Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered from Crystal Dynamics and PlayEveryWare is a new take on 2003’s entry in the series. Learn more in our Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered review!
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Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered from Crystal Dynamics and PlayEveryWare is a new take on 2003’s entry in the series. The game presents to us the journey of Vampire lord Kain and his lieutenant-turned-wraith, Raziel, making this the only entry where you’ll be able to play as both Kain and Raziel. You’ll once again be exploring Nosgoth, in a release that has revamped the look and feel of this classic. This is why we’re getting new HD graphics, reworked controls, as well as a modernized camera that feels snappier. And yes, you can switch between the new HD presentation and the game’s original look if you want to. There’s also alternate character skins, a photo mode, a lore reader, and more.
The game was originally released for the PlayStation 2 more than two decades ago, and it follows 1996’s Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, 1999’s Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, 2001’s Soul Reaver 2, and 2002’s Blood Omen 2. It was the last game in the series before the new Legacy of Kain: Ascendance – which I’ll be reviewing soon! I enjoyed my time with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered when I had a chance to review it at the end of 2024, so I was definitely up for checking out what Crystal Dynamics is doing with Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered.
Your journey in this Rated M for Mature experience will begin with you taking control of Kain, as you search for your target: Moebius the Time Streamer. With this one being a 3D action game, you’ll be taking control of Kain by using the left analog stick, as you use the right analog stick to move the camera around you as needed. You’ll be able to attack enemies with your sword by pressing the Y button as you slash them into pieces. Press the R button to feed from your enemies, to recover some of your lost health. This is important because blood hunger will slowly drain the health gauge over time.
Jump by pressing the B button. Pressing and holding down the B button will allow Kain to float down after a jump. You can also jump and climb up some of the walls that you’ll find. Since you’re a vampire, you’ll be able to approach gates and easily mist through. If you want to know where you need to head next, press and hold down the ZL button to use foresight to navigate to the following objective. Press the A button for a telekinesis blast. You can use this to damage enemies or to destroy breakable objects. Press and hold down the A button to grab and lift an enemy, which you can then throw, either at another enemy or onto a spike! Press the – button to review the map.
Kain can fly between distant locations by transforming into a swarm of bats. You’ll need to find a bat-flight marker and then press the B button to gather your energy for the flight. There’s also the possibility of using your vampiric strength to perform superhuman leaps. Once again, stand on top of the animated marker and press and hold down the B button to charge your jump. Releasing the B button will launch Kain over the large gap.
Once you gain control of Raziel, things will definitely feel different. Raziel is more nimble than Kain, so he’ll be able to run and jump at a much faster pace. On top of this, Raziel’s broken wings are still way more functional than Kain’s slow but useful float, and that means that you can glide for much longer distances by pressing and holding down the B button after a jump.
Kain, as a full vampire, requires blood to survive. Raziel? Raziel will need to devour souls! When an enemy has been weakened, press and hold down the R button while near them to tear away their soul. Just be careful, because if you release the R button too early, the soul might be able to escape! While water is like acid to vampires, Raziel has no issue swimming. Oh, and Raziel can traverse the Spectral Realm, a shadowy underworld populated by nightmarish creatures.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered from Crystal Dynamics and PlayEveryWare is a new take on 2003’s entry in the series. The game presents to us the journey of Vampire lord Kain and his lieutenant-turned-wraith, Raziel, making this the only entry where you’ll be able to play as both Kain and Raziel. You’ll once again be exploring Nosgoth, in a release that has revamped the look and feel of this classic. This is why we’re getting new HD graphics, reworked controls, as well as a modernized camera that feels snappier. And yes, you can switch between the new HD presentation and the game’s original look if you want to. There’s also alternate character skins, a photo mode, a lore reader, and more.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is available for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as a Cross-Buy title, so your purchase will allow you to download both versions of the game for only $24.99. You can also get the Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered Deluxe Edition for $29.99, which includes the base game, as well as the following:
– Dark Prophecy Demo: A playable demo of the canceled sequel to Defiance: Dark Prophecy, offering insight into an unreleased chapter of the franchise.
– Digital Comic Reader: Contains original Legacy of Kain tie-in comics, including one in English for the first time! Features a brand-new cover for the Defiance comic by original artist Tyler Kirkham.
But what if you got the game and now want to upgrade to the Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered Deluxe Edition? Then you can get the Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered – Deluxe Edition Upgrade for $7.99, and this will allow you to download the aforementioned additional content.
While the Nintendo Switch 2 version is not available as a full separate Nintendo Switch 2, it has been optimized for Nintendo’s latest console, with higher resolution textures, better lighting, and a smoother framerate, which is why the Nintendo Switch version is 15.4 GB and the Nintendo Switch 2 version is 22.3 GB. Think of this one as including a Nintendo Switch 2 patch that upgrades everything, similar to how Nintendo has patches you can download for, say, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, so that when playing on a Nintendo Switch 2, you get visuals optimized for the console’s higher resolution targets, a smoother framerate, and more.
Disclaimer
This Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered review is based on a Nintendo Switch 2 copy provided by Crystal Dynamics.
