AESTHETIC - Code Vein 2 vs Code Vein 1: Why the industrial aesthetic felt so lonely, and how the "Mask of Idris" DLC might save the franchise's gothic vibe 🩸⚔️
Hey everyone, hope you're doing well!
I wanted to open up a discussion about something that’s been on my mind while playing Code Vein II. To be completely honest, I REALLY like the game and have very few complaints about the gameplay itself. The combat feels super refined, and running around with partners like Lou, Josée, and Noah is just awesome.But there’s one thing that really stood out to me: the art direction. Did anyone else get a massive sense of loneliness and abandonment from this open world?In the first Code Vein, we had that beautiful, purely neo-gothic Victorian aesthetic, filled with colossal cathedrals and ruins that looked like melancholic paintings.
Since the game was linear, those tight corridors made perfect sense for enemy placements and kept the tension high. In CV2, I feel like they leaned way too hard into an industrial vibe—tons of factories, refineries, and metallic structures. Everything became very gray and rusty. Plus, because the world is open and enemies are scattered all over the place, the map just feels empty and lifeless at times. Man, I really miss that classic gothic foundation!That being said, I am incredibly hyped about the rumors regarding the Mask of Idris DLC (which looks like it’s dropping between July and September!).Based on what dataminers found and current lore theories, Lou MagMell is going to use her powers to take us 200 years back in time—right into the golden age of Revenants and the Valentin bloodline. This means the architecture should completely change. It makes perfect sense! In the past, way before everything turned into a modern industrial wasteland, we will likely explore stone palaces, stained-glass halls, statues, and that heavy mist under crimson skies.To me, it looks like Shift is using this time travel plot as the perfect excuse to bring back the linear dungeon design and the gothic visuals that made the franchise famous in the first place, fixing that "empty" feeling of the base game.
What do you guys think? Do you prefer the urban industrial take of CV2, or are you praying the DLC brings the classic gothic style back with a vengeance through this time travel arc? Let's discuss!