Legacy of Kain: Ascendance

Fan Friction

In August of 2024, Bit Bot Media and Crystal Dynamics announced a Soul Reaver graphic novel via Kickstarter, the first new narrative built around the series in over two decades. With a human Raziel front and center on the cover and the prospect of digging into his backstory, fans were excited, and rightfully so. However, when the comic was finally released, the bait and switch of Raziel’s newly created sister as the lead had fans up in arms. And yet, that is the story they set to adapt here, albeit in videogame form. 

I'm not opposed to looking at canon or a certain character from another perspective, as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty did this exact thing with having Raiden as a large focus on the plot. Still, despite this surprise, his inclusion didn't rewrite decades of lore. It’s not like we found that Snake was given his name based on something Raiden did. Raziel's sister, Elaleth, who was created solely for this story, however, is the very definition of a Mary Sue, and retcons a story so perfect that fans simply wanted more of the story and characters they fell in love with years ago. They didn't get that in the comic, and they certainly don't get that here. 

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is every bit as cringy as most fan fiction stories go, especially ones where the author injects a new character of their own and makes them pivotal to the backstory of well-established characters, thus reconstructing the lore to suit the author's needs. Here, Elaleth is a tool used to set the stage for moments that had already occurred in the game, despite there being established steps to those events already formed. There was no reason to have her as the catalyst, and it feels like the author wanted to have control over events they didn't write. Honestly, I’d love to know how Amy Hennig feels about this. 

In Soul Reaver 2, Raziel learns of his past, how he was a Sarafan warrior, a brutal and murderous man. Since many of his other memories are long dead, adding Elaleth in that gap does make some sense, and does add an emotional core to his past life, and something even for his vampirism form to cling to. However, having Elaleth as the cause for his transformation, leading his desire to show Kain his wings, and thus his destiny as a wraith, it undermines so much of that backstory, especially when you then have Elaleth instruct Kain to resurrect Raziel and his allies as his own personal army. The Dead Shall Rise graphic novel didn’t sit well with long-time fans, so why adapt it here again?

The inclusion of Elaleth does retcon the most crucial moments of the lore, and if this had come from Amy Hennig, the writer and director of the first two Soul Reaver games, I'd fully accept that this was her original plan. However, this doesn't come from anyone associated with the original games, but writer Joshua Viola, who has a limited history with working on video games, and basic ones at that. He comes at this with the same mentality as an envious fan fiction writer. This causes his creation, Elaleth, to feel like an addition that doesn't, in any way, shape, or form, feel suited to affect canon events from decades ago. As I've done research for this review, it seems that fans of the original games are in the same agreement, both for this release and that of the comic book.

While Ascendance does have a few cameos of other notable characters, such as Moebius and Ariel, they are used in ways that are simply a “Look, they are back, isn't that cool?” attempt that falls flat. Ariel, in this case, is there to, and I am not joking, host a pop quiz. I was at a loss for words during this whole segment and just spammed the button down since you cannot fail it. While Anna Gunn returned here to once again voice Ariel, I can only imagine her thinking, “That was it?” after her voice session ended and she left the booth. 

While it is great to see the original cast back, with Simon Templeman as Kain, Michael Bell as Raziel, Anna Gunn as Ariel, and Richard Doyle as Moebius, I do wish they had simply gone with a sound-alike for at least one notable character, Raziel. Michael Bell, who is now 87 years old, was a tremendous choice for the character back in the day, but as this is a prequel, having human Raziel sound Bell’s actual age throws off the whole vibe of the character. This is an example of fan service not servicing the game in the way you likely were expecting or as it should. Sometimes an actor is too old to reprise a character.

If the gameplay had risen above the bad writing and erasure of decades of lore, there could have been something salvageable about the 2 ½ to 3 hours this journey will take you. Sadly, the gameplay just doesn't keep your attention and feels like something you'd get out of a game jam built over the course of a weekend. 

Combat is as basic as you can get with a single strike, either standing or crouched, or a badly implemented parry/block that is largely useless. You can glide, dash, or fly, depending on whether you are playing as Elaleth, Raziel, his vampire form, or Kain. I'll also add that Kain’s whole gameplay segment is just him going to the crypt to resurrect Raziel. It felt like they needed to make Kain playable, as a selling point, but didn't have anything for him to do. You could have placed any of the characters here, and it would have changed nothing.

For the characters with wings, flying feels like you are a small helicopter trying to lift a whole tropical island. It feels oddly heavy and doesn't feel even remotely good. There are a few flying segments where you'll capture energy orbs to refill your stamina, but they don't share the same color scheme as your stamina bar, which is an odd artistic choice. All in all, flying feels exhausting. I just flew in from Nosgoth, and boy, are my wings tired.

Elsewhere, there is a spot later on where you'll be blocked by a door. I believe this is during Kain's segment, and at first, I thought I had missed something and needed to find a way to open it. However, it isn't explained to you that you can mist dash through solid objects, and that ended up being the solution.

Each level can be blitzed through with nothing of merit lost for doing so. You can fly through most areas, literally, in about a minute. There are collectibles, but they serve zero purpose and don't, in any way, affect gameplay to the point where you feel like you are missing out if you just ignore them. The most important ones are in your path already, so you can just jump and fly across most levels and skip all the annoying fights, especially as there are maybe five or six actual enemy types, and bosses are always a separate area you'll stumble into anyway. I'd talk about the bosses, but there isn't a single one even worth a discussion about. 

Near the end, you'll wonder if they will ever add another enemy type, since you'll have seen all of them ad nauseum a dozen times over and over. Then, suddenly, one whole level is just filled with a new single giant monster type that they just slap anywhere and everywhere, finally granting you a new enemy type and making you sick of them in the same level. 

Platforming is another area that doesn't feel fluid or polished. You can mantle up platforms if you catch their ledge, but you'll only really need to do that a few times, as they give a generous amount of space to clear them anyway. Levels don't have any true design to them, often feeling placed out randomly with no rhyme or reason. There are also a few levels with cannons that will frustrate many, not just because their ghost bullets can go through solid platforms, but the cannon sound effect is three times louder than the music. There was one area with four of them going off, and it was the most nauseating cacophony of sound effects known to mankind. 

As Ascendance is trying to invoke that Symphony of the Night aesthetic, it fails as character animations are bland, and oddly, not in sync with the art assets for the visual novel conversations. For example, Elaleth has a glove on her right hand, but her pixel form has it on the left, which contradicts the lore surrounding her dismemberment. How did this get approved when it is a pivotal aspect of her character? I don't know. I will state that the art assets for said conversations are solid, with little bits that are animated, and it works.

However, the game doesn't know how it wants to display the story elements and their presentation. There are the visual novel elements that are sound, the animated cutscenes are good, almost showing us what a cartoon series would look like, to 3D elements that invoke the original games. Had there been a focus on one element instead, then there would have been an identity to cling to. Instead, it feels like several art departments each had an idea, and no one gave them the memo.

The music is likely the best element of this whole endeavor, but its use is oddly placed. I was just walking around, and suddenly the music kicked into gear, this intense barrage of notes that felt perfect for a boss fight. But there wasn't even a single enemy in this whole level to warrant such rhythmic tones.

While some art assets are fine, with some decent music, I struggle to really find anything good about the whole package. The story is miserable, with extended dialogue sessions that, while voiced, are simply not entertaining. However, the biggest issue is the bland gameplay that does nothing to even stand out, providing combat and platforming that are dated, even by NES standards. The Dead Shall Rise was a hollow attempt at revisiting the lore, and Ascendance simply echoes that same attempt, offering a story that fans of the series simply didn’t take to. While both the comic and the game share in their ending, setting up a sequel, I can't see anyone being even remotely excited for it.

Developer - Bit Bot Media/FreakZone Games. Publisher - Crystal Dynamics. Released - March 31st, 2026. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, PC Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2. Review Access - A review code for Legacy of Kain: Ascendance was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.