The Legacy of Kain series is rising from its slumber once again, as today's State of Play revealed not one but two projects that will see players return to Nosgoth. Fans of the classic games can look forward to a remaster of Legacy of Kain: Defiance when it launches on March 3 for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Switch.
Released back in 2003, Defiance was the third chapter in the Soul Reaver saga. The big twist here was that Raziel and Kain were both playable characters, allowing players to step into the boots of the vampire lord and his former lieutenant. Crystal Dynamics has been working on the Defiance remaster for several years alongside PlayEveryWare, a team with credits on several video game ports.
Similar to Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered, you can expect upgraded visuals and cinematics, remastered audio, and several gameplay changes. The combat tutorial is now an independent feature, a new photo mode has been added, and the game's fixed camera has been replaced with a new free-floating camera system. Players can also switch to the original camera angles for an old-school experience, and the canonical map of Nosgoth introduced in the previous Soul Reaver remasters is back. It has also been enhanced with a new feature, Foresight Navigation, which essentially lets players better track their objectives on the map.
"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," franchise director Matt McCloskey said to GameSpot. "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."
The other big announcement was for a brand-new game called Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. The side-scrolling platformer combines pixel-art aesthetics with combat-heavy gameplay and it launches on March 31.
For more from the State of Play, be sure to check out the gallery below.
Source
Released back in 2003, Defiance was the third chapter in the Soul Reaver saga. The big twist here was that Raziel and Kain were both playable characters, allowing players to step into the boots of the vampire lord and his former lieutenant. Crystal Dynamics has been working on the Defiance remaster for several years alongside PlayEveryWare, a team with credits on several video game ports.
Similar to Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered, you can expect upgraded visuals and cinematics, remastered audio, and several gameplay changes. The combat tutorial is now an independent feature, a new photo mode has been added, and the game's fixed camera has been replaced with a new free-floating camera system. Players can also switch to the original camera angles for an old-school experience, and the canonical map of Nosgoth introduced in the previous Soul Reaver remasters is back. It has also been enhanced with a new feature, Foresight Navigation, which essentially lets players better track their objectives on the map.
"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," franchise director Matt McCloskey said to GameSpot. "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."
The other big announcement was for a brand-new game called Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. The side-scrolling platformer combines pixel-art aesthetics with combat-heavy gameplay and it launches on March 31.
For more from the State of Play, be sure to check out the gallery below.
Source