Review: Legacy of Kain – Defiance Remastered

After more than two decades of waiting, the fifth and final part of the saga of the vampire Kain and the wraith Raziel is finally here, in a modern guise. The original game Legacy of Kain: Defiance from 2003 has been modernized, and as a huge fan of the genre, it is impossible not to be swept away by the dark fantasy atmosphere. The game ties together the complex and time-traveling conflict that is fundamentally about the philosophical tug-of-war between fate and free will. The theatrical, British dialogue and voice acting from Simon Templeman, Tony Jay (Frollo in Disney’s brilliant The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Michael Bell remain hard to beat and far superior to much of what we see in today’s gaming landscape.

A stylish facelift with a flawed flip side

The visual refresh is genuinely handsome and meticulous. The developers have added high-resolution textures and dramatically improved the dynamic lighting and shadows in the game’s Gothic ruins, which makes it playable even during the day—something the original was far too dark and murky for. For those who want to bask in nostalgia, there is also a real-time feature where you can switch back and forth between the new graphics and the original 2003 presentation with a simple button press.

The models for Kain and Raziel look fantastic, but the upgrade of certain supporting characters has suffered a bit. The antagonist Moebius, for example, sometimes looks very strange, as the new, extremely detailed textures have been applied over 20-year-old, low-resolution underlying geometry, giving him a stiff and unnatural expression.

Clunky bug and aged design 

The developers have done a tremendous job of scrapping the game’s original and frustrating fixed camera angles, something that also plagued Eidos’ original Tomb Raider games. Instead, a fully modern, free 3D camera has been introduced on the right thumbstick, which significantly improves the gameplay mechanics. However: I encountered an incredibly annoying bug here: for the new, modern “remaster” controls to even activate, I had to change the setting to “off” and then “on” again (the setting is toggled on by default). Only then did the camera work as intended. I was actually about to give up on the game early because the old camera makes simple jumps incredibly clunky and unnecessarily difficult, but it turns out you get both the right camera and better graphics this way.

Despite the modernizations, it is clear that Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered cracks in its actual gameplay mechanics. The transition to pure, linear “hack-and-slash” means the combat loop quickly becomes extremely repetitive and lacks the strategic depth expected of a modern action game. Furthermore, the new free camera acts as a double-edged sword; it allows for easier navigation, but it also mercilessly exposes how empty and repetitive the environments and corridors from 2003 actually are.

Format: Which is best?

The game has launched broadly and is available across a wide matrix of platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, as well as PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.

If you have the choice, PlayStation 5 is undoubtedly the superior format for experiencing the remaster. The developers have once again utilized the DualSense controller to great effect. The haptic vibration provides specific, nuanced feedback depending on whether you strike your sword against flesh or armor, and the adaptive triggers provide dynamic resistance when using telekinesis to throw heavy objects or enemies.

The PC version, on the other hand, suffers from major problems regarding this; PC players are forced to use complicated and undocumented shortcuts in Windows settings just to get DualSense support to work. Additionally, PC players were completely excluded from being able to pre-order the game’s major “Heart of Darkness” edition before launch, creating unnecessary friction among fans.

A digital museum

The most impressive thing about the entire package is the respect for gaming history. The remaster acts as a digital archive, complete with a “Museum Wing” where you can explore previously unseen test levels that were cut due to the PS2’s technical limitations. The icing on the cake is the inclusion of a fully playable demo of the cancelled game The Dark Prophecy (“Legacy of Kain 6”) – a real treasure for hardcore fans.

Verdict

Our rating policy dictates that a five out of ten is an okay product that delivers what it promises. Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered delivers a very good visual upgrade and a sparking story framed in impressive digital preservation. However, it is impossible to ignore the clunky controls and monotonous combat mechanics that significantly dampen the enjoyment of the game. Therefore, we land at a step above passing, and this can be seen as entertaining and relatively good value for passing the time while waiting for the exciting new 2D Metroidvania game Legacy of Kain: Ascendance, a prequel to the beloved Soul Reaver, which is coming at the end of this month and which we are truly curious about (hoping it’s better than God of War: Sons of Sparta and can satisfy our Metroidvania hunger while waiting for the next Castlevania…)

Aspyr sent a review code for this test. Material providers have no editorial influence on our reviews.