Turning historical warships into cute anime girls is a proven formula by games like Azur Lane, but does Velvet Code manage to replicate it? Released earlier this week, Velvet Code is a mobile 3D shoot ’em up, currently only available in Japanese.

While I understand that Kantai Collection is the pioneer of the shipgirl genre, and there have been other shipgirl games like Abyss Front and Blue Oath, I’ll be drawing the most comparisons with Azur Lane for my first impressions of Velvet Code, not only because it’s the most popular title, but also because it’s the most identical.

Story

Don’t expect anything out of the world or as text-heavy (and wonderfully written) as Heaven Burns Red. Players take on the role of an admiral who magically wakes up to a world filled with shipgirls and must lead them in battle. In Velvet Code, these shipgirls are the spirits of actual ships brought back to fight an enemy known as “Laguz”.

One thing that strikes me is that the game’s cutscenes are really short. Explanation and context behind what’s going on are kept as brief as possible and players are thrust into missions very quickly. Perhaps there is more towards the game’s story later on, but you basically just go along with the flow.

Most of the enemies you’ll encounter are aliens, not actual ships. Occasionally, you will fight humanoid enemies like bosses.

Gameplay

Take Azur Lane‘s side-scrolling bullet hell and turn it into a 3D omnidirectional plane, and you’ve got yourself Velvet Code. You control a 3-person Vanguard that automatically fires at any enemy in sight. Like in Azur Lane, you only need to concern yourself with the movement—dodging enemy shots while getting into the right position to land yours. In Velvet Code you can also control the camera (since it’s 3D) and manually activate certain abilities, like each ship’s ultimate attack and even bond attacks, if you have compatible units (i.e. sister ships).

You’ll be pleased to know that unlike in Azur Lane, where you could only move the Vanguard around while your Battleships and Carriers remain stationary at the back, in Velvet Code, Battleships and Carriers can join in the bullet dodging experience as well.

What I really like about the gameplay is that each class of ship actually offers a different playstyle, and not just different stats and skills like in Azur Lane. Destroyers’ shots have a wider spread, but are shorter-ranged, while Carriers’ aircraft are longer-ranged, but if you’re too close to the enemy, they’ll miss entirely. In some missions that take place at night, Carriers can’t launch their aircraft at all, which is a pretty cool touch and a nod to early WWII aerial combat.

What turns me off is the lack of an auto function. Perhaps it’ll be added in the future, but that is a turn-off. Also, even though combat is in 3D, I still find Azur Lane‘s 2D combat more appealing. Because of how the camera is placed so far behind the player during combat to provide a greater field of vision, I’m stuck looking at tiny character models from the back, which is just not fun to look at. I’d stick to Azur Lane‘s adorable chibi sprites any day.

Design and Presentation

Yes, I know the taste regarding the character designs is subjective, but that’s not what I’m going to complain about. What I dislike is the lack of consistency. Some of the shipgirls feel a bit too different and out of place from each other. I get it if it’s a skin, but the base designs for some of the characters just feel too far apart from one another.

Also, another thing that really annoys me is the inconsistency when it comes to character art. Some characters have Live2D animations, while others just have a regular illustration. It’s just very awkward to browse through the Depot and while going through my units, some shipgirls pop up with Live2D while some don’t. Either give every single character Live2D like in KonoSuba: Fantastic Days or don’t at all. Azur Lane does this brilliantly by having the Live2D skins as something you buy with Gems, which make them feel extra special. This randomness and inconsistency when it comes to who has a base Live2D art or flat illustration feel very messy.

I also find the UI to be pretty unappealing. Sure, it gets the message across, but the UI and overall look of the game features very muted colours. Take a look at the mission select screen below as an example.

The boxes and colours used just doesn’t stand out and feel unattractive. The font particularly looks low effort. Compare it to its competitor, Azur Lane, and you can really feel the difference.

Gacha

There is both a Construction pool, where you’ll have to wait for a shipgirl to be made or spend time to have it made, and of course, gacha banners. There are several different banners currently ongoing with different pity, but let’s start with the gacha rates first:

• SSR: 3%
• SR: 10%
• R+: 47%
• R: 40%

As for the banners themselves, you have the beginner banner which guarantees an SSR in the first 20 pulls (this is one-off). For the normal banner, every 10-pull guarantees an SR, while the pity for an SSR is set to 60. Note that the pity for the normal banner does not carry over to other banners.

The game also has a banner featuring 2 different SSR shipgirls, Shimakaze and Essex with a rate-up. This banner also has guaranteed SR per 1-pull and SSR pity set to 60. However, if you did not get either rate-up characters in 149 pulls, the 150th pull will guarantee one of them.

As for the shop, there is a monthly pass, which is always a welcome option for spenders.

Closing Thoughts

Unfortunately, Velvet Code just doesn’t appeal to me. Sure, the gacha can be considered to be generous, but the game’s design just feels lacking. Character designs and art are too inconsistent and the UI leaves much to be desired. While the gameplay is decent and pretty cool, it’s not enough to carry it.

If you’re keen to follow updates on the game, follow its Twitter account.