Is Legacy of Kain: Ascendance the Retro Sequel We Needed?
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a 2D action platformer that brings the legendary Gothic franchise into a pixelated perspective. Set within the established timeline, the game follows two distinct characters, the human Raziel and the vampire Elaleth, as they navigate a world of shifting loyalties and ancient grudges. It features hack and slash combat, deep lore via collectable codex pages, and a story told through multiple chapters and character interactions.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Steam Review: Specs & HUD
- Awesome pixel art graphics.
- 5.26GB download size.
- Steam achievements.
- Full controller support.
- Full in-depth stats screen showing collectables, kills, etc.
- The Codex menu lets you read any collected pages of collectables.
- Level select if completed levels, lets you replay any.
- In-game cutscenes and character interactions. You can click through them to speed it up.
- Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
The gameplay is a 2D action platformer that takes place within the Legacy of Kain timeline. You play as two different characters – Razial, who is human and hunting vampires, he can burn their bodies and use fire, and Elaleth, a vampire who has wings and can feed off people for health and do flight-based attacks as well as melee. If you don’t burn a vampire, then they come back to life. The combat is very hack and slash, you have a roll, and a ranged item with limited uses, usually. You and the enemy can attack through walls and ledges, annoying, but it’s a shared annoyance. Plenty of checkpoints around, and it seems to autosave when collecting Codex pages.
The game is split up into chapters, and you are, in essence, playing from two different angles of the same story, ultimately, even though it doesn’t feel that way at first. Story mode allows anyone to play the game; it makes combat easier, and you have infinite health. You find relics to have them bind with you and get you new powers and upgrades. Every now and then, it will do these little sequences like the level is dark and you see the silhouette of enemies and your character, the blood still shows up red or when the game goes 3D or horseback chase scenes. Multiple-choice encounters happen and are story-related. You do get to play as Kain, but it’s only for a short while. He looks cool, but basically plays the same as Elaleth.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Fantastic voice work.
- The game does boast some fantastic animations.
- Animated backgrounds help set the pixelated Gothic atmosphere, but it’s not as grim and impactful as the 3D games.
- Hit detection is hit and miss, and the fire, in particular, is very harsh.
- The background blends into the play field, and it can make it hard to know what is and isn’t a platform or part of the level.
- Characters within the world will repeat lines of dialogue a lot, and it loses all meaning after just a few levels.
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Steam Review: Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Graphics settings – Resolution and fullscreen.
- Game settings – difficulty, tutorials, and Screenshake.
- Volume sliders for – music, SFX, and voice.
- Subtitles support.
- Many hidden areas to find collectables.
- They use the same level layout a lot; it feels like the hidden wall trick is being used so much that it’s almost comical and predictable.
- Even in story mode, you can and will instantly die as Elaleth, and touching water can cause some very frustrating platforming.
- At times here will just be nothing to do but walk along a long walkway or something, it’s just empty.
- You cannot skip cutscenes.
Related Gert Lush Gaming Reviews
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered Review
- BloodRayne: Terminal Cut Review
- The Last Faith Review: Bloodborne Meets Blasphemous
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
Summary
GOOD STUFF
The pixel art graphics are awesome and backed up by some fantastic animations and voice work that really help the Gothic atmosphere, even if it isn’t as grim as the old 3D titles. Being able to play from two angles of the story as Raziel and Elaleth keeps things interesting, especially with Raziel’s fire mechanics and Elaleth’s flight-based attacks. The inclusion of a story mode with infinite health makes it accessible for everyone, while the relics you find provide a steady stream of new powers and upgrades. It’s a deep package with a full stats screen, Codex for lore, and cool variety sequences like horseback chases and 3D moments that break up the standard hack and slash combat.
BAD STUFF
The platforming can get very frustrating because the background blends into the play field, making it a guessing game to figure out what is actually a platform, and Elaleth dying instantly in water, even in story mode, is a massive pain. There is a serious amount of story dumped on you early on that lacks the punch of the older games, and since you can’t skip cutscenes and characters repeat dialogue constantly, it starts to lose its meaning. The level design feels repetitive, with the hidden wall trick being overused to a comical degree, and you’ll often find yourself just walking down long, empty walkways with nothing to do. Plus, hit detection is hit and miss, with the fire being particularly harsh to deal with.
FINAL VERDICT
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a decent return to Nosgoth that looks great, but it’s bogged down by repetitive levels and a story that talks way too much without saying half as much as the classics. It’s got the grit, but the flat narrative and annoying platforming stop it from being truly legendary.
