Today’s issue of Weekly Famitsu, which was released a day later this week to accommodate the launch of Monster Hunter World, included a sizable spread on the upcoming Souls-like JRPG Code Vein.
First and foremost, we get to see the old church that acts as our hero’s base of operations. It was set up by some of the revenants including Luis and Yakumo to serve as a protection against the lost. This is where the player’s NPC companions will gather.
The church has what is needed to survive, including areas for recreation. We can see a strange symbol at the center of the bar, and maybe it belongs to some organization. There is a room with a pool table and darts, and a logo that definitely looks like Domino’s Pizza’s.
The player will be able to talk to his companions, purchase and upgrade weapons and armor at the shop, and change costume and hairstyle.
On top of the companions, the base also houses other revenants that won’t leave on adventures, but will still act as support. This includes exploration advice, sale and purchase of equipment, and more.
We already saw Io, who will help the player with her wealth of knowledge about the Vein, even if she has lost all her memories of her past.
Coco is a beautiful revenant that deals in precious goods. She also lost her memory, as it isn’t uncommon among revenants, but she wants to regain it at all costs.
Rin Murasame was once nicknamed “Yasha” and was known for her great battle skills. Yet, a past trauma prevents her from fighting. She operates the equipment shops where you can purchase and upgrade equipment.
Davis is a member of Cerberus. His main job is tax collector of blood tears. He has been fighting since his childhood, and is looking for a girl whose name he forgot, using just a picture as a lead.
Relationships with the revenants that inhabit the base are governed by the “familiarity” mechanic. By interacting with them, you can improve it. As it gets higher, you can obtain various items, and they will become more valuable as things go on, including upgrade materials and rare weapons.
It’s also possible to see their memories via the Blood Code crystals, and this will also improve the level of familiarity with each character. Of course, those that can accompany the hero can also increase their intimacy by fighting together.
We learn about the calamity defined “Collapse” that destroyed the world. Thorns protruded from the earth and cities collapsed. Nearly half of humanity was exterminated. More died as monsters started to appear afterwards. In order to fight them, the revenants were artificially created with the use of the “BOR” Parasite implanted in the heart. BOR means Biological Organ Regenerative. This allows them to gain better control of their organs and brains, while keeping their ego. They’re technically dead, but the BOR Parasite makes them effectively immortal.
The moment a revenant dies, the BOR Parasite disperses his cells into the air and then recombines them to restore the host. This process is called “Atomization.” That being said, if a revenant’s heart is destroyed, he will collapse and turn into ashes. On top of that, as they repeatedly regenerate, they gradually lose their memories.
Another side effect is that revenants need to consume blood regularly or lose their ego, becoming Lost. A Lost’s body is eroded by the BOR Parasite at a cellular level, and they don’t die even if their heart is destroyed. They’re effectively immortal monsters.
In order to suppress the blood thirst, the Q.U.E.E.N. plan was initiated with the goal of creating complete revenants with no weak spots. This would be achieved by modifying the BOR so that it could consume the blood of every living being, removing the need for drinking that of the Revenant’s own kind.
Although the experiment was successful, the girl that was used as a guinea pig could not tolerate the severe pain and ran away. She is nicknamed “Queen” and still wears her lab clothes and bandages. She has an aura that actually amplifies others’ blood thirst, so Revenant’s can’t approach her without a mask. She also uses a thorn that lets her control the Lost.
A man named Gregorio Silva took upon himself to organize a force of vampires to subdue the Queen, and the terrible war that followed caused countless deaths, the creation of many new revenants, and even more Lost.
When the lost war against the Queen ended, the Vein started to be invaded by a red mist that amplifies the blood thirst, increasing the need for Blood Tears that could satiate it. A special government was established under the iron fist of Silva as a its Governor General.
They collect blood tears and redistribute them, with a process called the “Blood Tax.” They also provide shelter against the Lost. Weak revenants that cannot afford to pay the tax are enslaved and held prisoner, deprieved of their liberty and strictly controlled under the guise of “protection.”
The security force named “Cerberus” is made exclusively of revenants serving faithfully under Silva’s rule. They monitor the activities of the revenants living in the Vein, and take care of the collection and distribution of blood tears. Many of them are surviving veterans of the war against the Queen. After the spreading of the red mist, besides their core mission, they started seeking more sources of tears and supplies, and are currently investigating the area called “the depths.”
Their emblem is a red three-headed dog. Instead of inspiring a sense of safety, its design reeks more of intimidation. Members of Cerberus are normally clad in fully-covering outfits with masks. It’s impossible to see their expression, and they’re quite scary. Is their “security” really just?
You can check out the screenshots below, keeping in mind that they’re from magazine scans, so the quality is far from perfect. If you want to see and learn more about the game, you can enjoy another recent batch of screenshots, more images and information, and the latest trailer. You should also watch some gameplay recorded by yours truly at Bandai Namco’s headquarters i Tokyo, and read our interview with Producer Keota Iizuka and Director Hiroshi Yoshimura.
Code Vein will launch in 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
