Legacy of Kain: Ascendance

I was expecting a Metroidvania style of game when I first saw Ascendance trailer. It got me hyped, as graphics seemed pretty decent, and I really always wanted a 2D Legacy of Kain graphics, with gameplay as smooth as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I was also super excited by the lore expansion. Sadly, this is not the entrance in the series I was waiting for, as it is the exact opposite of all my expactations. The main protagonist looks okay. Her origin story sounds good, but the rest feels more like a mess without much real substance, something original LOK games were really spot on. She needed more work. Especially in her ambitions, and at whom she casts blame. The gameplay is a platformer which isn't fleshed out. Is is stale and barebone. For instance... Light sources hurt you. Yeah, basic torches which, I assumed were there to provide light for the player to navigate the level. And they are everywhere, making it really tight and difficult to both traverse the levels, and actually have any consistence in fighting. The parry/counter system feels obsolete, because it is not rewarding at all. You gain a slight damage boost for next hit, but the enemy don't stagger or flinch. Nor are you granted any window of opportunity for counter strike. This means the enemies can, and will, just keep pounding you and interrupt your attacks, without you being able to actually make a come-back. For a good parry system, developers should take a look at Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series for inspiration. The levels that require flight are extremly poor. Not only is it really difficult to actually manage flight, since flapping your wings barely lifts you up and costs a lot of stamine, but you are also completely defenseless while enemies sorround you. To make matter worse, if your toes even as much as brush against the surface of water... your character decides it is time to die: you lose control and fall in water. In cinematic, the fighting scenes would be better if some studies in fighting arts were made. Not to give out spoilers, but one move in particular irritates me a whole lot, since you never do that in a real fight. Ever. Especially in sword fight. This makes the tone and atmosphere lose its credibility, which is not something devs want. Voice actors did good... except for the voice actor of Raziel. I was genuinely worried (and still am) if he had serious, terminal, health issues, given how he talks and strength of his speech. That voice on a young Sarafan Raziel doesn't work very well. Main protagonists voice over is very good tho! Very fitting, and very nice. Kain is killing it, as usual. Ky has also intressting voice actor. And the music... why has metal replaced the haunting, tribal/gothic/horror/ambient soundtrack? It worked good for Terminator 2D: NO FATE, since it actually takes place in modern times... but this? It saddens me greatly that the lore was re-written and heavily diluted. Who made that decision, and what for? I don't understand. The game has nothing solid going for it. It starts as a mess, and finishes off as an even bigger mess, without any explanation or answers. This is no LOK game. I hope the devs learn and improve for their next game. I know it can't always be easy. But take this as a stepping stone to a big success. Better luck next time and best wishes! :)

No one wanted to like this game more than me. I love the Legacy of Kain games (Even Nosgoth). I love metroidvanias. I have said for years that if I could make games I would reboot Soul Reaver 1 as a metriodvania. I didnt HATE the comic, and I did actually kinda like Elalth as a character.... even if I thought they shoe horned her in to far too much. Gameplay is boring, repetitive, the enemies move randomly, the levels don't make any real sort of sense, especially when you have a flying character. Dialogue is not the Shakespearian prose Legacy of Kain is known for. Generated text lore pickups- a complete insult. I played for four levels, about an hour. I put it down, and I haven't come back. You have the money to do better, Crystal Dynamics.

sucks

Only reason I bought this game was to support the franchise and hope that they actually eventually give us, the fans, what we want. The few positive reviews you will see are written by tourists who never liked the series for what it was and do not care about the story and characters. I've never had such an easy time picking out tourists in a fandom. They are literally outing themselves in the comments and reviews. If you are a fan of the series and appreciate the lore, DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS GAME. Purchase it simply to support the franchise but let everyone know how horrendous it is and how much of a slap in the face it is to the franchise, it's original creators and the fans. If you want the fandom to grow and prosper, let new people purchase and play the remasters. Those are actually great products.

I tried. I really tried .... I was so happy to see a new Legacy of Kain game. I ignored my gut feeling when I seen the trailer. I ignored the negative comments. I ignored the first few weird minutes of the game, hoping it would get better - It didn't. At this point I'd rather play "Nosgoth" again, even though I hate PvP games.

I got it before watching a streamer play it and decided to play it to completion just to see how it was. I see why he was frustrated playing it, some mechanics and levels in the game are just downright annoying or obtuse, and some 'chapters' are cutscenes or walking sims. From my gathering this is after the last Legacy of Kain game and before Soul Reaver, but I was still vastly confused trying to figure out what in the heck was going on. Not worth the price point it is currently. If it's on heavy sale maybe, but be prepared for a slog.

As long time LoK fan, this is the worst LoK fan-made game ever! Poor story and writing, voice acting lacks characteristic, both iconic characters Razial and Kain sounded like an old men which doesn't sound the same from previous LoK series. Yes, I'm aware that the actors are getting old due to their age. Still, Raziel's sister Elaleth was very boring female protagonist which didn't interest me at all. As far as gameplay-wise, it took some inspiration from side-scrolling game like Castlevania, for instance. Still, the gameplay feels like it has more input lag, lacks responsiveness, and more clunky mechanic. In regards to story, it takes place between LoK: Soul Reaver 1 & 2. Moreover, dialogue was very bad at all. Voice acting didn't sound too believable, lacks, character development. Lastly, the game suffers horrible stuttering when using the controller which was unplayable. Keyboard, however, seems playable, although it was recommended to play with gamepad controller anyhow. Not sure why the developer didn't release the patch to fix stuttering issue when using gamepad controller. Overall, this is the worst LoK game ever! I don't recommend this product! Instead, buy the original LoK: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered as well as LoK Defiance. You will not regret it!