When a game promises dinosaurs, space stations, and a fight for survival, expectations naturally soar. Yet, Code Violet, a third-person action-horror title, has largely landed with a resounding thud, leaving players and critics alike grappling with a product that feels more prehistoric in its execution than its reptilian foes. Released in 2026, this much-anticipated game aimed to blend sci-fi tropes with intense creature combat, but reviews consistently point to a deeply flawed experience, rife with technical blunders, uninspired design, and a narrative that struggles to find its footing.
From the outset, it’s clear that Code Violet struggles to deliver on its core promises. The game introduces players to Violet, a brunette protagonist thrust into a raptor-infested space station. While the concept itself holds significant appeal, the execution quickly falters. Critics, including IGN, have bluntly labeled it a “bad game,” citing everything from terrible third-person shooting to boring level design and pervasive technical issues. It seems that any initial draw from tasteful (and sometimes not-so-tasteful) screenshots or trailers quickly dissipates once players dive into the actual gameplay.
Combat and Core Gameplay: A Crumbling Fossil
At the heart of Code Violet‘s issues lies its combat system, which many reviewers describe as a “crumbling fossil.” The third-person shooting, a fundamental mechanic for a game of this genre, is consistently slammed as “limp” and unsatisfying. Guns feel weightless, lacking the impactful feedback necessary to make engagements feel meaningful. Hitboxes are erratic, and visual cues when enemies are struck are largely absent, leaving players uncertain if their shots are even connecting. As Push Square aptly puts it, guns deliver “less of a boom, and more of a wildly unsatisfying thwip.”
The enemies themselves, primarily various forms of velociraptors and poison-spitting dilophosauruses, offer little strategic depth. Their behaviors are shallow and predictable: big raptors charge and swipe, small raptors form a “conga line,” and spitters stand still, firing projectiles. While Violet possesses a Resident Evil-style back-stepping dodge, a useful maneuver for creating space, it’s often undermined by the game’s camera, which frequently collides with environmental barriers, turning encounters into an “unintelligible mess.” Adding to the frustration, these creatures often exhibit a “supernatural omniscience,” detecting players even when attempts at stealth are made, rendering quiet approaches largely pointless unless using Violet’s “GlassVeil” invisibility function, which can comically break enemy AI, even on bosses.
A Narrative Lost in Space: Tropey and Forgettable
The story of Code Violet is an “unapologetically tropey science fiction” concoction, weaving together themes of far-future space colonization and genetic modification. While bits of lore found in scattered journal entries offer fleeting moments of interest, the main narrative is largely derivative and forgettable. Cutscenes are plagued by awkward animations and unconvincing voice acting, making pivotal moments feel rushed and convoluted rather than monumental. The plot’s attempts at shocking revelations towards the end are often “undercooked or entirely too convoluted,” leaving players scratching their heads.
Violet, the game’s protagonist, is frequently characterized as a “hollow shell.” She lacks clear motivations beyond following orders and often appears incredulous or weepy when faced with challenges. This portrayal stands in stark contrast to iconic female video game leads like Jill Valentine or Lara Croft, who possess agency and a strong sense of self. Violet’s internal thoughts and capabilities seem absent from most interactions, making it difficult for players to connect with her. This lack of character depth is exacerbated by the game’s “leering, pervy camera work and extensive dress up options,” which often feel at odds with the narrative’s tone and Violet’s character, crossing a line from playful into unsettling. One particularly jarring scene, as noted by Push Square, depicts Violet bawling over a comrade’s death while the camera pans back to reveal her in “sexy cowgirl complete with arse-less chaps,” highlighting the dissonance between character emotion and presentation.
Environmental Design: Bland Corridors and Muddled Textures
Visually, Code Violet presents a mixed bag. While some distant vistas, like floating islands in a purplish sky, can look genuinely impressive, closer inspection reveals muddy textures and “gaudy” metallic reflections, as observed by SSB Crack News. The majority of the game unfolds within uninspired, heavy metal halls that feel like generic sci-fi staples, offering little to distinguish them from countless other games set in locked-down science facilities. There’s a noticeable lack of environmental storytelling, with occasional oddities like medieval-style statues or suspicious-looking oil paintings feeling out of place and largely unexplained, raising questions about potential AI generation.
The outdoor areas, meant to provide a reprieve from claustrophobic interiors, fare little better. These “rote and bland grasslands” serve primarily as transitional hallways with tall grass bundles for cover, offering no map and little opportunity for exploration. They ultimately feel just as uninspired and linear as the indoor environments, creating a predictable, slogging pace between action zones. Unlike games such as Dead Space, where every room holds potential danger, most of Code Violet‘s rooms exist merely to be walked through, with exploration for upgrade materials or hidden keys rarely feeling worth the effort.
A Swarm of Technical Bugs
Beyond its design and narrative shortcomings, Code Violet is plagued by a “myriad bugs that can’t wait to bite and peck at your progress.” Players have reported a host of technical issues, including sound mixes running off the rails, crucial skyboxes failing to load, and weapons displaying incorrect ammo counts or disappearing from inventory altogether. While some review builds reportedly offered an unintended advantage of infinite storage items, allowing players to heal indefinitely, developer TeamKill Media has acknowledged these issues, indicating they are working on fixes, though no timeline for their arrival has been provided.
Code Violet is a game that, despite its intriguing premise, ultimately falls short on almost every front. Its combat is unsatisfying, its story is derivative, its characters lack depth, and its world design is largely uninspired. Compounded by numerous technical glitches and a questionable approach to character presentation, the overall experience is one of frustration and missed potential. Even at a modest six-hour campaign length, many reviewers found it a tough recommendation, suggesting that players might find more enjoyment watching Jurassic Park multiple times instead.
Code Violet stands as a stark reminder that a compelling concept alone cannot carry a game. Its fundamental design flaws, from combat mechanics to narrative coherence and environmental execution, create an experience that feels dated and unfinished, undermining any fleeting moments of potential and leaving players with a sense of disappointment rather than dinosaur-fueled excitement.