First Code Vein Gameplay Footage Features Crazy Transformations

Keep those Dark Souls comparisons coming.

The first gameplay footage from Code Vein, Bandai Namco's vampiric action-RPG, is here, and while it doesn't look exactly like From Software's dark fantasy series, there are enough similarities to pique fans' interest.

Of course, Code Vein has a couple of fresh tricks up its sleeve, too. In addition to dodging, rolling, and striking, Code Vein's heroes, known as Revenants, can steal their opponents' blood, which they use to unleash special attacks. In one, a girl with glowing red eyes sprouts a metallic tail, which she uses to skewer her foe. In another, one of the Revenants grows a dark face mask shortly before stabbing an enemy with his giant clawed hand.

Bandai Namco officially announced Code Vein last month with a stylish black and white (and red) trailer that immediately caught people's eyes, although the game's final art style is much more traditional. In Code Vein, the player and a number of other Revenants fight to reclaim Earth from the Lost, vampires who turned evil after going too long without any blood. In addition to the Souls-like combat and blood-powered transformations, Code Vein features "Buddies," or computer-controlled allies who accompany your character and help out during battle.

Code Vein is set to debut in 2018—reportedly, development is only about 35 percent complete. Hopefully, the trailer's anything-goes will make it into the final product—although if we really want to see some over-the-top vampire action, there's always Nicolas Cage's Vampire's Kiss, which is one of the most hilariously over-acted movies of all time.