Code Vein

I'm writing this as a Dark Souls veteran (1000+ hours) who doesn't really care for Anime.
First off - is this Anime Souls? Absolutely.
But is it a bad ripoff? Absolutely not.
Overall comparison:
- movement is a bit more floaty in this one
- Combat feels a bit less beefy but still very good
- Weapon movesets have been replaced with active skills which I like more. You unlock them over time and after mastering each skill you can mix and match cross classes
- Bosses are very similar to Souls but still feel fresh and challenging
- most of the consumables and game mechanics are basically 100% copy&paste from Souls, which I don't mind because of the familiarity it creates for players like me
- Level design also feels very similar with shortcuts and gorgeous views along the way
The story gets interesting very fast with elements of post-apocalypse, underground rivers of Blood, Vampires etc.
When it comes to the art style - I'm not a fan of Anime in general, but holy hell this game looks gorgeous! The characters are lively animated, the world is interesting with lots of details, it's colorful and the character customization is the best I've ever seen in any game. You can not only change your person itself but you can also customize different outfits and change between them whenever you want. Fashion Souls+
Oh yeah one mention about the difficulty: some people say this game is easier than Souls - wrong. Turn the AI companion off and you'll see. First "real" boss took me 20+ tries and it felt just as rewarding to finally beat it.
Overall I highly recommend this game if you're a fan of deep character customization and want a fresh Souls experience in a wonderful world with gorgeous characters and interesting story.

this game is good but dont buy DLC

The character creation is your first real boss battle.

Anime dark souls. Most of the mechanics are the same with bonfires, stamina bar for melee, dashing and dodging and menacing bosses.
One nice change is you can basically change class and skills at any time, so you can play around with different builds and new moves.
The game doesn't have difficulty settings, but has a kind of indirect difficulty select:
1. Go solo- this is really very difficult, significantly more so than Demon's Souls, or DS 1,2 and 3 in my opinion. Invasion enemies can overwhelm you, the bosses are aggressive and mistakes will result in quick death.
2. Coop online with a friend- this was how I played most of the game and I feel this is the best experience- we still got destroyed by some bosses, but the game felt quite nicely balanced.
3. Bring AI companion Yakumo- the game is quite easy as he will do most of the work- he was more effective than me or my human companion.
4. Bring any other AI companion- the game feels reasonably well balanced, not too punishing or too easy.
4. Bring an AI companion and invite a friend at the same time- super easy mode.
I found I wasn't really invested in the story and I was honestly skipping cutscenes to get back to the fighting.

*SPOILER FREE!*
1. Story-Rich
Among all the popular and successful titles that Bandai Namco Entertainment has developed, Code Vein is my absolute favorite because of the immersive story-line that it has. As the story dug deeper into each character's past and experiences, I became engrossed in both game play and story-line which makes it one of my most favorite video games of all time.
2. Content and New Game +
While you can just play the game by following the main storyline, there are many other contents such as weapons, armors, blood codes and side quests that you can collect and complete. Also, this game has multiple endings which you can only achieve by completing more than one play-through. You also have the option to increase the game's difficulty much higher by entering New Game+.
3. The game is just BEAUTIFUL
I've already mentioned how beautiful the game's story-line is but generally, everything about this game is beautiful to me. The music while traversing a post apocalyptic city is surprisingly very soothing for my heart. I recommended this game so that everyone can experience the happiness that I felt playing this game. *mini-spoiler* My eyes watered when Eva started singing *spoiler-ends*
4. Epic Customization
Code Vein has one of the most satisfying character customization compared to all other video games that I've played. You can go for any anime look and fashion you like without adding mods and skins from the game itself!
5. Co-Op System
The Co-Op system in this game is very unique and interesting. This game requires teamwork and understanding between you and your Co-Op partner as monsters and bosses get buffed when the game enters Co-Op mode. Resurrection in this game is beautiful. It takes away health from the player and transfers it to team, reviving dead players and healing wounded teammates as well. Playing Co-Op also rewards you with Mark of Honor medals which unlocks rewards such as titles. It is encouraged that players find a co-op partner to enjoy this game together with!
6. Custom Skill Builds and Classes
One of the most captivating thing about this game for me is that you can build your character the way you want it to be. You can become anyone from someone who one-shots bosses or a high DPS magic user.
As for me, I built myself around my partner as a healer and let him carry me while I watch over him from the back-lines and keep him healthy and alive. However, there are some bosses that we cannot win with me in the back-lines as a healer, so I switch around to a ranged Bayonet class so I can help him output more damage. You can mix and match many skills and passives to get the type of game-play you want from your character. Not to mention, weapons and armors too.
1. You shouldn't buy this if you hate hard games.
While the game has so much to offer and explore, this game is very hard even on the first play-through if you are not careful. The monsters in the game can catch you by surprise and the boss fights are really difficult (which is also the main interest points of the game). Imagine an anime dark souls ^^. It also gets harder if you enter new game plus but you have an option to choose not to.
2. You shouldn't buy this if you hated Dark Souls (explained above)
3. You shouldn't buy this game if you hate grinding.
The game has many content which will require a lot of time and focus. It has multiple endings, many items to collect, skills to level and side-quests to complete which can easily take up days and weeks off your busy schedule.
4. You shouldn't buy this game if you are looking to play Co-Op with more than one friend.
While I listed as Co-Op being one of the attractions of the game, the Co-Op system in the game is a little flawed as-
A) It only allows one Co-Op partner to exist in one adventure.
B) You have to complete one story, two times. When your partner helps you complete your mission in the map, it only counts as story completion on your end. You also have to do the mission all over again to help your partner complete their own story.
TL;DR
The game is really beautiful in my eyes and the story-line is to die for. I've cried like a baby for most of the game and if you're into video games with rich story-lines, I recommend for you to really get this game. The experience I've had in this game is already worth more than the money I've spent to get Code Vein.

So, my idiot self bought this game, because I thought it was going to be some fun, regular anime game similar to the SAO games, or something similar. Boy, was I wrong. When I first discovered that the game was going to be a tooth and nail struggle to not get waffle stomped by enemies either twice my size, or twice the size of my house: I quickly learned that I had just spent $80 on a game that I had absolutely no business, or interest in the combat. But, I kept with it, because, well- $80 is a lot of money, and I didn't want to waste it. I had really enjoyed the story, graphics, and I found that screwing around sometimes could be fun. After my first playthrough, which was around 24 hours, I realised that I was supposed to do something very important, and I didn't. So, I cut my losses, and decided to go for another round of butt-kicking torment, but on the first star difficulty. So, I then spent around 13 hours of getting my butt kicked, smacked (not in a fun way), and even bitten by some enemies. During my second playthrough, I appreciated more, and had more 'fun' (if you can call rage inducing bosses, complete with a kit to challenge my brutal stupidity fun) and I was able to get the ending that I wanted. But, after loading back into my save, I realised I didn't want another challenge, I wanted more of the same; I wanted fresh story, and new things to make the game fun. But, that wasn't there. I had purchased the season pass, and I was sorely upset by it. The DLC are shallow, and only really serve a purpose to challenge you, which I can understand some might like, but I don't. Overall, I'd say the game is absolutely worth playing, if you can stomach a few fights that may take north of half an hour of retries. The story was solid, the characters felt resourceful, and aided the narrative, and the levels of customisation on the aesthetics and play style variety (I played the Halberd :)) really made me feel that what I was playing was worth the $80, even if I had spent under 40 hours total in the game. So, if you're looking for a Souls-Like, and you're willing to wear your weeb-badge with pride: I'd absolutely give the base game a try, but I wouldn't say to purchase the DLC, unless you want the added challenges, and you want to support the developers.

If you took God Eater and Dark Souls and mashed them together, regardless of your expectations, you'd be blown away.
While perhaps bland for some, the combat in this game is actually very fluid and sturdy - the enemies aren't total crap, nor are they a walk in the park. Any and all of my deaths have felt fair, like I knew what I had to do better or that it was my own reaction speed rather than unfair gimmicks.
The variety of stupid builds you can create, as well as visuals you can set upon your character, are all quite fun and varied. I haven't seen a single repeated appearance or exact build apart from people pursuing the metas for maximum farming capabilities. It's comfortable and fresh.
I'll end up adding more to this at a later date, but this game is excellent. It has a fantastic story, the characters actually feel quite pleasant as the story unfolds, and the fanservice doesn't actually overwhelm the characters themselves. I wholly recommend this to people who are looking for stumbling into something fresh and interesting. It's a Souls-clone that I'd personally rate above the Souls games themselves, with a far better and more enjoyable story to boot.
Io is best girl. Best girl forever.