Video Games
Vampiric RPG ‘Code Vein II’ Launches on January 30 [Trailer]
Originally revealed this past summer, Bandai Namco announced yesterday during the Sony State of Play that Code Vein II will launch worldwide on January 30, 2026. Pre-orders on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam in Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s Editions. The announcement was accompanied by a brand new gameplay trailer, revealing never-before-seen features for the follow-up to the 2019 original.
The trailer offers fans the first glimpse of a world where players will traverse on foot or by summoning their vehicle, the Motorcycle Forma, as they battle through haunting landscapes. Alongside Lou MagMell, a Revenant girl who revives the protagonist with her own heart and wields the power to travel through time, the player as the Revenant Hunter embarks on a mission to rewrite history and save the world.
Also revealed is the new Partner System, which lets players seamlessly switch between two forms of combat. In Summoning mode, Partners fight independently to support in battle, while Assimilation merges them with the Hunter for boosted stats and power. The trailer further highlights new Jails and Formae, including the returning Hound Jail, a finishing critical move from the original Code Vein which summons vicious wolves that drain enemies of Ichor, and the newly introduced Reaper Jail, which equips the Hunter with a scythe for sweeping attacks and counters.
Code Vein II features a deep narrative where players and characters are bound by blood, fate, and destiny, set in a future where the last remnants of humanity and Revenants struggle against a world on the verge of collapse. As the Revenant Hunter, you will intervene in key moments of history to alter key revenants’ destinies that reveal hidden truths and information to save the future.
Players use blood drained from enemies to unlock a variety of powerful skills, build strategy for combat with Blood codes, and use unique weapons and equipment called Jails to overcome challenging foes and epic bosses. Code Vein II also features a deep customization system for the game’s protagonist, where players can customize their characters to perfection with a vast array of settings for body type, hairstyle, facial expressions, accessories, makeup and more.
Video Games
Bloody Body Horror Revealed in ‘Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’, Currently in Development [Trailer]
Shift Up has shifted things dramatically from 2024’s action-adventure game Stellar Blade, offering up a body horror bonanza in the newly announced sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The sequel is currently early in development, but if the trailer is any indication, players will be in for plenty of body horror.
Continuing the story from the original Stellar Blade, Blood Rain will star a new protagonist named Eve. Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of humanity has fled to a Colony in outer space.
Shift Up had mentioned during a Q&A following its latest earnings presentation last month that development on Blood Rain (which was still unannounced at the time) was progressing smoothly, and was on track to meet their targeted quality standards.
Shift Up stated that with this new title it would be transitioning to a first-party service model, effectively moving away from the restrictions the game experienced with original publisher Sony, which had the game under an exclusivity agreement for the PlayStation 5. “This will allow us to lead marketing strategies that fully reflect the distinctive identity of the Stellar Blade IP, and we expect to communicate the unique appeal of its universe to players more directly and effectively.”
Whether this means that Xbox Players will finally be able to play the original game (or its sequel) is still not clear. Meanwhile, Stellar Blade is reportedly being ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, but no official confirmation has been made.