GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

CODE VEIN vs Darksiders III

CODE VEIN is an action-RPG JRPG game from Bandai Namco Studios (2019) while Darksiders III is an action-adventure open-world game from Gunfire Games (2018).

CODE VEIN

2019 · Bandai Namco Studios

7.4GamingPickz Score

$59.99

Steam: Very Positive

Darksiders III

2018 · Gunfire Games

6.8GamingPickz Score

$39.99

Steam: Mostly Positive

What each one is

Steam files CODE VEIN under Action-RPG and JRPG. In contrast, it files Darksiders III under Action-Adventure and Open-World.

CODE VEIN

In the face of certain death, we rise. Team up and embark on a journey to the ends of hell to unlock your past and escape your living nightmare in CODE VEIN.

Description from its Steam store page

Darksiders III

Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash Action Adventure where players assume the role of FURY in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, FURY must bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth.

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

CODE VEINDarksiders III
GamingPickz Score7.4/106.8/10
Steam ratingVery Positive (83%, 62,452)Mostly Positive (76%, 17,431)
Critic aggregate72/10070/100
Price$59.99$39.99
Install size35 GB25 GB
Steam Deckplayableplayable
Released20192018
DeveloperBandai Namco StudiosGunfire Games

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

CODE VEIN vs Darksiders III, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    CODE VEINAction-RPG JRPG game
    Darksiders IIIAction-adventure open-world game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    CODE VEINSouls-like, Anime, Character Customization
    Darksiders IIIHack and Slash, Action, Female Protagonist

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    CODE VEINScore 7.4 · 83% on Steam · 72 critic
    Darksiders IIIScore 6.8 · 76% on Steam · 70 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    CODE VEIN62,452 reviews · 4 add-ons · 35 GB
    Darksiders III17,431 reviews · 3 add-ons · 25 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    CODE VEIN$59.99
    Darksiders III$39.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    CODE VEINPlayable
    Darksiders IIIPlayable

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

CODE VEIN and Darksiders III on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

See the whole grid

How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: CODE VEIN (GamingPickz Score 7.4)
  • The cheaper right now: Darksiders III ($39.99)
  • Lighter on storage: Darksiders III (25 GB)
  • The safer bet by weight of reviews: CODE VEIN (62,452 reviews)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

Souls-likeThird PersonSingleplayerActionDifficultRPGDark FantasyPost-apocalyptic

Where they differ

CODE VEIN is also

AnimeCharacter CustomizationAction RPGJRPGCo-opVampire

Darksiders III is also

Female ProtagonistAction-AdventureOpen WorldStory RichAtmosphericPuzzle

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, CODE VEIN is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Darksiders III is demanding, for players who want a challenge.

System requirements, side by side

CODE VEINDarksiders III
Minimum GPUGeForce GTX 660 / Radeon R7 370 with 2 GB
Minimum CPUAMD FX-8320 (3,5 GHz) / Intel i5-4690K (3,5 GHz)
Minimum RAM8 GB
Install size35 GB25 GB

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: CODE VEIN · Darksiders III.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for CODE VEIN and 1 for Darksiders III. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are CODE VEIN and Darksiders III in scope?

CODE VEIN has drawn 62,452 Steam reviews, ships 4 add-ons and installs in 35 GB. Darksiders III has drawn 17,431 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 25 GB.

Is CODE VEIN or Darksiders III better?

By the GamingPickz Score, CODE VEIN rates higher (7.4 to 6.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, CODE VEIN or Darksiders III?

Darksiders III is cheaper right now at $39.99, against $59.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

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