Soulslike games are infamous for being notoriously difficult, challenging the player to adapt to the many puzzles and fights on the fly to stay alive. The emphasis placed on being patient and learning an enemy’s attack patterns can be a jarring experience for inexperienced players, and consistent failure is likely to make new entrants give up the game itself. However, simply making the games “easier” would alienate the existing fanbase who crave the challenge the genre is famous for and might turn away people interested in the reputation that the games provide.
Dark Souls’ reputation can be intimidating to people who aren’t part of the fandom. On the other hand, Code Vein, or “anime dark souls” drags you away from this unforgiving world with its Companion System. Having an AI to travel with was an excellent choice in tackling what the game has to offer while retaining a positive outlook until you feel more comfortable playing solo. This article will circle around the question; Should Code Vein’s Companion System be carried in other soulslike games? And you are more than welcome to join the discussion by leaving a comment below.
▍How does Code Vein’s Companion System Make the Soulike Experience Different?
Code Vein is considered one of the easier entries into the genre, as an AI character can accompany the player soon after exiting the tutorial. In the overworld, this Companion would help the player fight in combat as a separate entity, and point out important landmarks on the map; this is all done with their own blend of personality built into each quip they spoke, distinguishing each Companion from each other.
Interacting with each possible AI partner at the game’s base yielded item rewards, and gave players the opportunity to exchange for unique weapons and other consumables. Each companion also played a role in Code Vein’s story, and by collecting Vestiges their backstories would be further fleshed out.
In theory, a companion was a partner you had to work together with to succeed; unfortunately, the mixed reception shows that the execution of an ally in gameplay varied. The general consensus is that the Companion system makes the game too easy.
The AI understandably took away some of the more pressing challenges in gameplay; a companion could attract an enemy’s attention and make it difficult to time dodges, be able to donate their HP if the player is hurt, and in the worst-case scenario the Companion revives the player character.
With the presence of an AI partner, the player can activate special temporary buffs, known as Communal Gifts, that significantly increase one or two of the team’s combat stats while decreasing others.
These buffs are costly in Ichor, which is Code Vein’s equivalent to mana, or MP. They function as a double-edged sword, where certain playstyles can take advantage of the change in stats, while other character builds might suffer; however, the Communal Gifts are still some of the most powerful skills in the game. Though it is possible to beat Code Vein without a Companion, going solo locks players from using Communal Gifts, and enemy HP doesn’t change.
The co-op feature in many games of the genre can be a workaround for a player looking to explore together with a friend but may be unreliable in situations where the connection is poor. Allowing a random person to join your game can be a mixed bag; depending on their build, the other player can destroy bosses with little effort, or spoil upcoming Blood Codes that haven’t been obtained yet. Being able to filter similar players is difficult in practice, as most of the game’s progression is nonlinear. Co-op play isn’t a bad feature, but its unpredictability can be a problem.
▍How Can the Companion System be Improved?
Making Soulslike games more approachable shouldn’t be exclusive to a game’s difficulty. With a bit of adjusting, Code Vein’s Companion system could make the genre more accessible for players without compromising much of the genre’s gameplay.
The ability of the AI Companion to donate HP to the player when in critical health is a factor in the game’s perceived lack of difficulty, as it can save a dying player. Even though this feature cannot be controlled, it treats the AI as a second HP bar that can cover for a player’s mistakes, rather than an ally to work together.
Players can also give HP to the AI to assist their Companion, but it is unlikely that this decision would be chosen in battle. To clarify, if the player’s character dies they would lose the fight and respawn at the last checkpoint. On the other hand, if the AI dies the player can continue to battle until their own character’s HP hits 0. Choosing to save your Companion is a split-second decision, and sometimes it might be better to let them die to get a few extra seconds.
My suggestion to preserve the difficulty without taking away the Companion’s ability to assist the player would be to reduce the number of times that a Companion can donate HP. Alternatively, a setting to toggle off this function can also work for players who want more limited sources of healing but would still like to fight with an AI partner. The intent is to encourage players to value learning enemy attack patterns and give more importance to the AI’s presence in battle.
Communal Gifts are unlocked as soon as you receive a new Companion. As it is very easy to change the player character’s equipment and skill set to work with each Communal Gift, such a powerful buff can work wonders on a player’s fighting ability to the point that they are unlocked in-game.
If skills similar to Communal Gifts are carried over to future Soulslike games, an idea to balance these techniques is to prevent the player from healing for the duration of the buff. Both the player’s and the Companion’s health bars become more vulnerable, emphasizing the series’ importance in dodging, or parrying enemy attacks even when powered up by strong buffs.
Unfortunately, there is no single solution to address the balance issues that come with involving a separate party member. However, some of the proposed ideas might help steer the feature closer to the genre’s infamous difficulty without scrapping the system altogether.
▍Companions Should Be More Than Just an Extra HP Bar
The Companions of Code Vein breathe life into a game otherwise filled with horrors and traps designed to brutally take down the player character. From encouraging the player after multiple deaths, or acting as a second pair of eyes during exploration, there is potential in including an AI partner feature in future Soulslike games.
For anyone looking into entering the Soulslike genre, I highly recommend giving Code Vein a try. One of my favorite parts of the game is that outside of the tutorial, I was never forced to take an AI partner at any time. Having an AI helped to get me into Code Vein, but my enjoyment didn’t decrease when I explored by myself.
Do you think that future Soulslike games should have an AI partner option? What changes would you like to see in Code Vein’s companion system? Let us know your thoughts!
