CODE VEIN. The chest languishes with memories

More than a year has passed since the game was released. I want to pay tribute to this work. And talk about how the game may turn a lot of people off at the beginning, but for those who give it a chance, it has an interesting story to tell. This story begins with a great crash.

The Great Crash

Everything went downhill when scientists discovered Oracle cells – a new form of life that was constantly dividing, mutating and forming colonies. The discovery of what could have been a step in the development of mankind turned out to be a step into the abyss of chaos. Cells got out of control and began to rapidly mutate and develop.

The world was pierced by the Spikes of Judgment, destroying cities and killing almost half of the planet’s population

Cell mutation led to the appearance of monsters that were not afraid of conventional weapons. And the world would have been doomed if not for another study by scientists, whose name is BOR parasites. And since then, the world has been seized by a thirst for blood, and the creatures that replaced humanity could be divided into two camps. Immortals who fought against their own thirst. And the lost, who lost the remnants of humanity, succumbing to thirst.

Prologue

You wake up to find yourself under the gaze of a mysterious young woman. You can’t remember anything, and some unbearable thirst is tearing you apart from the inside. Under the guidance of a girl, you go out into the destroyed city.

Suffering from excruciating pain, you reach your goal: a dry spring. Your blood revives him. The source begins to beat with renewed vigor and the miasma surrounding it dissipates. You realize that you have a unique power.

The first part of the journey – per aspera

So, we have good ground for the development of the plot: a great crash, a mysterious girl, a protagonist with amnesia and a unique power. It sounds normal, vague, but normal, there is room for imagination, you can take the player in turn and systematically throw a plot at him. But you won’t get that in the first third of the game. Everything will be blurry and abstract. It’s as if the developers are afraid to destroy the prevailing opinion that the game is: “Well, it’s that souls-like with boobs.”.

The first bosses do not have their own story and are included in the plot simply because “This is the end of the location and, logically, a battle with the boss is needed”. We are simply presented with the fact that these are the lost ones, and all the information that we can find out about them is:

The blood of thirst-mad immortals darkens. https://kingdomcasino-uk.com The BOR parasite penetrates more actively into the body, and the host’s bones begin to change shape

We will not know who Oliver Collins, the mad butterfly, the insatiable tyrant and the ruthless executioner were. This information is not available. The game won’t tell you this because it doesn’t know itself.

The plot will also be vague and abstract, and all the activities that we are offered to engage in can be described as “You are the chosen one, you can dispel the miasma, you will help us find the place where all springs originate.”. But even in the first third there are pleasant moments. For example, Yakumo’s monologue.

Ah… This? This is onigiri. They are made from rice and are convenient to take on the road. It’s not like immortals need food. We are tormented by a thirst for blood, but we don’t feel hunger at all. But it seems to me that sometimes it’s all the more important to eat something. We fight, drink blood, are reborn, fight again… Not life, but a vicious circle. And every day you forget more and more that you were once a man. If I completely forget my past, I will lose myself. I will become someone else… in the same body. In appearance I will be like an immortal, but inside I will be no better than the lost one.

Before I became immortal, I served in the army. We ate onigiri all the time on our hikes. They probably help me remember. It was a sad time, but I made friends with good people whom I don’t want to forget. They don’t taste anything special, but they help me remember old friends. In a way, onigiri helps me to be myself. This is an important part of my life!

Makes you think and it’s nice. Yes, the monologue looks out of place, because he starts reasoning out of nowhere. The main character just looked at Yakumo having dinner and got carried away. But this is even better. Sounds more natural. Sincerely. But that’s all I remember about the first third of the game.

Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto

Up to this point I have only talked about the plot, but we are still talking about the game, and something needs to be said about the gameplay. And this would be a story about a typical representative of souls-like, with all the accompanying pros and cons. So I won’t waste my time on this. But there is one interesting feature that gave the game its name – the blood code. And it will appeal to everyone who wants to try everything at once.

Each immortal has his own unique blood code. Within the framework of the game, this means that each immortal has his own pre-distributed characteristics and talents. The uniqueness of our protagonist is that he can use any blood code he receives. This means changing character characteristics on the fly. Didn’t work with heavy weapons? No need to start the game again. It is enough to replace the blood code with a more suitable one.

Level design is not remarkable. Cute. But quite affordable. Moreover, there are no special complaints about linear locations, I walked past it and forgot about it. But there is a temple of the holy blood. And there are a lot of questions for him, for example, why? And most importantly… it doesn’t matter. And the important thing is that this temple will become a turning point, both in the game and in my narratives.

This is absolute hell for a person with topographic cretinism

The designer was clearly inspired by Anor Londo from the Dark Souls series. But the Temple of the Holy Blood went further and this is not just an unintuitive site. This is a huge labyrinth in which you can spend more than one hour looking for the very parapet from which you need to fall in order to go further.

But you should be patient and go through this location as the “second part” begins and the story begins to gain momentum. We will literally and figuratively be plunged into a whirlpool of events.

The second part of the journey – ad astra

In the literal sense, because closer to the end of the temple we will be shown the memories of the protagonist. And it won’t be just walks between dioramas. We will be directly involved and many things will begin to fall into place.

The action begins in a military camp. Gregorio Silva, commander of Operation Queen’s Killer, gives a speech to the army. He is confident that in the decisive battle with the queen, victory will be theirs. Inspired soldiers shout back in approval

Immortals fought for the survival of humanity, many of whom were created for the Silva military company. Subsequently they will be called the second generation. Parasites have been surgically implanted into men and women of all ages. This generation of immortals is the largest. Many of them support Silva to this day. And most of those who survived Operation Queen’s Killer will serve in Cerberus. But many of those less fortunate will become lost.

And this is only a small part of what they will show and tell us. Yes, a third of the game has already passed, but from now on it will be filled with a plot. Each boss will have a story behind it: the guardians, Juzo Mido, the Skull King, they are all part of the plot. They have their own story that they will tell us. They are connected with our comrades, and they themselves will say about it, share their opinions and experiences with us, not somewhere in a magazine in text, but in voice, in cutscenes. Even the gunner and squire were given a short but clear explanation of their presence.

I want to mention them. Because the couple was clearly inspired by Orstein and Smough. They also work in pairs. And they do it quite well. One is slow but well protected. The second one is fast and agile. Both cover each other’s weaknesses. They are beautiful and worthy of special mention

Epilogue

The game will stop being silent and start telling. A careful study of locations and the search for the memories of the guardians will make sense and influence the plot. And if you give the game a chance, close your eyes to the first third, to the roughness of the gameplay, to the architecture of the Temple of the Holy Blood. Then she will show herself on the good side and leave a pleasant impression after passing. And who knows, after everything, maybe you will have a desire to come back here again..