Platinum… #1000! 🏆
#CodeViolet
Yes, that was my choice - and it actually happened. For this huge milestone, I picked Code Violet.
After seeing the Metacritic scores that were so low they were practically competing with the infamous Gollum, my expectations were extremely low. Was the game really as terrible as people say? Definitely NOT. That said, I still have more negative things to say about it than positive ones.
The visuals surprised me in a good way, and the story was surprisingly decent. The main character was also genuinely nice to look at - she wasn’t some fat hog, she wasn’t going around announcing her pronouns, and the story didn’t revolve around searching for her girlfriend. I started the game feeling genuinely positive and just waited for the moment reality would hit… and it came much sooner than I expected.
At first, I praised the locations and atmosphere - the abandoned ship, the fear of the unknown, and the first encounter with an enemy had a strong OG Dead Space vibe. I also liked how the protagonist’s health was displayed on her armband.
Flickering lights in silent bathrooms, entering the first abandoned living quarters with scattered toys, an empty cradle, and a music box playing - it all created a great atmosphere… until I checked the next room. And the next one. Completely copy-paste.
Code Violet tries to do a bit of everything - and unfortunately does everything poorly. As I mentioned, it’s a mix of Dead Space and classic Resident Evil. There’s a limited-slot inventory, an overcomplicated crafting system, mixing red pills with blue ones to create bigger healing items, but the backpack size barely allows any planning, so I ended up ignoring most materials. There are also small puzzles and dinosaurs - lots of identical dinosaurs with not-too-bad AI.
Continuing the Resident Evil inspiration, we have save rooms. Every single one has the exact same layout: an item chest and… saving the game on an old telephone. The music in safe houses should feel cozy, and Resident Evil did a great job with that, but here you just get Beethoven on an endless loop.
One positive surprise was the number of outfits. The game has 18 costumes, all quite diverse, which I didn’t expect at all. There are also earrings that boost stats, so there are some light RPG elements. After the first wave of disappointment, I realized this wasn’t a serious survival horror, so I put on a Christmas sweater with a cute dinosaur and continued the story.
Speaking of enemies - zomb… dinosaurs! The game only has four types of dinosaurs. Three of them are easily handled with an overpowered shotgun, while the small compsognathus fall to the SMG. There are no real scare moments or larger scripted events to spice up the gameplay. Once defeated, enemies turn into ragdolls, and you can even walk through their bodies.
I never judge games by their length. This one can be finished in a single sitting, which is both a plus and a minus here - the game was decent, but it’s good that it ended quickly. In short: it didn’t overstay its welcome.
My score: 5/10. I’ve played MUCH worse games.
If there was a stack, would I play it? Of course.
Would I recommend it? Definitely not.