First Trailer For Bandai Namco’s Code Vein Has An Air Of Dark Souls About It

The first trailer for Bandai Namco’s vampire RPG, Code Vein, has arrived, and it appears that audiences haven’t wasted any time in likening it to a certain other Namco-published franchise. In was inevitable, really, that any new IP – especially one utilizing a post-apocalyptic setting and what appears to be a similar combat system – coming from the company would be compared to From Software’s Dark Souls series, but audiences watching this latest trailer, appropriately named Bloodlust, have already taken to calling it ‘Anime Dark Souls’. Whether that’s supposed to be derivative or affectionate is anyone’s guess, but either way, there’s no denying that Code Vein, at least from what we’ve seen so far, looks very intriguing.

As per the video’s description, the upcoming RPG, which is being developed by the team behind the God Eater series, takes place in a “not too distant future,” where an unspecified cataclysmic event has ravaged the world. All that remains of mankind’s prosperous peak are ruined cities and wastelands as far as the eye can see, the only remaining survivors living at the center of the destruction in a “hidden society of Revenants called Vein.” Taking up the mantle of one such Revenant, Namco says players will utilize something called Blood Veils in order to tackle the mindless and mutated remnants of humanity, draining their blood in order to enhance their own abilities, called Gifts. Weapon abilities, strength boosts and transformations will all be unlockable with the currency.

We’ll have to wait for more details, but Blood Veils sound incredibly similar to Dark Souls‘ own upgrade currency, although what already drastically sets the two apart is Code Vein‘s art style. Today’s trailer, which you can find above, combines animesque character design with more gritty, realistic environmental assets to create a unique-looking whole, and there are even a few displays of the game’s bloody combat system to be found within.

Bandai Namco has yet to announce a specific release date (currently set for 2018) or available platforms for Code Vein, but you can likely expect more details to emerge at next month’s E3. Stay tuned.