Code Vein 2’s Time Travel Mechanic Means Multiple Endings, But Required “Extensive” Story Rewrites

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Bandai Namco’s Code Vein 2 raises the stakes significantly compared to the first game. As a Revenant Hunter, you’ll team up with the enigmatic Lou Magwell and travel back in time to stop the Resurgence, a catastrophic event that threatens to destroy the world. Your 100-year journey involves forging alliances with various companions, and the choices you make in the past will directly impact the present.

According to producer Keita Iizuka, changing the past in the game will affect your relationships and the world around you when you return to the present. This leads to multiple different endings, and if you don’t like how things turn out, you can travel back in time to create a new outcome.

Director Hiroshi Yoshimura described the game as having a distinctive structure, noting its multiple endings and how players reach them varies. He emphasized that player choices are key, as they directly influence the story’s development. For those who want to continue after finishing the game, a New Game+ mode – a feature common in Souls-like games – is included to carry over progress.

According to Iizuka, adding time travel to the story made the writing surprisingly difficult. He prioritized creating realistic, believable characters and didn’t want them to simply serve the game’s mechanics. While keeping the story consistent was a struggle, he felt it was even more important that the characters remained true to themselves.

I always prioritized making sure the game felt consistent for players. It was a complicated process, and I struggled to explain my ideas to the team, so I ended up handling most of it on my own.

Although the story needed significant revisions, Yoshimura believes the final version is cohesive and reads smoothly. The changes to the historical elements blend in naturally, so they don’t feel jarring or out of place.

The highly anticipated game, Code Vein 2, arrives on January 30th for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC, priced at $69.99. Players can get a head start with a free character creation demo launching on January 23rd, letting them design and then carry over their unique hunter to the full game. The game also includes the Magmell Institute, a location with a peaceful hot spring, and a robust Photo Mode for showing off your customized characters.

Learn all about our in-depth look at this action RPG, including what makes it different and better than the first game.

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2026-01-08 23:11