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Legacy of Kain: Ascendance

in library

2.2/5

( 28 Reviews )

2.2

28 Reviews

English & 8 more
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Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
1 Goodies included
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
Description
This game is also included in: Heart of Darkness Collection Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a fast, 2D action platformer built around vertical movement, fluid combat, and skill-driven play.   Nosgoth’s dark fantasy world is brought to life through animated cut scenes and beautifully crafted p...
Critics reviews
14 %
Recommend
User reviews

2.2/5

( 28 Reviews )

2.2

28 Reviews

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Product details
2026, Bit Bot Media, ...
System requirements
Windows 10 or later (64-Bit), Intel Core i3-8100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti /...
Description


This game is also included in:
Heart of Darkness Collection




Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a fast, 2D action platformer built around vertical movement, fluid combat, and skill-driven play.

 

Nosgoth’s dark fantasy world is brought to life through animated cut scenes and beautifully crafted pixel art gameplay. Each level filled with environmental challenges and puzzles that flow seamlessly into combat. Fly, fight, and unravel the past in a world of collapsing kingdoms, haunted ruins, and shattered timelines.

 

 

2D Action Platformer 
Chain melee strikes, evasive dashes, and supernatural attacks in fluid, vicious combat.

 

 

Multiple Protagonists 
Overwhelm the battlefield with Kain’s vampiric powers. Play Raziel before his fall as a human Sarafan knight, then take flight for the first time in his vampiric form. The Vampire Elaleth introduces an aggressive playstyle focused on fast relentless offense.

 

Original Score
Ascendance delivers a powerful original score by Celldweller.

 

Returning Voice Talent
Reunites iconic Legacy of Kain voice actors – Michael Bell, Simon Templeman, Richard Doyle and Anna Gunn.  

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance © 2026 Crystal Dynamics group of companies. All rights reserved. Developed by Bit Bot Media LLC in association with FreakZone Games Ltd: A Bit Bot Company. LEGACY OF KAIN: ASCENDANCE, LEGACY OF KAIN, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, and the CRYSTAL DYNAMICS logo are trademarks of the Crystal Dynamics group of companies.

Popular achievements
Goodies
Contents
Standard Edition
Heart of Darkness Collection
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered - Deluxe Upgrade Pack
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered - Ascendance Skin Pack
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered
System requirements
Minimum system requirements:
1 Goodies included
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance
Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Safety and satisfaction. Stellar support 24/7 and full refunds up to 30 days.
Game details
Works on:
Windows (10, 11)
Release date:
{{'2026-03-31T00:00:00+03:00' | date: 'longDate' : ' +0300 ' }}

Game features

Languages
English
audio
text
Deutsch
audio
text
español
audio
text
français
audio
text
italiano
audio
text
Português do Brasil
audio
text
русский
audio
text
中文(简体)
audio
text
日本語
audio
text
Critics reviews
51
Top Critic Average
14 %
Critics Recommend
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Overall most helpful review

Posted on: March 31, 2026

IvanTheRysavy

Verified owner

Games: 284 Reviews: 9

Subpar in most aspects

Im halfway through the game on Hard difficulty as i am writing this but i do not see it getting better sooner. The Story is a retelling of the controversial Dead Shall Rise Comic this time in chronological order instead of flashbacks every 5 seconds if you did not read said comic the story is esentially about trying to fit in the new character Elaleth into as much of the established story as possible. She is Raziel`s sister and is aparently the catalyst to half the things that happened in the story we know. You play as her , Human Raziel , Vampire Raziel and Kain all the characters play very similiar expect for the 1-2 unique abilites they have that influence more so their platforming than the combat. The Gameplay feels super simple crouch stand jump attack are just one animation with the leg of the sprite swapped there is a parry that does have a unique attack animation, Characters with wings get a dive kick and can fly for a short time, Human Raziel gets a fire bomb and all characters can dodge. They could have given it more depth because now it just feels lacking for the genre. Enemy variety is also not the greatest the enemy ai isnt all that intresting or smart. There are these universal flying enemies that fly straight at you and with only being able to attack infront of you they become anyoing if they come at you from above or bellow. Platforming is i guess decent? but there are so many hazards spammed at every step it can be anoying again and with 2 movement options + jump it becomes very basic again. So overall gameplay is very meh. As a PC port this is very lacking. No Keyrebinding as of this review and very limited settings in general. Soundtrack does not sound bad it does not sound like music from this franchise much tho. Voice acting is good. Michael Bell shows his age a little but if they recast him then they would not have heard the end of it so i get it. I really do not know who this is made for as a 2D side scroller action platformer its subpar. The story is bad if you have not played the rest of the games and if you did it just feels like a fanfic level attempt to make this new character of theirs releveant in the verse. Either way wait for a Deeeeep sale if you wanna try it.


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Edited on: April 1, 2026

Posted on: April 1, 2026

JoaoPauloZA

Verified owner

Games: 933 Reviews: 54

Subpar at best, atrocious at worst.

I really had high hopes that the Legacy of Kain franchise would someday be resurrected. Well...better be careful what you wish for it seems because I think someone buried the LoK franchise in the Pet Sematary. It's back, but not in any way that's good for mankind. First, the graphics are uninspired pixel vomit. Yes, there are games today catering to that pixel nostalgia (doing very well, such as Shinobi), but this franchise has only ever used pixels once (Blood Omen). The rest of the games in the series are 3D models. So needless to say, it's aesthetically appalling and unappealing as the pixel art here is subpar even for pixel art. Next, the gameplay is repetitive and boring. This is no Metroidvania, but rather a campy side-scroller with platforming. The combat is extremely lackluster with no combo moves...just the single attack and animation over and over and over. Yeah, the flying characters can dive bomb attack as it were, but that gets old quickly as well due to the game's finicky controls. The music is, well....the music is strange. LoK has always had a dark industrial metal kind of sound. The music here is more like Angsty Alternative Goth Emo Teenie pop music. It simply doesn't fit with anything LoK related. As for the voice actors, they were the main reason I even gave the game a chance. Sadly, time and age have taken the magic out of the performances...along with the cringeworthy script. They tried...but it's just not the same at all. Too many decades have passed, and people's voices have aged. That really doesn't work in a world of Immortal Vampires and time travelling. Last, the story breaks established canon of the series and retrofits a new character to be the impetus of everything. Fans hated the Dead Shall Rise comic book....and for good reason. Basically, BitBot (Klayton and Joshua Viola) has gutted the series for a quick cash grab. I can't recommend anything about this game to anyone. It's probably one of the worst releases I've seen to a dedicated fanbase.


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Edited on: April 1, 2026

Posted on: April 1, 2026

marconeves1979

Games: 47 Reviews: 7

Avoid it like water, my Vampire Brethren

Subpar and woefully uninspired storytelling (when what the Legacy of Kain games used to be known for was excellent writing, dialogue and story). But it seems that without Amy Hennig at the helm, these writers have become incompetent, and are trying to appropriate her story, steal the limelight from her and Dennis Dyack's characters by introducing.... get this.... Raziel's effing sister (ugh, are you serious? Elaleth? Were we not clear about how much this comic book character was disliked?) and they try making her the catalyst for half the events of the previous games' storylines. Pathetic and parasitic. Not to mention derivative and bordering on a.i. slop creation and/or plagiarism. We reject this character as a protagonist or even as a supporting member of the cast. (not the actress' fault, she's good). They basically tried to "Star Wars Acolyte" this masterpiece of a saga. And it's oooooh so, so bad. Not even my nostalgia can let me enjoy this. Voice acting: it's good mostly because of Simon Templeman, who is the GOAT (he's always excellent). Michael Bell is a fine actor, but his voice quality is now (at 87) way too haggard and raspy and feeble-sounding to be playing a young character like Raziel. They should have recast him in a different role, bc he's still excellent, just not the right voice for Raziel anymore. He sounds like a very old man. Perhaps they should have considered him for Janos Audron or Moebius, or some other character who is more age appropriate.... and it would have been fine. Nothing wrong with accepting that your voice has changed. The man can still act. Gameplay: was this made in 1991? You seriously expect us to be okay with this product? To quote Kain: "Don't be simple". It's so repetitive and basic that it gets old after 15 minutes. Music: no, just no. bring back the old themes and instrumentation. These compositions do not fit this operatic (almost Shakespearian) saga. To the writers: stop trying to make it "your own" or give it your own "style" or interpretation thereof. You overestimate yourselves and your skills/talent. You cannot improve upon Amy Hennig's writing and creations. Her story is what we loved, and you should have left that completely untouched. Now, you've ruined it. Direction of the Franchise: change course immediately, people. Ignore that awful comic book story and focus on the main character of this saga: Kain. He alone is worthy of a sequel. Give this franchise a proper ending that fixes the Elder God's shenanigans across the ages and have Kain annihilate him once and for all, therefore saving Nosgoth. Use Raziel (inside the sword), just like they use Kurama in Naruto's anime perhaps? Do not ruin his sacrifice at the end of Defiance, to get him out of the sword again. And if you do not listen to what we are saying, remember Kain's words: "In the meantime, you'd best burrow deep". Edit: I played this on Steam. It was a present from a well-intentioned friend. But I felt it was essential that I made our opinions (us the fans of LoK) heard loud and clear. This is not the way, game company.


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Posted on: April 2, 2026

restlessdeviman

Verified owner

Games: 98 Reviews: 1

so disapointing

like so many other legacy of kain fans i was looking forward to this and all we got was a dull repetitive hit generic enemy get to the next checkpoint rinse repeat. They got the original voice cast back together and I love them but not even they could save this souless cash grab. A note for the developers , maybe you should play castlevania and take some notes on how this type of game should be done .


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Posted on: April 4, 2026

zork86

Verified owner

Games: 202 Reviews: 1

Spitting on The Legacy

Gameplay is, at best, average for an action platformer. It is an easy game that doesn't take long to beat and the characters feel different enough, bringing some variety to the levels. But the story, the center piece of the Legacy of Kain games, is insult upon insult to the series. A newly, forcibly inserted character acts like a deus ex machina behind every established character decision in the old games’ lore, with an absolutely laughable and stupid motivation. The writing is garbage and doesn’t belong even in fan fiction. What a shame to see the series return after 25 years in this form. I really hope that Crystal Dynamics continues this fantastic series, but not with these people who call themselves fans and piss on the lore, story, and themes carefully crafted years before. It was great to hear the voice actors lend their performances again to these dear characters. Even though their age is showing, their talent is immense. he soundtrack is good, but at times I found it overwhelmingly intrusive. In the end, I’m deeply disappointed, and now my only hope is that they at least continue with the remasters, which have been great so far (hoping for Blood Omen 1 <3)!


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