Thanks to IGN for the above video showing some gameplay from Code Vein. We’ve got a little more info about the upcoming “anime Dark Souls” for you, some of which can be seen in action in the video above, which we thought important to give some context to the following.

First off we’ve got battle system details. Gifts will be abilities and buffs, think of them as magic, and you can carry up to 8 of them into battle with you. Not all gifts will be active abilities, some will provide passive buffs gained from items and equipment. In the gameplay above you can also see that some of these seem to have limited uses and are separate from items.

A staple of both Souls-like games and Monster Hunter style games, the stamina gauge will govern your actions. You’ll have to manage your amount of stamina available in order to be able to attack, dodge, dash, and drain effectively. The drain ability will increase something called Ichor points and Ichor maximum stock. It looks like these Ichor points are perhaps used to fuel the aforementioned gifts, and can be seen in the gameplay in the bottom right corner beside the ability icons. Attacking enemies seems to fill the bar and gradually refill your points. A special drain ability will also be available in Focus mode which will deal a large amount of damage to your target along with the regular Ichor bonuses. Ichor is called “blood charges” by the narrator in the video above.

You’ll be able to take a partner with you into battle too – two are detailed below (one of which can be seen in the gameplay above) and they’ll provide both combat support and share their own abilities to help you out. In addition to their abilities these companions will share their health and revive you if you fall.

Lastly for the battle system; the Focus System seems to be some kind of rage mode that players can activate to gain a boost to their abilities temporarily, allowing them to deal with a bad situation quickly. Focus is gained by dodging right before an attack hits or taking damage and, in the gameplay above, you can see the Focus gauge above the health and stamina bars in the bottom left corner. It seems to activate when the gauge is full, and loses chunks as you do attacks alongside draining slowly over time.

Perhaps more excitingly we now know that you don’t have to play a preset character in Code Vein but can create your own by choosing gender, body, hair style, and voice. It’s unclear if there’ll be fine control or more options than the basics listed but a creation system is still welcome.

Two characters are also briefly detailed:

• Louis is a young leader helping Revenants suffering from bloodlust. He ventures into the isolated land of VEIN looking for the source of Blood Beads to use as a substitute for human blood. With his one-handed sword, he is a swift attack expert and can elude with the armour type Ogre.
• Io is a female Revenant who explores with the protagonists. She has no memory of her past but knows VEIN very well. She will be extremely useful for the player!

It’s worth noting in the trailer that an additional detail of the battle system can be seen. Blocking enemy attacks doesn’t fully negate the damage, instead a small amount of damage makes it through the guard.

Code Vein is expected sometime next year, stay tuned for more info as we get it.