Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Reviews
We deserve better than Legacy of Kain: Ascendance.
I wanted this to be the triumphant return of Kain, Raziel, and the dark, strange world of Nosgoth, but what arrived was something draped in the series’ skin - not an evolution, but an uninspired reinvention.
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.
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Review in Spanish | Read full review
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a fun addition to the series and offers a nice shift in the wider narrative. The mix of nostalgic and new characters works well and series fans will be excited to finally play as Raziel in vampire form in particular. The combat is solid if a little repetitive, and the weird shifts in visual style are off-putting at times, but this is a good little spinoff that hopefully promises more adventures in Nosgoth to come.
Kain deserves more, and I hope this doesn’t deter them from revisiting it. Give the game to an established team with a larger budget and restore the legacy the series left behind. For now, I simply cannot recommend this game, even to hardest of hardcore fans.
More than twenty years after Defiance, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance proves to be a crushing disappointment. Instead of honoring the saga's complex narrative background, the video game by Bit Bot Media offers a clumsy retcon that feels like an awful fan fiction. In terms of gameplay, we are faced with an uninspired 2D platformer devoid of any real challenge that can be completed in less than three hours, alternating between inconsistent visual styles and an annoying soundtrack. This is definitely not the game we deserved, especially after such a long wait.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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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's been what feels like a millennium since the last entry in the Legacy of Kain series, back in 2003. Then again, for the vampiric heroes of thes...
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance brings the beloved franchise back after over two decades as a flawed 2D experience reserved for fans of the franchise.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a chaotic mishmash of varying aesthetics and styles – a decent side-scroller wrapped up in a storyline that leaves a bad taste in my mouth and feels out of place within the series’ legacy. The enjoyable soundtrack and the final (?) return of Kain and Raziel aren’t enough for me to recommend this game.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a disgrace to the legacy of the talented game developers like Amy Hennig and Paul Jenkins, who not only created one of the most underrated fantasy worlds of the gaming industry, but also managed to gather around a dedicated fan base that keep the soul of the series alive via YouTube video essays and Subreddit conversations. Ascendance is a nostalgia-filled title that is not even worthy of borrowing the titular name of the franchise, let alone be the title that the fans waited decades for: it's an unredeemable abomination.
By far the best thing about Ascendance is that it didn’t brick my console. This game is a complete betrayal of the franchise and was not worth dragging Michael Bell out from his crypt to read for such a disappointing revival. Take away the Legacy of Kain branding, and you’re left with a subpar action platformer that has nothing going for it.
Fast-paced 2D action game set in the beloved Legacy of Kain universe
It's a waste of words...
Review in Polish | Read full review
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a short prequel set in the beloved Nosgoth universe, offering fans a chance to explore Raziel's origin and revisit familiar characters. While the voice acting and music are excellent, the game suffers from a shallow, fan-fiction-like story and bland gameplay. Retro 2D visuals and occasional animated sequences look nice individually, but the mix feels inconsistent. Fans of the series may appreciate the return to Nosgoth, but for newcomers or those seeking engaging mechanics, the experience is underwhelming.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Oh, joy. Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is the miraculous return no one asked for, adding a heroine nobody wanted, and turning a beloved, dark saga into an uninspired, rough-around-the-edges side-scrolling platformer that few if any will enjoy. As for the story and writing, if past titles were Shakespearean poetry in video game form, this resembles a confused school play project. Vae victis? More like vae playeris - woe to the player forced to endure this mess.
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.