Code Violet Review – More Irritation Than Tension

It’s always painful to criticize a game with the knowledge that a lot of time and effort from talented individuals was invested into making it. But as much as it pains me to say it, Code Violet’s only redeeming features are its visuals, the audio, and perhaps, the somewhat hidden potential of its premise. It just falls flat despite being inspired by some real stalwarts in the survival horror space. As I write this review, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything that made the evening I spent experiencing it, feel like it was worth it.

But in the spirit of fairness, I’d argue that its visuals are quite eye-catching. The light in dimly lit corridors in the mysterious facility where most of the game takes place gently glances off protagonist Violet Sinclair’s hair and costume, and off surfaces in the environments. It’s a pity, then, that most of the places you explore look nearly identical except for a few outdoor locations.

"The story is so dreadfully reliant on tried and tested sci-fi horror tropes that I could see its big reveals coming from a mile away."

While I’d be inclined to forgive that repetition if the stuff I discovered within them was interesting, that sadly isn’t the case. First off, the level design in this one is so convoluted and seemingly designed around tedious backtracking that it’s hard to defend it despite how pleasing it can be to look at. It doesn’t help that the performance sometimes fails to keep up, with a bit of stutter creeping in from time to time, coupled with wonky animations and terrible facial expressions that were quite jarring to witness.

The story is so dreadfully reliant on tried and tested sci-fi horror tropes that I could see its big reveals coming from a mile away. With that being said, I do think that it could have been a great narrative if it had been backed up by more consistent writing over the course of the four hours it presented to its audiences.

However, with little to no context about the how and why of Violet’s predicament being provided for most of the adventure, it was quite hard to be invested in her journey. The declaration that her story was just beginning at the end of the narrative should have been a reason to celebrate the birth of another excellent PlayStation exclusive franchise. Sadly, Violet isn’t going to be joining the likes of Aloy anytime soon.

The entire adventure is so convoluted and lacking polish that any attempts at creating tension fail, often spectacularly. That’s a facet of the experience that’s so crucial to a horror title, and it’s genuinely upsetting to see a potential-filled premise wasted away like it does in Code Violet. I hoped against hope that the gameplay would be enough to make the game interesting to play.

"Violet is about as bland a character as they come."

But once again, I came away disappointed. I may have let my expectations get the better of me. I assumed Violet would be an interesting protagonist, and that watching her take on dinosaurs while sprinting around the facility would lead to something compelling. But I was wrong. Violet is about as bland a character as they come. She often felt like she was actively trying to maintain a stone-faced expression even as she sounded quite emotionally charged at whatever horrendous discovery she was talking about. She isn’t too relatable as a protagonist either, with her dialogue making her feel too one-dimensional for her to stand tall among the genre’s best heroines.

Throughout my experience, the game’s controls, animations, and camera were working against me. The game’s enemies feel like they wanted a quick death, with the dinosaurs often running right into my line of fire, eliminating the need for me to engage my reflexes and dexterity with my controller for the most part. I was almost relieved that most threats crumpled after a couple of bullets, largely because it meant the brain-dead AI didn’t put up much of a fight.

The weapon variety is passable, but with an inventory system that seems like it was designed to be an annoyance. I wound up dumping most of my heavy weapons in storage, carrying only one big gun with me besides my trusty pistol and a knife that would’ve been cooler in basically any other game. Instead, I found myself mindlessly whipping it out to deal with the smaller dinos in my way, reserving my pistol for the bigger ones with an occasional blast from my shotgun or assault rifle in case I ran out of bullets.

The DualSense integration in Code Violet is there, but the guns themselves don’t feel like they pack a punch. That’s especially disconcerting when they’re so effective at bringing down vicious dinosaurs, the controller often rumbling away quite similarly without a tangible difference between my pistol and a shotgun with more power behind it.

I only ran into a handful of main dino types throughout the game, and even the giant one that was clearly meant to be a boss ended up feeling like nothing more than a bullet sponge. I found it quite impossible to suspend my disbelief that such ferocious beasts could be brought down so easily, and it made the game’s combat a very repetitive affair.

Between fending off the oddly weak dinosaurs and an exploration loop that had me scouring the facility for key items needed to hit my next objective, the game often felt more tedious than tense. And while I have to commend the lack of a HUD, especially with that nifty armband displaying Violet’s current health, a little more direction would have gone a long way in helping anyone playing Code Violet avoid excessive backtracking.

That’s because things you need to find are often tucked away in places that are quite missable. The most egregious example is that I didn’t even find an item to expand my inventory slots until I was at least halfway through the game, an unfortunate reminder of just how missable key upgrades can be. Mind you, I’m one of those players who scours every corner of a level for hidden loot, and it was quite disappointing to see how the game’s level designs were actively working against me.

"The audio design is fairly good."

The audio design is fairly good, though. It does a good job of making it feel like danger lurks around every corner, with ominous silences blending into the background music to sell an illusion of threat. The same could not be said for the dialogues, and the game’s facial animations do not sell its material well enough for those efforts to matter.

Let me say this clearly. Code Violet isn’t a game that’s worth a $50 price tag. Hell, I wouldn’t be too happy with it even if it were at $30. Its systems don’t come together to present a gameplay loop that’s engaging enough, while the lackluster approach to a somewhat interesting premise makes its story feel like a derivative effort that doesn’t do justice to its lofty ambitions.

Whatever this game attempts to do, others have already done, and done better. It would be a disappointing addition to the gaming libraries of most players, and it’s hard to believe a title could fall this flat in 2026. I wouldn’t recommend this even to someone who’s completely out of options; being bored with nothing to play is honestly preferable to experiencing this mess.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.