Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)
Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)
Game
Game2013
Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
Blood Omen 2 is a 2002 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows and GameCube. It is the fourth title in the Legacy of Kain series and is the sequel to the first game in the series, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996), with Blood Omen's protagonist, the vampire Kain, returning as the central character. Blood Omen 2 chronologically… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
287 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 23, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
67
Fresh
122 positive · 61 negative
95% range 60–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 122 | 61 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 26 | 18 | 59 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
491 of 757 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
67% recommend · 124 yes, 61 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 185 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (841 of 1,240 positive).
Players say the game is a classic with great story and voice acting, but requires fan patches to run on modern PCs. [1][2][3] Some reviewers love the dark atmosphere and gameplay, calling it their favorite in the series. [4][5][6] Others criticize the game for being unplayable without fixes, with crashes and no controller support. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Love this game, originally, but it doesn't bloody work on steam! and apparently it's not just me! FIX THIS I PAYED FOR THIS! SOUL REAVER 2 TOO! THE GAME LITERALLY DOESN'T START!
- [8]
I love this game and series. But it is almost unplayable on steam. crashes, freezes, can't tab out without something going wrong. no controller support. soul reaver 1& 2 now have remasters coming out. please give the rest of the series some love and attention.
- [2]
Game is still amazing as it was as a kid. Please dont let the reviews turn you off from the game, as its MANDATORY to install the Blood Omen 2: Re-vamped patch to play smoothly on modern PC's ♥
- [3]
Make sure to visit the community hub and get a patch. Then you're good to go. Lots of fun. The movement is a bit clunky, but the storytelling and voice work is great. Be sure to give it a try. PS: I used ReVamped.
- [6]
My favorite game from the series hands down. I love this game, finished it so many times over the years. Of course it has rough edges! It's older than some people's children. 😂 And honestly, that's part of the charm. Give me an ambitious 2002 game with a strong identity and some jank over another sterile modern game designed by committee any day. 😂 Blood Omen 2 walked so modern gothic action games could run. For …
Summarised from 34 of the 273 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
67% of the 185 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain. The complaint that keeps coming up: unplayable on modern systems without patches. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Xbox version received "generally favorable reviews", while the other console versions received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. AllGame gave the PS2 and Xbox versions three stars out of five, saying of the former, "Even with the ordinary combat and rather tedious puzzles, Blood Omen 2 still manages to be compelling enough to keep you playing to the end, which is a testament to the overall presentation and varied locales"; and of the latter, "Less demanding players will be more tolerant of the game's repetitive nature, while others will yearn for something juicier to sink their teeth into."
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 287 · most liked firstGreat game with mind bending puzzles, stealth and a rich story. However, this one is only playable with this patch found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967665429 Crystal Dynamics, please fix this. With the [URL=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2521380/Legacy_of_Kain_Soul_Reaver_12_Remastered/]remaster of Soul Reaver 1 & 2 I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to get the complete story from these games. I'm also sure everyone want's to play the others as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decided to dress my handsome BUFF Vorador in his game outfits X3 From left to right Blood Omen, Soul Reaver 2/Defiance, Blood Omen 2
neutral · AI labelView post →Game is still amazing as it was as a kid. Please dont let the reviews turn you off from the game, as its MANDATORY to install the Blood Omen 2: Re-vamped patch to play smoothly on modern PC's ♥
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love this game, originally, but it doesn't bloody work on steam! and apparently it's not just me! FIX THIS I PAYED FOR THIS! SOUL REAVER 2 TOO! THE GAME LITERALLY DOESN'T START!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unless you have a computer from 2002, dont bother, its just more frustrating than anything else, ive tried everything i can, but its still bad, perhaps you should try an emulator or fire up the ole ps2 if you want to play this again.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok...let me start by saying this: if your game does not work out of the box, it is always an auto-not recommend. I am aware that there is a fix for it, done this fix on my pc, and aware it is very easy to do. But, it is not from the developers. So that tells me they do not desire to keep their game playable. Thus no recommended option. Now lets actually jump into the game...and I am a huge fan of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. This game has always been the black sheep of the series. its a square…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR NEW/FUTURE PLAYERS* >>((((Conceptual Edition Mod))))<< THE MAIN COMPLAINTS REVOLVING AROUND THE BAD REVIEWS CAN BE FIXED WITH A ONE CLICK MOD, FIXES CRASHES/CONTROLLER SUPPORT/RESOLUTION/FPS/CUTSCENES/TEXTURES. PLEASE TAKE THE 3 MINUTES TO DOWNLOAD THE MOD BEFORE PLAYING, IT WILL MAKE THE EXPERIENCE MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE. Amazing classic that hopefully gets the remaster treatment, not many games out there that let you be such an evil vampire, absolute joy to hear…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classics/VR: -Synapse -Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain -Blood Omen 2 -Resistance: Fall of Man -Resistance 2 [2/2] blog.playstation.com/2024/11/13/p...
neutral · AI labelView post →Works absolutely fine if you download conceptual edition mod and re-vamped combined. THESE STEPS ARE 100% NECESSARY FOR THE GAME TO FUNCTION AT ALL. This game is one of my all time favourites and I can't wait to put more hours into this classic. My only complaint is how much of a ball ache it was to set up controller support as boss battles are horrendous if you primarily use keyboard and mouse. I highly recommend giving this classic game a try if you haven't before. I hold the legacy of kain…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game and series. But it is almost unplayable on steam. crashes, freezes, can't tab out without something going wrong. no controller support. soul reaver 1& 2 now have remasters coming out. please give the rest of the series some love and attention.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I hope BO1 and BO2 will get a remaster next. Wouldnt even mind if they just put BO1 on steam as it is. As for BO2, its probably my favorite entry in the series with defiance. Runs great on steamdeck,too. You just have to fiddle with the controller settings a bit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How is this even for sale still? It's virtually unplayable on modern systems. It seems like this kind of thing should be taken down after the pile of comments saying it doesn't work. I did wind up getting it to start up, but now the menu is buggy... like GTFO with this nonsense, I shouldn't have to fight a game to play it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Series of images of Kain falling from the ceiling and into the camera (game: Blood Omen 2)
neutral · AI labelView post →this game does not load. it takes minutes to load the start menu. do not buy this game. get yourself an emulator and download a rom.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is broken and a scam do not purchase you have been warned.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Play it whit Blood Omen 2: Conceptual Edition Link : https://www.moddb.com/mods/blood-omen-2-conceptual-edition/downloads/blood-omen-2-conceptual-edition1
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →❣️ CHARITY STREAM WEEKEND: Santa Fe Animal Shelter ❣️ May 23rd-24th, 12-6PM MDT each day www.twitch.tv/marleygrey Our goal is $300! Milestone rewards 💟 $75 discord movie night $150 Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 one-off (I haven't played this game in over 20 years...) $300 games w/ chat stream
neutral · AI labelView post →Wicked Game! Ignore the other reviews of it crashing your need Blood Omen 2 ReVamped patch to play on modern PC's Here's to hoping they remaster this one as well!!!! Loved playing these games as a kid and it great as an adult too
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →don't play it on steam. use a emu instead (ps2, xbox, gamecube whatever) but do not play it here bcz it's too old for new hardwares
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Make sure to visit the community hub and get a patch. Then you're good to go. Lots of fun. The movement is a bit clunky, but the storytelling and voice work is great. Be sure to give it a try. PS: I used ReVamped.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had to farm the minutes to get this out there: Under no circumstances should you purchase this game. I downloaded the wrapper dll files and an ini file from the community, and all the difference that made was: instead of crashing immediately, I was able to see what the menu looks like before it crashed. I got an extra ten seconds of gameplay out of those dlls. There is absolutely no excuse as to why a game shouldn't boot if it's being sold on a platform like steam. If it's free, then maybe…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PROS: + Kain's voice + fun puzzles + Chapter 8 CONS: - frequent game freezing - unskippable cutscenes - terrible PC port - stupid sexy vampires - audio glitches Comment: I am a big Legacy of Kain fan and even though the games have aged and are clunky in some aspects I like them all the same. But there is something about Blood Omen 2 that always rubbed me the wrong way. I even had to force myself to start it again multiple times which is something that never happened with the other games. It…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game does really offer some great gaming moments. It's not a triple-A, system seller, but it's a solid game none the less.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CRASHES EVERY TIME I TRY PLAYING
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally finished Blood Omen 2 out of a desire to eventually play and finish every other LOK game besides Defiance. I first experienced it for the first time at a cyber cafe back in 2007. Back then it felt okay-ish? But now...
negative · AI labelView post →I can't stress enough how much I love this game and how anyone should play it, however, I can't recommend buying it on pc. It simply doesn't work on modern hardware. Even with mods or patches like DGVooDoo the game crashes constantly, forcing you to start over and over and over again... I had to finish it on an old ps2. Great game, bad purchase.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, originally I refunded it and talked about how sad I was that I couldn't play, but lo and behold I downloaded the ReVamped DLL and dropped it into the Legacy of Kain Blood Omen 2 folder on my external hard drive and voila, the game started and ran fine. ABSOLUTELY try that first, this game is the stuff of legends.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is not exactly, as you would say, canon in the LoK universe when you look into it. There are so many missteps when it comes to the story, that this really should have been a separate IP. First and foremost, the pillars are already well corrupt, yet the land is still functional and fertile hundreds of years after BO1. Then there is the strong Hilden's presence and the ability by them, Kain, and humans to traverse between the 2 realms, an ability never seen again in the series. Not to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unplayable due to technical issues, even after hours of troubleshooting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So, the first one was called 'Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'. You would think that the next one will be 'Blood Omen 2' but no, they called it 'Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'. After that, comes 'Soul Reaver 2' despite being the third game, but... they made another one called 'Blood Omen 2'!
neutral · AI labelView post →One of the best games of all times. Too bad they don't make them like this anymore.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best games ever created. Dark, philosophical, engaging, with an extremely precise soundtrack and perfectly balanced from a gameplay standpoint.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can very easily fix issues with the steam version of the game by googling it briefly and finding a solution in the steam forums. There's a bug with modern machines that kinda make it a pain to play. It's easily resolved by downloading 3 small files. The issue with no controller support isn't a fault with the developers or the distributors of the game. It can be easily resolved by playing the game in big picture mode and enabling a readily available scheme fans have already created for you.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Time for Blood Omen 2, which is the entry in the Legacy of Kain franchise best known for being the game where Kain enters his slut era (and never comes out of it)
neutral · AI labelView post →My favorite game from the series hands down. I love this game, finished it so many times over the years. Of course it has rough edges! It's older than some people's children. 😂 And honestly, that's part of the charm. Give me an ambitious 2002 game with a strong identity and some jank over another sterile modern game designed by committee any day. 😂 Blood Omen 2 walked so modern gothic action games could run. For everyone that has problems with the game just google Blood Omen 2 Revamped and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a blast from the past. One of my favorite games and franchise. Shout out to @Major Dutch for suggesting the Conceptual Edition fix which works like a charm. Can't wait for Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I still after 22 year love this game to most Legacy of kain fans this is the weakest in the series but that does not mean it's bad it aint it does some flaws and the the story is the weakest but it still a fun game to play and is alot of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Please fix this classic. It's unplayable for anyone with Windows 10 :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →They must have amnesia they forgot that I'm him
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Now, for our charity milestone rewards!❣️ 1) Discord movie night- poll for day in the server 2) Blood Omen 2 one-off is scheduled for Thursday's stream this week, 8PM MDT 3) Games w/ chat is penciled in for this Sunday afternoon- I have a strawpoll below to gauge games people are most interested in
neutral · AI labelView post →This was a game I spent hours with back on the GameCube, and coming back to it now brings a strong sense of nostalgia that’s hard to separate from the experience itself. If you’ve never played it before, it’s worth being honest, the game shows its age. Movement can feel clunky, combat isn’t as smooth as modern titles, and some of the mechanics take a bit of getting used to. It doesn’t have the polish players might expect today. That said, there’s still a lot to enjoy here. The gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game sucks so much... but we're almost done with it. We're gonna finish up Blood Omen 2! Come join us! #SmallStreamer #ENVtuber #LegacyOfKain twitch.tv/ToastyLepchin
negative · AI labelView post →The side developer team nobody asked for | KAMGUSTA's MINI REVIEW I know you want to know everything about the "Kain" saga, so here we go. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) is the first one, was released on PS1 and Windows and can't be found on STEAM. It's a top down RPG adventure with action elements. In a time when people still played RPGs on tables, it made a small revolution. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999) was released on PS1 and Windows and, after the success of Tomb Raider, it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alright, as much as Soul Reaver had me in its grasp as a kid, Blood Omen 2 may be my favourite game in the series as an adult. Excited to finish it next week! In other news: SATURDAY we'll be starting earlier so we can do a Coompany stream with the homies! 1pm GMT we take the elevator down in KLETKA
positive · AI labelView post →@here continuing with Blood Omen 2! This game is 2002 goth incarnate www.twitch.tv/ToastedRingt...
neutral · AI labelView post →Streaming Blood Omen 2 to Astrid and this game is hilarious. I know that wasn't the intention, but it fucking is and I love it for that
positive · AI labelView post →This was one of the first video games I ever played. Way too young for it, But infatuated all the same. Do not let my playtime fool you. I cannot Express to you how many hours 5 Year old me spent trying, and Failing, To complete this game. Its aged like milk in some areas, But it makes me happy to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun game from my childhood. Has issues with the menu I used this to help with the issues https://classicrebirth.com/index.php/download/re-vamped-dll/ Does crash randomly at times i made it a habit to save at every checkpoint.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game keeps crashing unexpectedly. I love the game . But please please please fix the crashing i wanna relive my childhood
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kain is my most favorite character among many great characters I have played with. Even though franchise fans don't like this one in the series, I had fun playing it. The voice actor, Simon Templeman did a great job with Kain, continuing the great performances in the previous games, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2. I had the in-game freezing issue and solved it with following instructions. Enjoy. ""Set Core Affinity"" - Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and open Task Manager. - Go to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ever go back to an old game, and the controls are such shit that you think "how did I ever play this?" Yeah, sorry Blood Omen 2, looks like you're still the odd man out 😬
negative · AI labelView post →Finally got that bastard Sebastian in Blood Omen 2! This boss really tested my patience. Hardest thing in the game so far by far. I reall struggled trying to avoid the steam and his unblockable attacks. But I prevailed. This game is SO good. Story might be weaker than SR but the gameplay is fun.
positive · AI labelView post →Good evening Big Tiddy Nosgothers, tonight I am finishing Blood Omen 2 and then I am probably never touching this game again. Please join me, the intro will be pretty awesum randumb XD Live right now!! www.twitch.tv/gallantjayvt
negative · AI labelView post →This series of streams were the first time i played the blood omen games. Blood Omen 1 was absolutely worth playing even though it wasn't my favorite. Blood Omen 2 was a video game
neutral · AI labelView post →hey I'm playing an old game that is apparently really difficult haha and it's definitely Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and definitely NOT Blood Omen 2...haha...........we're off to a great start www.twitch.tv/RonennHausto...
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm so torn on whether to recommend this or not. I'll lean toward yes because of my nostalgia for it, but I'll include some asterisks that might affect your decision. The game still plays well and will be decent fun for 12-14 hours or so. The levels are all unique and have that nice Gothic theme that always goes well with vampires. The game play is mostly combat that gets more varied with new enemies and abilities you unlock over the course of the game, along with some platforming and several…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolute gem. Blood Omen 2 holds a deep sense of nostalgia for me — and honestly, for the entire Legacy of Kain series. Out of all the games, this one was always my personal favorite. I still remember playing it back on the original Xbox — and for its time, the gameplay was fantastic and the graphics were top-tier. Sure, it’s aged, but it captured something unique: that dark, gothic atmosphere and brutally satisfying combat that stuck with you. Considering Soul Reaver 1 & 2 have been…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this franchise but this version does not work well on modern systems. I wish I'd read the reviews first. I'm hoping enough negative reviews will inspire them to fix this port so we can actually play it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ive played this time and time again, from og xbox to my first and now to my current computer. it may be old but with a bit of patience you can set this game to be one handed comfortably on keyboard, i havent found any part of this game to be unfair or unbeatable, theres its old clunkiness id expect from any older game but it has been plenty entertaining none the less oh dont forget to get the fan made patch for it tho, wont run as steam provides it, but someone out there loved the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my favorite games from the past. The play style is slow now, but back then it was amazing. The story was thrilling and the abilities you got were fun. I really like all of the soul reaver games though :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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