Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Review

Legacy of Kain is an interesting series. With five games in total released from 1996 to 2003, its writing has always been among the best the medium has had to offer; however, it has been stuck on a cliffhanger ever since Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the last game in the series, came out.

While the Soul Reaver games and Legacy of Kain: Defiance have received remakes these past few years, it seems like there is now an actual attempt at reviving the series for the first time in over 20 years—with a 2D platforming game, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance, no less.

But does it live up to the previous games in the series? Let's find out.

Comic Turned Game: 

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance takes place between Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and the first Soul Reaver game, explaining certain events behind the character of Raziel, such as how he came to serve Kain and what his life was like beforehand.

It also introduces a new character—Elaleth, who is Raziel's sister. She is the reason Raziel seems to hate vampires as much as he does as a human, as he saw a former friend and lover of Elaleth become a vampire and bite her hand, setting her on a path of revenge against her brother. While following the orders of Ky'set'syk—a human whose soul has been torn in two and who wants her to save him—she puts that aside for her quest for vengeance. She is also the one who seems to set in motion the events behind the first Soul Reaver game, albeit unintentionally.

I can also say that encountering scenes from previous games has been a very unique treat, seeing them come to life in this unique pixel art style.

This might sound familiar to fans of the series, as it is essentially a retelling of The Dead Shall Rise, but with less bloat, better dialogue, and a much-improved flow. There is not much unique content in the game itself, aside from a few collectable lore tidbits. On the other hand, it was a treat to hear both returning and new voice actors do such a phenomenal job of bringing the characters to life—something you simply cannot get from reading the comic.

Unfortunately, I cannot explain more about the story, though many may already be familiar with it, as the game is surprisingly short. With it taking me only around six hours to finish, saying much more would be a major spoiler, and would ruin the experience. At least for those who haven't read the source material already.

Stepping into Ascendance:

I feel like I have to say this right away: I did not enjoy the gameplay of Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. 

This game is a 2D action platformer divided into chapters, which in turn are divided into stages. You play as Elaleth, Kain, or Raziel in either human or vampire form. Each chapter requires you to control one specific character throughout.

Each character can attack, block, dodge, and jump. Elaleth and vampire Raziel can fly or glide at the cost of stamina, while Kain’s dodge allows him to phase through objects. All three characters have health that constantly ticks down, but, similar to past entries, they can consume the blood of fallen enemies to regain it. When Elaleth or vampire Raziel are airborne and facing an enemy at a certain distance, they can perform a dive kick to cause damage; meanwhile, Kain simply kills regular enemies in one hit. Human Raziel, in the one instance you truly play as him, must burn fallen vampire enemies to ensure they do not get back up.You can also find collectibles in each stage, including health or stamina upgrades and—much more frequently—lore tidbits that expand on the series' universe. 

I should also note, as it seems to be one of the main selling points initially advertised, that the game does in fact feature 3D segments designed to be reminiscent of the previous titles. In reality, there are two in total: one is a quiz you cannot truly fail, and the other only requires pressing two buttons. Overall, I do not consider them that important, and are for sure a let down. Additionally, the game has several hand-drawn animated scenes that I flat-out dislike. While the effort is there, the animation quality is so far below the rest of the game's graphical style that it detracts from the experience.

Frustration and Disappointment:

Now that I have covered the general mechanics, why didn't I love this game? A proper stage-based action platformer is usually right up my alley. Unfortunately, the combat is just bad. 

Enemies move constantly, and some can hit you through walls. The block mechanic has such a tiny window of effectiveness that I found it useless most of the time, and the game throws enemies at you to the point of being unfair. I encountered sections where enemies on higher platforms constantly pelted me with projectiles, and I had no choice but to tank the damage just to reach them.

The enemy AI causes them to constantly run and jump all around you, yet the player has a pathetic attack range for such erratic enemy design. The game also loves throwing flying enemies at the player that clip through walls and chase you until they are killed, which becomes ridiculous. Regarding the block mechanic I mentioned earlier: pressing the button does not provide a sustained block. Instead, the character blocks for a brief moment and then stops. In my experience, the block duration was less than half a second. This led to me constantly being hit by attacks I was certain I had timed correctly.

All of these factors combined made the combat feel like a punishment I had to endure to get to the good story bits, rather than a necessary or enjoyable part of the game. One thing I can credit the game for is the Statistics page in the menu, which shows you exactly which collectibles you missed in every chapter and stage. Furthermore, the Continue menu lets you pick which chapter you want to play, though this is a double-edged sword. If you close the game, you have to start from the beginning of the chapter you were in; there is no way to continue from a specific mid-chapter point.

Finally, there is no way to skip story segments. While I love the writing and would never dream of skipping those scenes during a first playthrough, replaying chapters to find missed collectibles forces you to sit through them again. Some of these scenes can take up to ten minutes, and without a skip function, that is quite a big ask.

Should you play it?

While it truly pains me to say this, I unfortunately cannot recommend Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. 

If you are a dedicated Legacy of Kain fan, you have likely already read The Dead Shall Rise or at least know the core plot. This game offers little in that regard, as you can already experience the story elsewhere—albeit with more bloat—and if you have already done so, the gameplay isn't a strong enough draw on its own. Additionally, for those looking to break into the series or who are simply seeking a solid action-platformer, you would be better off looking elsewhere. With five other Legacy of Kain titles available, there is simply no reason to start here. This is a game that can be finished in a single sitting, and the combat feels less like a challenge and more like an unnecessary frustration. For those looking for engaging gameplay, well, you will not find that here.

Overall, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is an example of a game I truly wanted to recommend because of my love for the series, but I simply cannot. Aside from the "packaging"—the beautiful graphics and superb voice acting—there is unfortunately little else to justify experiencing this game.

VERDICT: Not Recommended
Reviewed on PC
Review Copy was Provided