Legacy of Kain: Defiance

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 99 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 99
  3. Negative: 4 out of 99
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  1. CoffinSandman
    Oct 9, 2007
    5
    Not much more that a poor man's Devil May Cry. The gameplay is mediocre and shallow, the fights are repetative, the enemy AI sux, and the levels and environments are dull. The controls are made even worse by the keyboard. Do yourself a favor and pick up DMC instead.
  2. IzZo
    Jan 10, 2004
    7
    Well...This Game is Way Better Than Blood Omen 2, Graphically better than Soul Reaver 2 as well, Really Digged the chance 2 Play Both Kain & Raziel in the Same Game,Like Kain's Attitude + Personality but think Raziel is a much cooler Fighter.I would put this game in the same catergory as PoP:Sands of Time, except that it has Cons,Like the Camera, Half the Time i dont know whether Well...This Game is Way Better Than Blood Omen 2, Graphically better than Soul Reaver 2 as well, Really Digged the chance 2 Play Both Kain & Raziel in the Same Game,Like Kain's Attitude + Personality but think Raziel is a much cooler Fighter.I would put this game in the same catergory as PoP:Sands of Time, except that it has Cons,Like the Camera, Half the Time i dont know whether i'm alone or enemies r nearby,but the fighting system is pretty kool,mid-air Kombat Rocks! its Not the best game ever played but its definetely the best in the series so far,a must have for 'Legacy of Kain' Fans.… Expand
  3. jimbobslimbob
    Nov 24, 2014
    6
    Not one of the strongest entries in the LoK franchise, although not the worst either. It's a fairly good game. The story is brilliant, as always, as is the voice acting. The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag.

    To start with: the camera. The camera is no longer a chase-cam, like the last 3 games. Instead, it's a kind of Devil May Cry camera that shifts, rotates and generally gets on your    Not one of the strongest entries in the LoK franchise, although not the worst either. It's a fairly good game. The story is brilliant, as always, as is the voice acting. The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag.

    To start with: the camera. The camera is no longer a chase-cam, like the last 3 games. Instead, it's a kind of Devil May Cry camera that shifts, rotates and generally gets on your nerves. It frequently changes when you are in the middle of performing a precise action, like jumping - which screws up what you were doing.

    Secondly: too much repetitive combat. Okay, to be fair, the other games have also suffered from this, but LoK seems to simply have more of it. It gets tiresome and I found myself avoiding combat wherever possible. Certain levels have you running backwards and forth with wave after wave of enemy re-spawning after every battle. It gets annoying very quickly.

    Those things aside, the rest of the game is pretty solid. It looks lovely, sounds great and the puzzles are a little more diverse than titles such as BO2. Story is great and it is good fun to be able to play both Kain and Raziel (although bar some animation differences, they play very similar to each other). The main difference between the two is that Raziel is blessed with more engrossing puzzles, while Kain is simply given more enemies to mash. Raziel also has the spectral realm to play around in, which of course, Kain does not have.

    LoK fans will like it (as I have), but it leaves you wondering just what they could have accomplished with the format - and such a shame that certain elements were not improved upon.

    Jimbo Rating: 6/10    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
68
#68 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Computer and Video Games
    79
    Worse still (by about a million times), is the fact that you have to visit the exact same bloody temple at least ten times during the course of the game, solving its baffling 'mysteries' every time. [PC Zone]
    Read full review
  2. TotalGames.net
    65
    The previous games in the series have all been relatively successful, and Defiance looked set to continue that tradition, until the poor camera angles and misjudged over-emphasis on combat scuppered things somewhat. As it stands, this is very much a game for fans of the series only.
  3. ActionTrip
    69
    Hard-core fans will love the story and eventually, if they're persistent and patient enough they'll get over the horrendous controls and camera and other gameplay drawbacks.
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