Anime Dark Souls-a-like Code Vein revealed a September release date last month. Today, Bandai Namco has pushed the action role-player back to 2019.

The developer cites a desire to "further refine its gameplay" in order to "exceed the expectations" of would-be players as the reason for the delay.

"Code Vein has received an enormous amount of positive feedback from eager fans who have received hands-on time with in-development versions of the game over the past nine months," says Hervé Hoerdt, Vice President of Marketing and Digital at Bandai Namco Europe. "Armed with knowledge of how well the game has already been received, we made the decision to postpone the release of Code Vein to further refine its gameplay in an effort to exceed the expectations fans already have of the title. It was a difficult decision to make, but we feel it is the correct one."

Bandai Namco adds Code Vein will no longer be playable at Gamescom 2018 "while the improvements are made".

With its hulking juggernaut bosses, close quarters parrying and backstabbing, and "prepare to dine" pre-announcement marketing, I reckon Code Vein not only deserves its Souls-like comparisons, it actively plays up to them. From the footage I've seen so far, I'm on the fence—I can't decide if it's riffing on Souls or ripping it off—but I did enjoy Luke Winkie's words following a hands-on session at E3.

Here's an extract from that:

Honestly, there's something kind of funny about using that gigantic anime sword with careful, measured swings that seems completely counterintuitive when you consider every other game in history featuring giant anime swords. The combat here is a tad faster than vanilla Dark Souls, but slower than Bloodborne's lightning-fast dodges. As in either of those games, button mashing without paying attention to enemy attacks is a sure way to get wrecked.

You're still doing all the stuff you'd expect: managing stamina, rolling out of the way of well-telegraphed attacks, downing health potions and refilling your supply the next time you rest. But there are some smart wrinkles here, too. You're accompanied by a fellow anime vampire, who will do modest damage to the enemies you meet, and more importantly, distract them from your character. It's sort of like having Solaire or Siegward with you at all times.

Code Vein is due at some point in 2019.