What is the purpose of remastering an old game? Is it to preserve as much of the original product as possible? Should the team simply look to upscale the game so it plays on modern platforms, or is it important to make something new, to expand on something potentially missed?
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
Developer: Crystal Dynamics, PlayEveryWare
Price: $25
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Switch 2, PC
A PS5 code was provided by the publisher for review
I’d like to think it depends on the project but, let’s be real, it’s about IP holders making a quick buck. Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is no different. Little has been done to update this flawed classic outside of some AI upscaling and a reworked, over-the-shoulder camera that fights you every step of the way.
Sure, the boss fights are terrible, the combat is extremely boring, and the controls fight you every step of the way, but it wouldn’t be a Legacy of Kain game without those issues. Defiance Remastered is bringing you the Legacy of Kain: Defiance experience, warts and all.
When we last left Kain in Blood Omen 2, he had just killed the Sarafan Lord and taken back the Soul Reaver for himself. Prior to that, Kain had attempted to kill Raziel with the Soul Reaver only to have it break open and release the sentient being inside, binding itself to Raziel. Kain reminded Raziel that free will is merely an illusion and their fates will be forever intertwined.
Defiance is the first and only game in the series to feature a split-protagonist story. Where the Soul Reaver games focus on Raziel and the Blood Omen games focus on Kain, Defiance is in a league of its own featuring both playable protagonists. A novelty to be sure.
As we return to Nosgoth, we’re treated to Kain sneaking into the Serafan City and seeking an audience with Moebius, the Time Streamer. It’s possible he sought to kill Moebius, but instead Moebius brings him to his knees to exert control, wanders off down the time stream, and sets off a series of events that leads to Kain and Raziel bringing down some of the most important characters in Nosgoth.
Defiance Remastered doesn’t really touch the story. Obviously, expanding on the story might be okay, but truthfully, gamers typically don’t like that. Instead, we’re treated to a better looking version of the story we already had with the same incredible voice performances from Simon Templeman, Michael Bell, and Tony Jay among others.
Unfortunately, while I find the narrative behind Legacy of Kain fascinating, the gameplay is another story. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2, the last game released by Crystal Dynamics in the Legacy of Kain series, was extremely boring. The combat was too rigid, a system where Kain would simply block enemy attacks for the sole purpose of creating an opening.
Defiance on the other hand is far too loose, offering a combat system similar to the Soul Reaver games. Instead of reactive combat like the previous game, Defiance offers a bit more running around waggling your sword. This sounds like fun but, because the combat is so loose, it can be a chore.
Neither Kain nor Raziel get much in the way of invincibility frames. Often you’ll get knocked down only to have enemies take turns knocking you down for several seconds. Make sure you have full health because there are a LOT of enemies in this game, and they’re not nice enough to take turns.
Enemies will wait at the ridges of climbable walls and hit you as you’re ascending to knock you back down, with very little recourse for Kain and Raziel. I believe the intent was good, both have a force choke style telekinetic power giving them the ability to hold someone in air and throw them. A very cool skill that gave me ample opportunities to knock enemies into fire or spikes or even simply throw them off a balcony.
It also messes with the sense of player power. The further you go into the game, the more tedious fights become. Some areas are so laden with baddies you’d have to kill somewhere between 25 – 30 enemies just to make a single pass through a few hallways. A non-issue if the combat was engaging, but alas, it is not.
Further in, there are enemies like the Guardian Constructs – statues that come to life. A neat idea muddled by the requirement to kill them and the tedious way required to fight them. Maintaining distance and moving in after the enemy fumbles an attack is pretty common in games but the lack of feedback given to the player along with enemies not making space for the player to move in and out makes these fights a chore.
I do not know the extent of the team’s ability to change anything beyond the scope of what was changed, but this was an opportunity. Neither protagonist is very good at locking on to enemies either, with both Kain and Raziel choosing targets at random and sometimes, even choosing a target from another room.
Much as I bitch, this combat system ripped in 2003 when the game initially released. We’ve learned so much since then, it’s disappointing to see the combat system languish while the rest of the game is getting a nice upgrade.
Originally equipped with a locked camera perspective (not entirely, sometimes you’re allowed to move the camera slightly in all directions,) an enhanced camera has been added to give the player an over-the-shoulder perspective. While this works really well when you’re trying to get a sense of the room you’re in, it’s a considerable issue when you’re fighting in a small space. Some boss fights are downright miserable with the enhanced camera.
Look, Legacy of Kain: Defiance was a great game when it was released, it just did not age well. The enhancements added, I can only assume were done in good-faith. For the most part, they work.
There are some interesting changes though that warrant discussion. First and foremost, some of the collectibles have been moved around, which is a really interesting change. My memory fails me here so I can’t tell you which one is easier, but some have been moved around.
Maybe the best changes, though, are the extra pieces of bonus content added to the game. Defiance Remastered continually refers to things being left on the cutting room floor, and it’s not kidding. There are videos of 15 frame animations, death scenes, attack scenes and more. All the extra concept art, maps of Nosgoth, pictures of the team, very cool stuff. Seeing the team from 2003 in all their 2003-ass clothes was a trip.
But the pièce de résistance is the lost levels and the demo for the unreleased speculative sequel to Defiance. The lost levels are cool, giving the player access to empty areas or areas where models are being shown off, even those that didn’t make it into the final product. The demo though, is a walk through a canyon and might as well have just been a level in Defiance.
Included in these bonus features is access to 3 Legacy of Kain: Defiance comics, including a German Soul Reaver comic that was originally found in the Soul Reaver 1 strategy guide. The German one is translated so you can read it on your TV without the need for translation software. I think this is one of the best things the team added to the game.
While the Legacy of Kain games will always have a special place in my heart, I can’t help but wonder if Defiance Remastered might have served us better with an updated combat system. Likewise, the use of AI to upscale the graphics is a poor choice and not something I could condone. I wouldn’t have even reviewed Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered if I knew it had used AI tools to upscale.
The Final Word
If you can ignore the shameful use of AI-tools in the game development process, Defiance Remastered might be worth it alone for the bonus materials. What we have is a well-preserved remaster of a very flawed game, just as flawed now as it was in 2003, albeit a bit more noticeable.
MonsterVine Rating: 2.5 out of 5 – Mediocre
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