Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Is A Clever Idea That Stumbles When It Should Soar (Review)

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The Legacy of Kain series was very popular on the PlayStation 2, offering a dark and compelling vampire story that stood alongside the Castlevania games. However, it’s been over twenty years since fans last experienced a new adventure with Kain or Raziel. Now, developer Bit Bot Media is bringing the series back with a fresh take that could be exactly what fans have been waiting for.

As a big fan of Legacy of Kain, I was really intrigued by Ascendance. It’s basically a fresh take on the series’ backstory, and it’s cool how they went with a retro, *Castlevaniastyle side-scroller instead of the 3D adventures we were used to. Honestly, the art and music are fantastic and really capture the atmosphere. But, unfortunately, some core issues with how the game plays hold it back from being truly great. It feels like it had so much potential, but just couldn’t quite reach it.

Review Score: 2.5/5

Pros: Cons:
Strong art and sound design do a good job of bringing Legacy of Kain into a different era of game design. Lackluster enemy CPU and dull level design undercut the action-heavy gameplay.
Vampiric abilities introduce interesting tweaks and wrinkles to traditional action-platformer gameplay. Alternating characters still feel repeitive due to a lack of overall combat depth.
Legacy of Kain fans will appreciate the first new chapter in the series in over twenty years. The underwhelming writing can’t quite match the art design.

Legacy Of Kain: Ascendance’s Gameplay Can’t Rise To The Challenge

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance primarily lets you play as two characters: the vampire Elaleth and Raziel before he becomes corrupted. Later in the game, you can also play as Kain. As the story unfolds, you switch between these characters, and the game blends their individual stories and development with unique gameplay styles. While both characters control similarly, the game is fast-paced action platformer focused on skillful dodging and combat rather than extensive exploration or puzzle-solving.

Playing as vampires like Elaleth is much more fun. Her special powers – like regaining health by draining enemies or flying with wings – make her levels interesting and encourage creative strategies. These abilities also make her sections easier, which can be frustrating when you switch to characters like Raziel. Overall, the combat feels limited with any character, and can become repetitive quickly.

The combat system quickly feels awkward and unreliable, largely due to simple enemy AI. We saw enemies fall to their deaths while trying to attack, and the core gameplay of dodging, stabbing, and draining health became repetitive, though strangely enjoyable. Sometimes enemies would suddenly become much faster, making the action feel uneven. While dying isn’t a huge setback thanks to frequent checkpoints, this actually detracts from the feeling of being truly immersed in the game. Since combat is so important, these issues are particularly noticeable, especially when you play as Elaleth and face surprisingly tough enemies.

Ascendance’s Voice Cast And Art Style Try To Elevate The Game

As a huge Legacy of Kain fan, I’m so excited this is the first new game in over 20 years! The story really expands on everything we already know and love. It follows Raziel before he became a vampire, alongside a vampire named Elaleth who’s chasing her brother, Morbius. The game slowly reveals how Raziel became the creature we know, and Elaleth’s story fits into the bigger picture in a really interesting way. It plays with the existing lore a bit, but thankfully doesn’t ruin anything – it actually adds to it!

While the story relies on familiar tropes, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance benefits greatly from its art, music, and voice acting, which add emotional weight to key scenes that the character designs alone couldn’t achieve. The return of veteran voice actors like Michael Bell and Simon Templeman nicely ties the game to the series’ overall history. Overall, it’s an engaging installment for longtime fans who have been waiting for a new Legacy of Kain experience, and the strong presentation helps overcome some of the story’s weaknesses.

Ascendance Is A Good Idea That Doesn’t Quite Stick The Landing

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance aims to feel like a classic game from the SNES or Sega Genesis, with similar platforming and challenging difficulty. It succeeds in this goal to some extent, particularly with its well-designed character sprites and overall retro aesthetic. However, the levels themselves aren’t as strong, and finding secrets often relies on luck or failing repeatedly. The controls work well, and mastering the fast-paced combat feels satisfying.

Despite having a strong foundation and an interesting premise – reimagining a classic vampire story with a twist – Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is ultimately held back by uneven difficulty, a sometimes slow pace, and a lack of overall depth. While enjoyable at times, the game doesn’t fully live up to its potential.

Comicbook.com received a PS5 copy of Legacy of Kain: Ascendance for the purposes of this review.

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2026-03-31 22:11