou's heart that was transplanted into them, and all of the 'Hero' bosses have their golden heart exposed at all times via cracks in their bodies, with the final blow coming from the protagonist ramming their fist through said heart.
• Bookends: The start of the game sees Lou recounting the story of the Five Heroes to a group of children, when Lavinia calls for her to awaken the protagonist. In the "A Hero's End" ending, a similar scene plays out; one of the kids the protagonist saved prior to Lou sharing half her heart with them tells their story as the Hero with a Heart of Gold, with Jacob, another child the protagonist saved, calling for her to pay their respects to the protagonist, who lies in the same coffin they awakened in, now recently deceased.
• Boss Rush: The Miraculous Bonds ending is one. A century after traveling back in time to stop the Upheaval and subsequently falling into an eternal slumber with Lou to seal the Resurgence, Zenon, the other heroes, and their other companions devise a way to awaken them and defeat the Resurgence once and for all. To do this, the protagonist, awoken within a shared Dream World between them and Lou, must go around and reawaken the memories of their journey, represented by short sections of past levels paired up with the areas associated hero, each culminating in rematches with Frantz (Noah), Imogen (Lyle), the Metagen Remnant (Josee), Camilo (Holly) and Zenon Duplicate Unit Three (Zenon), before a final showdown with the True Final Boss, the Resurgence Core.
• Can't Take Criticism: When exploring Insula Carcere in the Past, the protagonist can come across a Revenant author, who admits she wound up in the facility after killing everyone who left bad reviews about her books. She sounds more embarrassed than actually ashamed of admitting to such a thing.
• Central Theme:
  • Fighting for a better tomorrow. The whole point of the game is to avert the Resurgence breaking free and wreaking havoc as it did hundreds of years ago, which necessitates the deaths of the Heroes preserving the failing seal. While the Protagonist is expected to just slay the Heroes, they can go out of their way to prevent the Heroes from falling into despair, and in turn, better life in the Frontier. This same perseverance is what leads to the "Luna Fraterna" ending, where the Heroes reject Valentin's plan to exterminate Revenantkind to destroy the Resurgence.
  • Take a Third Option. Late into the game, it's revealed that Valentin learned Revenants are tied to the Resurgence, and that overpopulation will lead to the Resurgence growing in power to the point it will become too dangerous, leading to him coming with the the Final Solution despite his previous insistence that the ends did not justify the means. Zenon and the Protagonist, however, firmly reject this line of thinking, with the former hellbent on coming up with alternatives that do not involve senseless wastes of life. Even in the Golden Ending, he's not satisfied with arguably better outcome that averted the Upheaval timelin and continued researching for a way to save the Protagonist and Lou, eventually coming up with a new sealing formula that would turn all Revenants into seals, at the cost of a more limited lifespan.
• Character Customization: Like its predecessor, Code Vein II features an absurdly in-depth character creator tailored to the game's anime aesthetic, packed with sliders for body proportions, facial features, layered hairstyles with color gradients, eyebrows, makeup, accessories, and outfits. Previews and the standalone demo, capable of saving up to 64 transferable presets, highlight even more expansive options than the original.
• Close-Enough Timeline: In a manner of speaking. Despite whatever initial changes the Protagonist causes during their first Time Jumps into the Past, said changes are often miniscule or don't really affect the Present as the end result remains the same. In Holly's case, the Protagonist doesn't even have the opportunity to enact any potential changes as they're forced back into the Present by Lou due to how unstable the Bond is, whereas with Josée and Lyle, the Protagonist merely changes the circumstances of their tragedies. It's not until they actively go out of their way to alter the Past that they create an entirely new timeline, such as the "Luna Fraterna" ending (and by extension "Miraculous Bonds", which takes place after that same ending).
• Cosmic Retcon: In the "Luna Fraterna" ending. Since the protagonist and Lou alter the course of history by becoming the seal and succeeding, the following century plays out much more peacefully. The site of the sealing is now called the Luna Fraterna as opposed to the Luna Rapacis, and is not a corrosive force like the latter was. Furthermore, the children the protagonist saved prior to the start of the game still live on the island they were evacuated from in the original timeline, though Jacob still intends on becoming a Revenant Hunter like the protagonist.
• Crapsack World: If you thought being stuck in the Gaol of the Mist was bad, II dumps you in a world that is so, so much worse, ditching a dilapidated city full of bloodthirsty immortal monsters and dwindling resources for a world that's already in its death throes, if not veering toward its final swan song; instead the threat of the Queen and the Lost, you have the Resurgence, a calamity on par with the Collapse that turned man and beast alike into monsters. Worse, even Revenants aren't spared from the threat of the Luna Rapacis. What's left of humanity and untainted Revenants cling to survival amid treacherous ruins like the flooded Sunken City and its polluted waters or the storm-lashed and isolated MagMell Island. The only apparent way to stave off ruin is to kill the Heroes who are part of the seal, having become the Resurgent Offspring, whose awakening will destroy the seal and result in an explosion that will devastate their surroundings unless they're slain.
• Creature-Hunter Organization: Most Revenant Hunters work under the Revenant Hunters' Association, which used to specialize in, you guessed it, hunting Revenants. Ironically, once the Resurgence kicked in and started transforming man and beast alike into monsters, most Hunters started working with their former prey and turned their efforts toward keeping Mankind safe from Horrors.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: In order to get an edge over Revenants, Revenant Hunters learned several techniques and abilities, including Forma and Jails. They even learned a way to boost their abilities by taking on half a Revenant's heart (though it's unclear whether the Revenant has to give half their heart willingly), but it's not without severe risks; in-story, a Revenant Hunter died due to blood backflow.
• Cute Little Fangs: In this game, Revenants have permanent fangs, making them a lot closer to actual vampires. Given how they're explicitly stated to be vampires in the original Japanese script, this is likely intentional.
• Darker and Edgier: While the original Code Vein wasn't sunshine and rainbows, the sequel scales the stakes and the surrounding conflict. Instead of a monstrosity calamity confinded to a secluded region and both humans and Revenants having to fight for supplies, the whole world is under threat by the Resurgence, with the Frontier being the main battle ground for the game. Also, whereas the first game merely implied it, II shows there is significant tension between humans and Revenants, with both sides only working with one another out of necessity (barring some exceptions like the Sunken City). There are actual human enemies in the game as well, though these enemies are scarce and are mainly relegated to being mini or story bosses.
• Driving Question:
  • For Josée and Holly's questlines, the protagonist and Lou learn things that don't match up with what they know about the respective heroes: A remnant they find on the way to Josée's cocoon mentions an attack from Revenant Hunters and a Resurgence Outbreak, which Lou finds odd because there's no mention of either event in the historical records, and despite Holly's dreadful reputation as the Reaper Witch, they find the woman herself is actually very pleasant and caring, making them wonder how she ended up making the ill-fated clinical error that made all her patients frenzy. They eventually learn both tragedies were orchestrated by Allesandro Gobbo, having forcibly made Josée frenzy with a quasi-Resurgence Outbreak and providing Holly with a faulty experimental drug that worsened Camilo's condition to the point he frenzied.
  • The failure of the Resealing ritual. Zenon mentions having looked into it himself and is confused since, by all accounts, Lou should have succeeded in sealing the Resurgence into herself. Even when her present day self re-attempts to seal it, she still falls short. It's not until the protagonist joins her in the seal that Zenon realizes the Resealing failed because it required a human component.
• Dual Wielding: The other newest weapon type is the Dual Blades, which are exactly what they sound like: two swords that the player dual-wields when fighting. They’re a fast, multi-hit weapon that focuses on dashing in with quick spikes of damage, then getting back out safely when needed. There's also the Rune Blades, though unlike the Dual Blades, they float around the Protagonist and other Companion characters and aren't wielded in the traditional sense.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Oh, so very much. After having gone through the main story and slaying the Heroes, only for Lavinia to reveal the true plan was to eradicate all Revenants to purge the Resurgence so humanity had a shot at survival and prosperity, Zenon's actions allow the protagonist and Lou to Screw Destiny again, seeking out another outcome by sacrificing themselves to seal the Resurgence, albeit at the cost of slumbering for all eternity. Of course, Zenon still isn't happy about this outcome and spends the next century researching a way to save them, which is only possible because the protagonist helped avert the tragedies that destroyed the Heroes irreparably. After destroying the echoes of their past and the Resurgence Core, and extending the seal to all Revenants (at the cost of shortening their lifespans further), the protagonist and Lou are finally able to look forward to a bright new future with the Heroes and the rest of their friends.
• Fantastic Racism: Unlike in the first game where it was implied, II makes it clear there's considerable hostility and tension between humans and Revenants. The latter views humans as nuisances at best or a food source at worst, sometimes even calling them by the derogetory name "blood bag". Humans, naturally, don't take kindly to being feasted upon, with some even becoming revenant hunters. Valentin's sidequest does mention how the two races co-existed for a time, but persecution of Revenants eventually led to them imposing martial law and stripping away human rights. The Upheaval did manage to bring them together again, but it's still clear there's a lot of tension between both sides.
• Final Solution: Near the end of the game, Lavinia reveals hers and Valentin's true goal wasn't to reseal the Resurgence, but to instead use its energy in conjunction with a special Forma of Valentin's own design to exterminate all Revenants, revealing their very existence is tied to the Resurgence, and with their death, the world will be rid of it forever. The Protagonist has the option of thwarting this plan, presuming they fulfilled the necessary requirements.
• Fission Mailed: The default ending, "A Hero's End", plays out very much like a bad ending; Lavinia reveals hers and Valentin's plan was to destroy all Revenantkind as their existence is tied to the Resurgence. The protagonist is unable to stop her, leading to the extinction of Remnants, including Lou, who sacrifices her life to preserve the protagonist's heart since they're technically half-Revenant. If you fulfilled the right conditions, however, Zenon makes an appearance in the post-credit scene, asking if you're really willing to let things end here. Upon returning to the main menu screen, you find Zenon's icon pointing at the "Continue" option, meaning you're not done just yet.
• Foregone Conclusion: The fate of the Heroes. Regardless of whether you alter the past by helping them with their respective problems, them becoming the seals for the Resurgence is a fixed point and cannot be altered, meaning they will become Horrors regardless of what you do. At most, their cocoons will change locations and adopt new forms while being more cognizant and lucid than they would be otherwise if you didn't complete their questlines.
• Fusion Dance: If you have a companion with you, you can merge with them via Assimilation, giving you an impressive boost in power, at the cost being down a fighter. Some companions only exist in this state.
• Flying Weapon: One of the brand-new weapon types introduced in Code Vein II is the Rune Blades. These are a pair of floating, magically animated swords that hover around the player that automatically slash and spin at enemies in response to your basic attacks and movement. On top of that, you can actively command the Rune Blades to launch independent attacks away from you, letting you send them out to strike distant or flanking enemies while you dash in and engage in close-range hand-to-hand combat using punches and kicks.
• Gatling Good: Holly's Bequeathed Forma are a pair of huge, triple barreled gatling guns that she uses on each arm to devastating effect. She also puts them to good use during her boss fight as Hero Holly, more then ready to turn unprepared players to Swiss cheese in a hail of gunfire as she skates around the arena.
• Gold-Colored Superiority: Everywhere. Both Revenants and Horrors alike have gold mixed into their design, with the latter almost always being covered in it, especially the Resurgence Offspring. The Jails worn by the Revenant Hunters also have gold in them. Special mentions go to Zenon Gryfgote, whose outfit is entirely gold, sans the faceplate of his mask.
• Highly Visible Landmark: The Sealing Spire at the center of the Frontier is the tallest landmark visible from all corners of the map. It is the location where the Resurgence was sealed.
• Hot Springs Episode: Of a sort. Part of Holly's questline involves getting infected, which Holly treats via the medicinal springs near her Sanatorium. Together, she bathes with the protagonist multiple times. Later on, as part of Craig's treatment for his paraplegia (assuming he was saved in the past) the protagonist takes them on a tour across the world's hot springs.
• Immortal Procreation Clause: Shortly after the Resurgence, the Progenitors introduced strict laws to control the Revenant population, forbidding the birth or creation of new Revenants without their approval, and removing their eternal life by imposing artificially set lifespans. Ostensibly, this was to ensure that the number of Revenants didn't exceed the number of humans needed to provide blood to feed them. Zenon, who violated this ruling by reviving a thousand cadavers from death row, was sentenced to over eleven thousand years of imprisonment on Insula Carcere. However, Zenon later reveals the true purpose of the Progenitors' attempts at population control were due to the discovery that Revenants are linked to the Resurgence which grows in power directly proportional to the number of Revenants in existence.
• Infinity -1 Sword: The Old Engraved weapons are an entire series of these in-universe, intentionally designed for ease of use so even weaker Revenants could use them comfortably.
• Irony: Zenon hails from the Acedia Bloodline. "Acedia" is the Latin word for "sloth", yet Zenon's haughty attitude and confidence in his abilities brings to mind Superbia, or "pride".
• Large Ham: Zenon. His first scene introduces him via him belting out a musical number that wouldn't be out of place in a Disney movie for over three minutes, his Japanese voice actor is Takehito Koyasu of Dio Brando fame, and he doesn't get any less bombastic form there. He's such a Large Ham that he only has one 'Hero' boss fight form, because he regains himself midway through the fight and transforms his mutated form's oversized minotaur head into a gigantic, solid gold headpiece made of multiple statues of himself and his wife.
• The Last Dance: The rematch with the Heroes is framed as this. Since they never experienced the tragedies they otherwise would have thanks to the protagonist changing the Past timeline, they're more cognizant and lucid, even managing to exchanging final pleasantries with the protagonist before engaging in one final battle.
• Leaking Can of Evil: The Luna Rapacis is the site of the Resealing ritual that holds the Resurgence at bay from the rest of the world. Due to the seal failing, however, the Resurgence has started to seep through, either turning Revenants into aberrants and horrors or slowly driving them mad.
• Level-Up at Intimacy 5: Improving relationship values via leveling up Blood Codes, gifting, and completing their character quests makes the player's Companions more effective at combat by unlocking unique traits.
• Lighter and Softer: Despite the bleak tone and high stakes, the game is a lot more upbeat in some aspects. The Protagonist can make life in the Frontier better by altering the Past, represented by the atmosphere in the regions brightening and sunlit as opposed to being dark and dreary as they normally are. Two of the three endings are also considerably more optimistic, being outright Everybody Lives, both of which are made possible because of Zenon, a rather bombastic character who refuses to consider sacrificing anyone.
• Mercy Kill: Taking out Revenants that have fallen to their Frenzy is something Revenants and Revenant Hunters are very used to, and it's rare that a Revenant doesn't beg for death before they completely lose control. This is also the ultimate plan for Lavinia and Valentin regarding all of Revenant kind, as they've come to the conclusion that the Resurgence is a byproduct of their very existence. After centuries of trying to seal the phenomena and coming short, they have fallen into despair and believe the only way to save the world is to exterminate all Revenants and leave the world to humans.
• Modesty Shorts: To avoid any accidental nudity, most costumes, even the bath robes for female characters, have a pair of shorts as well to hide body parts.
• Multiple Endings: As traditional. Unlike most games with multiple endings however, all three canonically happen, as each subsequent ending continues from the previous one so long as the conditions were met.
  • A Hero's End: Achieved by simply beating the final boss. Lavinia carries out Valentin's plan of using the Resurgence as an energy source to eradicate all Revenants in one fell swoop, as otherwise the very existence of Revenants will continue to cause the Resurgence. The protagonist becomes a beloved leader of humanity, and in the future they are looked after and loved by the inheritors of their legacy.
  • Luna Fraterna: Achieved by returning to the main menu after defeating Hero Valentin and selecting the Zenon emblazoned Continue. Beating Soul Saviour Valentin frees the Resurgence after his failed attempt to enact his own genocide of the Revenant race, and Lou of the present once again carries out her intended function as the seal. Empowered by her experiences with the protagonist and returning of their half of her heart, she succeeds, and falls into a deep sleep alongside the protagonist.
  • Miraculous Bonds: Achieved by selecting Rescue Lou on the main menu after completing Luna Fraterna, assuming the player has altered the past in all four regions. A hundred years later, in a peaceful world where Revanants and Humans live side by side, the five heroes return to reach out to Lou and the protagonist via Zenon's research, empowering them to reawaken after triumphing over the Resurgence Core. The total burden of the Resurgence has been split among all Revenants, permanently suppressing it, and allowing Lou and the protagonist to return to their friends.
• Non-Action Guy: Jadwiga, Lavinia, and initially Craig are always Assimilated as Companions and cannot be summoned for various individual reasons.
• Off-Model: There are more than a few phasing issues, with one glaring example being a scene where Noah fist bumps the Protagonist. While it works fine with default designs and presets, a short player model will have the Protagonist's hand going through Noah's wrist in the middle of the fist bump.
• Older Than They Look: Revenants age slowly compared to humans; if a Revenant character from the Past is still around in the Present, chances are they'll either look the same or have aged up only slightly (a kid Revenant will have grown into a teenager, such as the one in the Sunken City). One example is Josée, who is stated in her Character trailer to have been born in 1990, but still looks like a petite young woman in 2197.
• Our Vampires Are Different: While many traits of the Revenant (notably called simply vampires in the original script instead of the English Revenant) from the first game have passed over into the second game, such as the need to drink blood and immortality, many traits are different this time around:
  • Revenants are divided into Houses, which themselves fall under Bloodlines named after the Seven Deadly Sins.
  • While humans can be turned into Revenants, as explained in Noah's memories, this is implied to be uncommon, and Josée and Lise are said to have been born as twins (a bad omen among the Gula Bloodline), giving the impression that most Revenants in this setting are born this way rather than being former humans brought back from the dead by a parasite.
  • Josée's character trailer states that she was born in 1990, while Zenon’s states he was born in 999 AD, both in stark contrast with the first game where Revenants were created some time after the first Aragami appeared circa 2050.
  • During their discussion about Zenon, the latest Hero they need to put down after dealing with the first three, Lou mentions that Revenants (like traditional vampires) weren't able to live in the sunlight until Zenon found a way to overcome that weakness.
• Post-Apocalyptic Gas Mask: Despite there being no Queen this time around, many NPCs wear the iconic Miasma-filtering masks from the first game, and so can the Protagonist.
• Power Copying: As the first game, the Protagonist is bequeathed Blood Codes by Revenants over the course of the game, which grants them the progenitor's stats and thus lets them fight much as they would. Among Revenant Hunters the protagonist is noted for being especially capable and compatible with many Revenants, though they can only emulate one at a time, but can additionally develop interchangeable 'Boosters' (functioning like a more generic RPG's accessories) that give minor bonuses derived from the original Blood Code.
• Power Incontinence: For some reason, members of the Gula Bloodline suffer this, causing their powers to falter. By far the worst affected is Josée and her sister Lise. According to their mother, this is apparently because they were born as twins, so their power was split between them. Out of fear this would cause them to frenzy, Lise researched a way to suppress their power safely, eventually succeeding with a special prototype Forma.
• Public Bathhouse Scene: Much like the first game, the player can initiate these. However, there are now multiple locations across the world, and any current companions or nearby NPCs have a chance of joining them for a quick dip as well.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Unlike in the first game where their eyes turn red when under specific conditions (going into a frenzy, activating their Blood Veil, etc.), Revenants have red eyes naturally.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: The protagonist, Lou, and Lavinia remember the events of history as they were even if they are changed by pursual of the character quests. The only exception is near the very end, where only the protagonist remembers the events of the battle with Hero Valentin and the subsequent fallout, their mind being the only one to be sent back in time by Zenon's Forma.
• Science Fantasy: Outside the mystical elements and the otherworldly nature of the Resurgence with the revelation it's responsible for Revenantkind's existence, there are also showcases of sufficient advancements for a science fiction setting; some enemies are robotic in nature, weapons and items can be stored away and turned into gold particles stored within Jails, and Revenants are able to walk in broad daylight thanks to Zenon's research.
• Screw Destiny: Played with. Given the importance of the Resealing ritual, Lavinia warns the protagonist and Lou of changing the past too much, especially if their actions have massive consequences on the timeline. As such, they cannot prevent the Heroes from becoming Horrors. The most they can do is prevent the tragedies that broke them emotionally, leaving them in a much better state of mind, and thus more cognizant and lucid in a new, more regal form when the protagonist confronts them. It's later played straight in the "Luna Fraterna" ending, where the protagonist and Lou outright change history by preventing the Upheaval altogether, at the cost of becoming part of the seals themselves.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Played with. Lou and the protagonist are capable of this, but Lavinia and Iris both warn them not to interfere with the Past timeline too much since their actions have an effect on the Present, and depending on their level of interference, they may inadverdently cause a Time Crash. As such, they should focus on finding objects that resonate with the Heroes and wake them from their cocoons so they can be slain before their seals shatter. That said, Lavinia and Iris also admit they can't exactly stop them from meddling, so the best they can do is just warn them of the consequences. After defeating the Heroes the first time around, the protagonist and Lou can jump back into the Past and avert the tragedies that sent the Heroes past the Despair Event Horizon, which not only changes the location of their cocoon but also gives them a less corrupted, more cognizant (and more powerful) Hero form. Doing this at every opportunity is what leads to the Golden Ending.
  • Josée: By preventing repeated tragedies in the past involving the Bureau's attacks on the Sunken City, Josée's blood going out of control and causing deadly Frenzies, and saving her twin sister Lise (which involves intervention from Holly's Sanatorium as well), Josée finds peace and restores infrastructure and stability to the Sunken City in the hundred year gap. Her boss fight as the Hero Josée finds her as a divine-like, kitsune miko appearing dancer instead of the blinded swordswoman she was as her Frenzied version.
  • Holly: Solving the miscommunications between Holly and her father and sparing the lives of the Sanatorium staff by healing the latter, absolves Holly of her historical mercy killings and moves her Cocoon to the still active Sanatorium's courtyard, where she becomes an elegant figure skater wielding her Bequeathed Forma gatling guns as Hero Holly. In the hundred-year gap, the Sanatorium would continue to serve and heal all who came to its doors, saving countless lives over the century.
  • Lyle: Through intervening during an investigation-gone-wrong of one of the mines within the Scar, the Dawn Chorus survives a sudden raid by the Bureau, and the mystery of the disappearing mercenary group is retroactively erased; the Dawn Chorus continues to protect and serve the people of the land, and Lyle does not enter his Cocoon in a state of crippling grief and regret. Instead, his Cocoon is moved to the Pioneer Castle, where his rampaging fury becomes the skilled and elegant twin swordplay of the Hero Lyle. Much of the acid in the Scar becomes normal water as well.
  • Zenon: Zenon interacting with the protagonist and Lou in the past gives him the idea to empower his personal Key, a Zenon Pass, with a forma that would activate upon the cessation of the protagonist's heartbeat; this, combined with becoming a Pathos strong enough to relink the protagonist and Lou back to the past, allows them to interfere at the exact moment Zenon was placed in a temporal prison Forma by Lavinia, allowing him to intervene in the Resealing and remain free afterwards to research how to free both Lou and the protagonist from their own Cocoon.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Among the revenants, there are Seven Cardinal Houses which are the most powerful bloodlines. These include Superbia (Pride), Gula (Gluttony), Luxuria (Lust), Ira (Wrath), Acedia (Sloth), Avarita (Greed), and Invidia (Envy). Members within a house tend to share similar characteristics or powers.
  • Pride: The Superbia Bloodline originates from Progenitor Idris, the hero who sealed away the Resurgence, and tends to produce revenants with stronger powers than other bloodlines. They're also capable of time travel, though their founder Idris placed Retainers to challenge those who would meddle unnecessarily with time.
  • Gluttony: The Gula Bloodline are naturally voracious eaters, but their bodies possess a massive amount of energy and they're prone to frenzies. In battle, you can come across enemies with Gula Masks which are capable of healing themselves when they inflict damage on your character. For some reason, members of the Gula Bloodline like Josée are small in stature. Worse, every and then, members of the bloodline suffer from Power Incontinence.
  • Lust: The Luxuria Bloodline have healing abilities and a natural affinity to formae, though overusing their abilities can infect them with corruption, such as Holly and Monica. In battle, you can come across enemies with Luxuria Masks which are capable of healing their allies.
  • Wrath: Enemies wearing Ira Masks will have higher stagger resistance.
  • Sloth: Members of the Acedia Bloodline tend to be individualistic and pursue intellectual endeavors, so their inner relationships tend to be superficial and they don't have much regard for the wellbeing of others in pursuing their own goals. Enemies wearing Acedia Masks will explode on death after a short delay, massively damaging the player character if they're close by.
  • Envy: Enemies wearing Invidia Masks will project a constant ray in their line of sight that builds up Toxic Venom on the player.
• Signature Move: Bequeathed Forma are a unique slot that initially fulfills a utility role as the Statesman's Bow, an efficient ranged weapon for weakening foes at a distance, but as the game progresses this slot will also be home to the signature and most devastating attacks of the five Heroes, such as Josee's Bloodreaver Blade.
• Simple Solution Won't Work: Lyle's sidequest in the Free Exploration era has him and the protagonist deal with a human trafficking ring. In the aftermath, Lyle notes how because there's too many Revenants around, they don't have enough blood to feed them all, leading to some trafficking cases going unnoticed. The protagonist suggests stockpiling blood, but Lyle says it's been tried before; it's great in theory, but despite numerous advancements in technology, they don't have a means to safely store blood before it goes bad. This does, however, remind Lyle of something his old owner used to do when consuming blood, giving him the idea to use Revenant masks' materials to slow down blood degredation considerable to where blood storage will be possible.
• Sinister Scythe: The Reaper Jail swings twice in a wide radius with a startup spin that deflects attacks, making it great for handling crowds.
• Soft Reboot: While initially touted as a prequel, Code Vein II instead serves as a fresh start for the series. While it retains core elements, concepts, and themes from the game, including Revenants, Ichor, Blood Codes, and the signature anime aesthetic, it bears little in common with the first game. The biggest Retcon are Revenants themselves (who in the original Japanese script are simply called vampires); instead of being humans who were implanted with a BOR Parasite, Revenants are naturally-born, even hailing from noble bloodlines. Humans can also turn into Revenants, though this process is strictly regulated and requires approval from the Progenitors. There's also no indication Aragami exist, as "Horrors" instead refers to Revenants who were transformed via corruption caused by the Resurgence.
• That's No Moon: Lyle's questline reveals that the Corroded Scar is actually the maw of a gigantic horror, and the various resources found within the canyon, including the mines, are lures meant to draw unsuspecting hordes of Revenants straight into its jaws. Imogen, the Pioneer Queen who ruled the region, eventually discovered this and sealed the horror. It's unclear whether it's still sealed and peacefully slumbering, or if was slain alongside Imogen at the end of Lyle's questline.
• Thematic Series: Despite being a follow-up to the original Code Vein, this game has very little in common with its predecessor beyond Revenants, Blood Codes, the signature anime aesthetic, and so on. This is likely intentional given how the scope and story of II would be incompatible with the first game, which is set in the same universe as God Eater.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman!: Due to being empowered by the Resurgence itself, Valentin's Soul Saviour form is insanely lethal for Revenants, meaning fighting him is suicide. The protagonist, however, is (mostly) human, and thanks to their unique abilities, they're able to give the Heroes a fighting chance against him.
  • Shortly thereafter, During the start of the "Rescue Lou" arc, the player is unable to to summon any allies to assist them. However, the player still has the Guardian's Heart "partner" stretching back to the start of the game which, while normally rendered obsolete by just about any other partner, still is able to provide LP and revivals.
• Time Travel: A core aspect and story beat in the game is Lou's ability to jump back to the past, specifically a hundred years ago when the Upheaval took place. The protagonists are forced to do this in order to "awaken" the Heroes from their cocoons so they can be battled and killed. It's even possible to change the past, though Lavinia and other NPCs warn them against this because they might end up making things worse. While you can't prevent the Heroes from turning into Horrors, you can help give them closure, making their fated confrontation with the protagonist feel like less of a Mercy Kill and more like The Last Dance. Matter of fact, the path to achieving the best ending in the game involves Zenon himself using time travel, albeit by triggering a Forma spell he placed on the protagonist's heart post-mortem and forcing them back to the past before their confrontation with Hero Valentin.
• Vampire Hunter: Revenant Hunters are essentially this against revenants and horrors, utilizing technology capable of slicing their immortal flesh. They even found ways of harnessing the same abilities as Revenants, though this did have drawbacks; one character mentions how a Revenant Hunter was empowered by half a Revenant's heart, only to die because they couldn't withstand the backflow. Ironically, after battling the revenants throughout history, the Resurgence and civilization’s subsequent fall led them to ally with their former prey to protect humanity, repurposing their tools and tactics to save human and revenant lives on the battlefield.
• Wham Episode:
  • The Insula Carcare arc. Zenon takes it upon himself to explain the history of the Resurgence and Revenants to the protagonist. Namely that the Progenitors limited the Revenants' lifespan, robbing them of eternal life. He also reveals that when there are too many Revenants, their power swells until they can no longer contain it, resulting in an Resurgence Outbreak. This makes Zenon believe that the Resurgence becomes an especially grave threat when Revenants are overpopulated, and the Progenitors severed their eternal life as a means to combat this problem.
  • The Luna Rapacis arc reveals that Valentin discovered the true relationship between the Resurgence and Revenants—in truth, the Resurgence exists because of Revenants, supporting Zenon's theory that the Resurgence grows out of control when Revenant population reaches a certain point. It's for this reason Valentin came up with a plan to eradicate all Revenants, leading to the "A Hero's End" ending, where Lavinia completes her son's plan and renders her kind extinct.
  • The Upheaval era is one for Lou. As it turns out, she is the vessel Lavinia made to seal the Resurgence, where she would then slumber for all eternity. However, Lou was too weak to contain the Resurgence, instead losing all her memories and forcing Valentin and Lavinia to instead resort to a stopgap measure by using Valentin himself, Josee, Lyle, Holly, and Zenon as sacrifices for the Resealing ritual.
• Wham Shot:
  • During the Insula Carcere arc, the protagonist and Lou journey to the Past timeline when the Upheaval is about to kick off. A shockwave from Progenitor Idris's seal failing knocks the protagonist unconscious, awakening in the Confluence where Lou tells them what's happening. To Lou's shock, Zenon is also there.
  • After saving Zenon from Lavinia in the hopes of finding an alternate means to stop the Resurgence, the protagonist goes to MagMell and arrives in time to see Valentin addressing the other Heroes. To the protagonist's shock, Lou is also standing beside him.
  • After clearing the game on the "Luna Fraterna" ending, you're booted right back to the main menu. Under "Continue" is a new option, setting you up for the "Miraculous Bonds" ending.
    RESCUE LOU
• Wide-Open Sandbox: Unlike the previous game, II is set in an expansive open world, with dungeons scattered about the map.