A Disappointing Journey Again to Nosgoth

Because the resident Legacy of Kain devotee round these elements, it has been my absolute honor to cowl and assessment the franchise’s rebirth. Following its slippery descent into the vampiric shadows that birthed it, Legacy of Kain has been given a brand new lease on life by means of remasters of the classics and now, lastly, after what felt like a lifetime of ready, a brand new mainline recreation.

Whereas Legacy of Kain: Ascendance might not be the sequel to Defiance we have waited for, as it is a prequel going down earlier than the occasions of Soul Reaver, it is good to know that the individuals who make the selections on this stuff see one thing within the IP. I do know, nobody needs to speak about our favourite vampires throughout the confines of enterprise selections and the chilly, unfeeling lens of IP possession, however that is the place the franchise is now.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered Overview

One among Kain’s best adventures returns with a recent coat of paint.

Ascendance is a side-scrolling motion recreation with a number of playable characters, together with long-time protagonists Kain and Razel, together with Elaleth from the latest The Useless Shall Rise comedian books. A number of protagonists, vampires, and fast-paced fight? Appears like a Kain recreation to me. It is a difficult one to bear in mind, nevertheless, when you think about simply how intrinsically linked to completely 3D experiences the Kain video games are.

It isn’t the Kain recreation we have waited for, nevertheless it’s sadly the one in entrance of us proper now. And whereas my hopes are pinned on a sequel to Defiance coming within the close to future, this little tour into the Kain franchise is one that you’re going to in all probability be conflicted about trying out for numerous causes in the event you’re a fan of the sequence.

We Have Legacy of Kain at Residence

In loads of methods, I believe the important thing, maybe defining function of Legacy of Kain has all the time been its writing and story. The gameplay has all the time been good to genuinely unbelievable, however the actual draw of the franchise has persistently been the narrative. It was a franchise decided to haven’t only a good story, however to have one rooted in a posh mythology with wonderful actors doing their factor.

The Shakespearean, theatrical dialogue and dazzling performances have been what made me fall in love with the sequence to start with. Simply to be clear, Ascendance doesn’t have that. It tries, and does so honorably, nevertheless it’s simply not the place it must be. The writing and story have all the best concepts and are clearly written by individuals who love the franchise and its mythology, nevertheless it actually is lacking the signature voice of the opposite video games.

It isn’t inherently unhealthy for what it’s, and in reality, the voice performing is pretty on par with most video games of this fashion, nevertheless it simply would not strike the identical chord because the basic Kain video games. Even the worst-acted Kain recreation sounds higher. It is quite disappointing, as that has all the time been one among my favourite elements of the franchise.

I additionally can not help however discover this fashion of story presentation to be each dated and disappointing in 2026. It feels just like the worst elements of the 2010s, with uninspired character portraits and awkward animations. Contemplating how the franchise made its identify on long-form, cinematic story sequences, seeing a regression to this fashion of narrative is extremely disappointing.

Sadly, Elaleth goes to be a sore spot for lots of followers. The character has been part of some quite uninspiring retcons seen in The Useless Shall Rise, and her inclusion right here is not actually going to sway you. I do assume the franchise must introduce extra new characters with the intention to maintain itself, as it could’t depend on the previous solid perpetually, however in case you have little interest in seeing Elaleth, it is value noting that she is a serious a part of the sport.

That being stated, it’s completely pleasant to listen to the great tones of franchise icons like Michael Bell and Simon Templeman as Raziel and Kain, respectively. You may actually hear age of their voices, which is a bit amusing contemplating this can be a prequel, nevertheless it would not actually matter as these people are nonetheless absolute execs. Everybody within the recreation is first rate sufficient, however usually routinely outclassed by the legacy actors.

The writing and story have all the best concepts and are clearly written by individuals who love the franchise and its mythology, nevertheless it actually is lacking the signature voice of the opposite video games.

The audio can also be maddeningly inconsistent, as you may have spectacular voice performances, however the music is dreadful. It simply seems like one piece of music is looped time and again, and at a frighteningly excessive quantity. The music has no sense of character or tempo to it, and very often quantities to white noise. That is not likely what I wanna hear in terms of a Kain recreation.

On the finish of the day, you are left with a recreation that tries extremely exhausting to recapture what amounted to magic again within the day. You’d be fortunate to get even midway there, and the staff right here has actually performed a wonderful job of their efforts to approximate what the franchise was. It isn’t excellent, however the effort and can to take action are all the time appreciated.

Actually, when the sport ties itself so ruthlessly to that mythology and its occasions, that is when it actually hits. There are a number of moments the place the sport is deeply entrenched within the lore of the franchise, and in the event you’ve ever loved this sequence, these moments are going to hit you fairly exhausting. That is the true energy of Ascendance, when it each celebrates what this franchise is and does so with trendy know-how.

Oh No, We Suck Once more!

Ascendance was introduced throughout a flurry of Kain bulletins in a State of Play again in February of this yr, and for a lot of followers of the franchise, together with myself, it felt like a little bit of a monkey’s paw scenario. We had waited so lengthy for a brand new recreation, and for it to be a 2D action-platformer did not fairly really feel just like the transfer, however I used to be cautiously optimistic. The tip outcome did not do a lot to alter my thoughts.

Motion and leaping are quite uncomfortable, because it seems like a recreation that by no means left its beta stage. The restricted vary of animation additionally makes the sport really feel a bit of low-cost, and contemplating simply how a lot emphasis the franchise has all the time placed on animation and immersive motion, that undoubtedly would not assist. Fight feels much more restrained, with one feeble assault that appears prefer it got here straight out of an NES recreation.

Fortuitously, if you hit a parry on the proper time, that’s the one a part of fight that truly feels genuinely satisfying. The sound design on it’s fairly good, too, because it all has a fairly visceral edge to it. That is about the place the constructive side of the fight and platforming ends. What you are left with after that’s so extremely boring and irritating, and it feels altogether rotten to play.

Enemy patterns in Legacy of Kain: Ascendance appear to have realized all of the worst classes from the video games that impressed it. Floating enemies that drift simply out of attain, ranged foes which might be frustratingly troublesome to pin down, and a singular well being system for every character that’s simply mind-numbing. I really like Castlevania, however a recent recreation asking me to search out random chickens on the bottom to regain well being simply is not it.

Platforming is much more of a catastrophe. I’ve usually talked about my distaste for precision platforming in 2D motion video games, and Ascendance has not made me really feel any totally different. Leaping feels painfully gradual, and if you mix this with how inconsistent among the higher-level platforming tips are, it simply turns into so miserable to expertise. The precise fundamentals of platforming are simply not good, which isn’t what you wish to hear when a recreation describes itself as an action-platformer.

This can be a franchise constructed on complicated world-building, satisfying fight, and deep exploration. Ascendance needs to be that, however little or no of these efforts come out the best way I believe they wished them to. This can be a tremendously flawed expertise that’s making an attempt to reside as much as one among gaming’s most iconic franchises, and that is a mighty tall process. Sadly for Ascendance, the coin didn’t land on its edge this time.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is the primary new recreation within the franchise since 2003’s Defiance. It actually misses the mark on fairly a number of issues, not the least of which is its story, which tries valiantly however simply would not achieve a significant means. In some ways, it is a step backwards and makes the franchise’s most defining function really feel like a throwaway. It additionally simply feels so unhealthy to play, and in the event you have been even an informal fan of Legacy of Kain again within the day, there’s not a lot right here I can actually advocate outdoors of listening to Michael Bell and Simon Templeman once more.