Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered

So I didn't like this one either, but decided to see the series through to the end. Despite having the best combat out of all 3 games, it's still extremely shallow. Calling this a "DMC-Lite" feels very wrong because of how shallow it is. By the end the enemy encounters and garbage boss fights will begin to wear thin on your patience. Story is again the strong suite, and while I do like the conclusion to the LoK series this game presents, it felt awfully convulated and obstuse at times. You can also tell that this was setting up a sequel, which will never happen. So yeah, YMMV, but I didn't really like this one either.

Finally, after finishing the Soul Reaver remasters, I was very excited to play Defiance. Since it is a sequel and the finale of the franchise, it is obviously hard to recommend on its own. Basically, if you've played and enjoyed the previous games, then you should definitely play this one, too. The characters are great, the story is engaging, and both Kain and Raziel have great arcs by the end of the story. The only possible criticism I have with the plot is that some parts can feel very fast with little story development, especially at the beginning. I had also hoped that some of the crucial side characters would have had more screen time or played a bigger role, specifically [spoiler]Vorador and Mortanius[/spoiler]. Gameplay-wise, the game is a big step up from the second Soul Reaver game with very dynamic combat controls. In many ways, it feels like a light version of a Devil May Cry game, with strong use of juggling and midair attacks and fast-paced hack-n-slash gameplay. If the original game's gameplay was this good, then I have to be impressed because that means it technically came out before DMC3 while having gameplay that was almost as good. The only downsides are honest…

NEED SO MUCH MORE OF THIS!!!

The upgrade to the camera and graphics aside I cannot suggest this game as it currently stands. I have had to restart chapter 3 several times because of a bug where doors that should be open aren't and doors you should be able to open won't respond to the kick. As of this stage without a fix to this issue I will not continue playing the game nor do I suggest you do either.

Crystal Dynamics is absolute trash for mismanaging this banger of a series. Is there any company that could have done a worse job? Like honestly is there? What a shame.

This game is very much an improvement on the original, even the camera controls are doable.