Legacy of Kain: Ascendance

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a mixed bag. It was great to see a continuation of the world and characters from Nosgoth. The story is beautifully told and realized. The gameplay was really fun once I adapted to it. The different characters keep things feeling fresh. But the game is very linear, and there are no skill trees or RPG mechanics. There’s no way for the player to experiment with the game’s mechanics, and there’s not a lot of reason to keep playing once the story’s done. There are some of us who like nice, linear old-school action platform progression, though. The game also demands a l...

After years of complete silence from the Legacy of Kain series, this month has seen it resurgent, first with a remaster of Defiance (which I sadly found pretty underwhelming), and now with a brand new title in the world of Nosgoth. Resulting from a successful Kickstarter campaign, and accompanying a graphic novel detailing the story, Ascendant gives players the opportunity to delve back into the bloody scheming of gaming’s greatest antihero, Kain, along with series stalwart Raziel and the new character of Raziel’s sister, Elaleth. All of this is wrapped up in a striking 16-bit pixel style that...

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a decent new addition to the franchise after 23 years. It tries to breathe life into the franchise, but it makes only a bare minimum attempt. Though the voice work and soundtrack are the standouts here, the action and platforming suffer from bad level design and bad enemy AI. Even the game's story suffers from simple and mediocre writing, something that was once a standout for the franchise.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance has its (black) heart in the right place, but that can't save it from repetitive and frustrating platforming and a questionable narrative.

It should be fun playing a game that puts players in control of Raziel and Kain one more time, but this 2D action adventure wastes the opportunity. Legacy of Kain: Ascendance has an intriguing story which is accompanied by good voice acting and a solid soundtrack, but its gameplay is repetitive and often downright messy.

We deserve better than Legacy of Kain: Ascendance.

There’s very little to redeem Legacy of Kain: Ascendance other than the fact that it’s short.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance unfortunately falls flat in continuing such a cult classic franchise. While some of the writing and visuals still match the quality of its predecessors, the narrative feels forced and the gameplay is often deeply frustrating and rife with issues. Overall, if this is indicative of the direction that the Legacy of Kain series could go in, then perhaps the series is better off being forgotten.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is the first new game in the franchise since 2003's Defiance. It really misses the mark on quite a few things, not the least of which is its story, which tries valiantly but just doesn't succeed in a meaningful way. In many ways, it's a step backwards and makes the franchise's most defining feature feel like a throwaway. It also just feels so bad to play, and if you were even a casual fan of Legacy of Kain back in the day, there's not much here I can really recommend outside of hearing Michael Bell and Simon Templeman again.