Kain is deified. The fans tell tales of him, few know the truth…
…because the last mainline entry in the series was released a depressing 22 years ago and, since then, the franchise has faded into obscurity. Although it reappeared as an ill-conceived multiplayer game called Nosgoth, it was quickly shoved back into Crystal Dynamics’ IP catacombs. Fans, meanwhile, were left to sustain themselves on raw burning passion for the world of Nosgoth and little else.
Legacy of Kain has one of the most talented self-sustaining communities I’ve ever encountered and, as a long-suffering fan, I have been the beneficiary of their passion. If you know where to look, you can find them creating fan art, preserving and restoring cut content, writing fanfic, building out encyclopedias, making texture updates, and producing lore videos. And you can tell just how long they’ve been at it because most of the websites housing that, to my delight, look like they’re trapped in the ’90s.
Fans have been the beating heart and enduring soul of Legacy of Kain for long after publishers lost interest in its commercial viability. It felt right, then, that fans were closely involved in Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered, contributing content and even directing the project.
Crystal Dynamics clearly knows how much of a stake fans have in the past, present, and future of Legacy of Kain, which is why it’s heartening to see that fans continue to be a driving force behind its next two projects: a remaster of 2003’s Legacy of Kain: Defiance and a brand-new game called Legacy of Kain: Ascendance that may not be what you’re expecting. Defiance will launch March 3, while Ascendance will be available on March 31, and Crystal Dynamics expects that both will “exceed fan expectations.”
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
Defiance, the third entry in the Soul Reaver story, brings together Raziel and Kain as playable characters and serves as the final chapter in the story of the despotic vampire lord turned time-traveling schemer and his sire turned vengeful wraith. As a fan, I’m eager to complete the set and have Defiance join the Soul Reaver remasters, effectively giving me access to games I adore in a convenient, playable package. For those going on the journey for the first time, it’s an essential climactic chapter in the story that is as theatrically dramatic as the two games that preceded it–not to be missed.
According to Matt McCloskey, franchise director for Legacy of Kain, Crystal Dynamics has been working on the Defiance remaster for a couple of years alongside PlayEveryWare, a team that has worked on ports previously, but is taking Defiance on as its first major remaster project.
As with Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered, Defiance is being given some nips and tucks, as well as more significant feature updates. From a visual standpoint, that means texture and graphical updates to make the game look sharper, and the team has also remastered the audio and cinematics to ensure the excellent writing and voice acting land as well as they did all those years ago.
The combat tutorial has been made available independent of its integration in the game for those who want to spend more time getting to grips with how the mechanics work. Previously, it was integrated into the game experience but by putting it upfront, Crystal Dynamics no doubt hopes it’ll help smooth out a common point of friction. On top of that, there’s a new photo mode, as well as the relevant platform-specific achievements.
One of the more significant changes is a new, free-floating camera. In its classic incarnation, Defiance featured a fixed camera that was intended to make the game feel more cinematic. By modern standards, however, it’s more likely to disrupt the platforming and combat sections of the game, while feeling like a restrictive impediment to immersion. On paper, the new floating camera is much better suited to modern gaming sensibilities, but without first-hand experience, it’s hard to say how effective it is at preserving the cinematic quality. For longtime fans who want something closer to the original experience, warts and all, there is an option to switch to the original camera angles too.
Like the other two Soul Reaver remasters, a new map has been added to the game. For Defiance, there’s also what Crystal Dynamics is calling “Foresight Navigation” to help keep people on track with objectives. Defiance isn’t particularly elaborate or bursting with side quests, but at times it can be easy to get turned around and lose track of things, so the combination of a map and objective guidance is sure to be a major help. The larger canonical map of Nosgoth from the remasters is also back and slightly expanded. A map might not sound particularly exciting, but for Legacy of Kain fans, having a high-quality cartographical depiction of Nosgoth is a thrilling first.
“Nosgoth is our Middle-earth,” McCloskey said. “We integrated [a map] for the first time [in the remasters]. Now we’re also making it 3D and adding it alongside an advanced lore reader to know what’s going on in the world, where the events are, where the key locations are. This is kind of all about upgrading access to the franchise as a modern fantasy franchise, so we’re on our way to trying to become like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Eventually, this will be an awesome 3D environment you can travel through, but you can see the progression that we’re making throughout the remasters.”
There’s a respectable amount of fan service in the package too. On a smaller scale, there are new unlockable skins. For Raziel, one of them is a version of his model based on Shifter, the original concept for Soul Reaver before it evolved into a Legacy of Kain title, but this is tied to the standard edition as a preorder bonus.
The most significant addition for the Defiance remaster, particularly for archival purposes, is the inclusion of material for Dark Prophecy, a game that began development as the follow-up to Defiance but ultimately didn’t make it to release. It was, however, leaked, giving fans a taste of what never was–until now, that is. Crystal Dynamics found the source code for Dark Prophecy, concept art, and other material, and have made a playable version of it. Defiance also had a fair amount of cut sections and, with the input of fans, these have also been restored for people to experience.
As a whole, the Defiance remaster package follows the template of the first two Soul Reaver remasters, bringing one of the best-written, acted, scored, and designed games of all time to a modern audience in a way that makes it more playable, but also goes the extra mile to include archival and museum content that fans will appreciate.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
This is where it gets interesting. Ascendance is the first entry in the Legacy of Kain series in 22 years and feels very much like a walk-before-you-run endeavor. While the Soul Reaver remasters proved there is an audience for the series, that very much is based on nostalgia for what was. The viability of a full-scale project remains to be seen, so Ascendance is a small project that attempts to balance what fans probably don’t want with what they do want to find a happy medium.
Ascendance, developed by BitBot Media, is a side-scrolling platform-action game that has a low-fi, pixelated art style. It is expected to be around four hours long. Maybe I’m being a bit presumptuous, but I suspect this might feel like a bit of a letdown as a follow-up to hearing about a brand-new Legacy of Kain game. I’ll admit, it’s certainly not what I want, but again, Crystal Dynamics is very clearly taking relatively risk-free baby steps with the IP, so with that in mind, it makes sense. What does appeal, however, is the expansion to the mythology of Legacy of Kain and some of the neat touches in its presentation.
Ascendance takes place both before and during Soul Reaver, while also referencing elements of the Blood Omen games, though it is primarily tethered to the time period before Raziel’s first outing and Soul Reaver 2. If that sounds confusing, you really should play these games because that kind of setup is truly making the most of the series’ penchant for time-traveling antics.
Internally, Ascendance is being called a prequel, which means we get to spend some time with versions of Kain and Raziel at a point on the timeline that has hitherto been unexplored. Crystal Dynamics and Bit Bot Media are calling this era of the series’ anti-hero “Imperial Kain,” as it depicts him at a time when he is leading a conquest. Raziel, meanwhile, appears as a human Seraphan, who are fighting against the rise of the vampire race. Again, this is an era of Raziel’s that has often been referenced, but has never been depicted in detail, so it could serve as a rich infusion of new material for the Legacy of Kain community to pick apart.
Joining Raziel and Kain is a third playable character named Elaleth. She is a newcomer who was introduced in the Dead Shall Rise comic, also from BitBot. Her inclusion is sure to be a contentious point of discussion with fans as she wasn’t received well and was a disappointing focal point in a story that most expected to be oriented around Kain and Raziel.
Nevertheless, she does provide some new gameplay possibilities as a fast-paced, combat-heavy character that can string together abilities that make her proficient in both combat and platforming. Kain has all the vampiric abilities he’s known for in the game, including mist form and, naturally, the ability to wield the Soul Reaver. The big gameplay twist for Raziel, who is yet to get his wraith powers at this point in the timeline, is the ability to ride a war horse into battle and hack through enemies. Time is split between them equally, so those with trepidation about Elaleth being included can at least take solace in the fact that there will be just as much of Kain and Raziel this time.
To go hand-in-hand with the shifting time periods, Ascendance also features three distinct art styles. While the game primarily uses a retro platformer aesthetic, there’s also a more anime style reminiscent of Netflix’s Castlevania series. This is used primarily for cinematics and key story moments. A more painterly style is implemented for portraits, which feature prominently in the game’s narrative delivery.
And make no mistake, Crystal Dynamics and BitBot know how important narrative and its delivery is to the Legacy of Kain experience, so expect the game to be story- and dialogue-heavy. The best part of this is undoubtedly the decision to bring back the original cast to fully voice the game. Fans can look forward to once again hearing Simon Templeman and Michael Bell as Kain and Raziel respectively, Richard Doyle as Mobius, and Anna Gunn of Breaking Bad fame as Ariel.
Since I didn’t get to play either game, I can only go on what I’ve been told and, after getting a full briefing about both projects, I walked away with mixed feelings. On the one hand, as a baseline, it is surreal to see more activity around Legacy of Kain after spending so long begging for anything. I am very excited for the Defiance remaster and appreciative that it looks like Crystal Dynamics is reciprocating the reverence fans have for the game in how it’s putting the package together.
On the other hand, Ascendance, the first new entry in the series, feels decidedly unambitious. That sentiment, in large part, comes from the fact that I’ve been thinking about what a new Legacy of Kain game could be for over a decade, and a side-scrolling retro platformer feels decidedly lacking compared to the game I’ve been putting together in my head for so long–it’s definitely a me problem driven by a firmly cemented love of Legacy of Kain and absolute confidence in the potential it holds, but I suspect many likeminded people will feel similarly.
Crystal Dynamics clearly isn’t as keen to take the same trust-fall and, instead, has a new Legacy of Kain game that gingerly steps into a crowded market with hopes of attracting attention and, more importantly, not getting pelted by fans. At this point, it could go either way, as there are as many things to get excited about as there are things that could be disappointing. My hope is that it’s the beginning of a new lease on life for Legacy of Kain that will see the projects grow in scale and ambition. My fear is that this is the one shot it has at relevance, and it doesn’t feel like it packs much of a punch. At the very least, the fandom should get a solid remaster, and we can begrudgingly return to the dark corners of the internet where our love of Legacy of Kain refuses to die.
