Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
Game
Game2012
Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)
Developer Crystal Dynamics
Legacy of Kain: Defiance is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows. It is the fifth and final chronological game in the Legacy of Kain series. Defiance continues the journey of the Vampire lord Kain and his lieutenant-turned-wraith Raziel. After having Raziel killed to be revived by the Elder God as a wraith during the… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
241 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
82
LovedLoved
139 positive · 31 negative
95% range 75–87%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 139 | 31 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 13 | 1 | 32 |
| Lemmy * | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
584 of 702 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
82% recommend · 142 yes, 32 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 174 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,077 of 1,265 positive).
Players praise the story, voice acting, and atmosphere as some of the best in gaming. [1][2][3] Many note the gameplay has issues like a terrible camera, janky controls, and excessive combat. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize the PC port for lacking controller support and requiring workarounds. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
Unfortunately, after playing all of the LoK games to completion, I'm forced to conclude that LoK is a great story and world trapped in a bunch of mediocre video games. Runs fine on Proton 9.0-8; 1 CTD in my playthrough. First, the controls, which are in many ways the worst they've ever been. The fixed camera does not work at all for platforming or combat, which is at least 2/3 of the entire game. It never shows …
- [1]
Masterpiece,great characters,great gameplay,great story.Need a Remake.
- [2]
This game is a reminder of when storytelling in gaming was at its absolute peak. I just revisited it after playing the remastered Soul Reaver games, and honestly this one still hits harder than ever. It’s crazy how well it holds up. The writing, the atmosphere, the voice acting, everything feels so rich. You can tell every line of dialogue was written with purpose. The dynamic between Kain and Raziel is still one of …
- [4]
Not perfect: you'll be fighting terrible camera angles, some janky controls and at times frustrating puzzles. Yet, the reward for all your endevours to carry on is one of the best video game stories and some of the most interesting and entertaining characters. Opera and Vampires, what more could you ask for? Well.... Maybe a sequel.
- [5]
What you've read here about the story is true. It wraps the story up wonderfully. The gameplay is more hit/miss. You can see some amazing ideas in here. SR1 was a great game but lacked engaging combat. SR2 tried to fix that by just giving you a bunch of stuff to fight. Defiance tries to fix it by giving you actual moves and combos to use. They succeed in this regard, but the game will just throw enemies at you at …
Summarised from 26 of the 174 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 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
82% of the 174 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003). The complaint that keeps coming up: terrible camera angles. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The PlayStation 2 version received "generally favorable reviews", while the PC and Xbox versions received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Douglass C. Perry of IGN praised the game's plotline for finally resolving many questions that previous installments had left unanswered, as well as being able to play as both Raziel and Kain and the new combat system revolving around various combos and spells unleashed by the Soul Reaver. The differences in their gameplay, with Kain's quests revolving around combat and Raziel's around puzzle solving, were also enjoyed. However, the poor collision system, auto-locking combat view and awkward camera controls were…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 241 · most liked firstDeveloper Interview: my Q&A with the creator of EmuReady. I've been lucky in my incessant poking at the developers of all kinds of gaming projects, programs and sites recently. I'm sure by now you'll know that I've done this with plenty of devs: from Heroic and Lutris, to RomM and RetroDECK. With plenty others as well. My aim is to chat to the people who create the things you all know and love, and might use yourselves. I feel that it can be rare to hear from those devs. Rare that they get…
neutral · AI labelView post →One last Prime Gaming Giveaway.... ...before this account dies. Sorry for being so dramatic, but since my instance is closing down, i'll quickly give away some GoG codes I have lying around. Just mention which game you would want (and make sure you intend to play it) and also write one or two lines about some good gaming memories you would like to share. One game per account and account must be more than a week old. - Blood Omen 2 : Legacy of Kain - Wild Country - Mordheim: City of the…
neutral · AI labelView post →That sounds a bit too optmistic. Sauce - https://retrocdn.net/images/2/2e/EGM_US_086.pdf , page 96 "[Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain] is expected to offer at least 120 hours of gameplay."
neutral · AI labelView post →Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered coming 3 March on Steam.
neutral · AI labelView post →Masterpiece,great characters,great gameplay,great story.Need a Remake.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Get the GOG version, it's part of their Preservation Program to ensure it runs without having to mod. This one runs like hot Garbage.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the 30th anniversary of Blood Omen and the Legacy of Kain series. To celebrate we've put out a new retrospective on the game that started it all and introduced us to land of Nosgoth #LegacyOfKain #BloodOmen youtu.be/f1bVkvzo6dk?...
neutral · AI labelView post →Given the choice, whether to rule a corrupt and failing empire; or to challenge the fates for another throw - a better throw - against one's destiny... what was a king to do? But does one even truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, the machinations of fate... and thus defy the tyrannous stars.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LoK: Blood Omen was a fantastic game. One of my all-time favorites. Let's be real, here, though: It doesn't even have 12 hours of gameplay, unless you count the time spent futzing around waiting for the areas locked by the in-game timer to open, and it's one of the *longer* games in the Legacy of Kain series.
positive · AI labelView post →No controller support. Controller can be configured, to some limited degree, via Steam, but will be unreliable, and you will be constantly having to restore default settings. Too bad. This would be a great game if there were proper controller support.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here's how to do it with Vertex Studio alfredbaudisch.github.io/godot-vertex... And a video of it running in Godot in-game, like Legacy of Kain #godotengine #vertexcolor #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Idk I still think it's way more common for remasters to be good. There's been a handful of bad ones, but they're the outliers. What's way more common seems to be bad PC ports in general, which affects both remasters and new games. Just looking around for some examples: the Phonekx Wright original trilogy was great for me on PC, and the PC remasters are pretty well-received overall. The Sonic remasters from Christian Whitehead were so good that Sega let him make an original game. The BioShock…
neutral · AI labelView post →Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, for the original PlayStation. All these years later it’s still an amazing standout.
positive · AI labelView post →tl;dr: Disregard the rest of this review, if you enjoyed SR 1 & 2, you must play this game. If you didn't, you mustn't. Defiance is called Soul Reaver 3 by internal game files, and that's what it is. If you enjoyed the story so far, you're in for a great finale that provides a satisfying conclusion to the Soul Reaver arc. Defiance (2003) is the last proper Legacy of Kain game so far and while it wasn't supposed to be, it's a solid one to end the franchise on. Writing and voice acting are as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The first, bitter taste of that terrible illusion, hope.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was AMAZING! I remember playing this one and thinking this brings the best of Razel and Kain into a single game that kept me want more. The play style was a sheer enhancement over the original, but did not completely replace it. Which was great to me. The story was awesome, and honestly, I am waiting for the day for Crystal dynamics to get off their a$$es and make a new one 21 years later.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meanwhile, in Legacy of Kain: **Vampires:** Uh, boss? You corrupted the pillars of Nosgoth - which is great and all - but now the sun kinda/sorta doesn't work anymore. It's always dusk. **Kain**: So what you're saying is that we vampires can move around freely. All the time. Excellent. **Vampires**: Won't that eventually kill all the humans? Yanno, with no food and all? **Kain**: ::shrugs:: Fuck 'em.
neutral · AI labelView post →Side Quests is back and so is host Chris from @1h1d.bsky.social! He is a podcaster and vampire-turned-wraith! The game he is talking about today is Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Interactive. funandgames.libsyn.com/side-quests-...
neutral · AI labelView post →Over time, we became less human and more...divine. Behold! 7 months of on and off free time!!! A fan animation in tribute to The Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver, one of my all time favourite game series. It's not much but there's more to come.(eventually)
positive · AI labelView post →Replaying this game now in 2024 has been a sobering experience. EDIT: I pushed passed the issues mentioned in the review and actually finished my replay. I still hold firm to the serious issues with the auto-camera, and way too much combat. But that aside, if you can endure the issues, the game is as great as I remembered it. Not an ideal ending to the series, since it's not a proper ending, but probably as best as we can get considering the situation that we might never get any other game.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →9/10 this game needs a remake and sequel.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This review is solely about the PC port, hence why I can't recommend it. If you want to play this game either get the PS2 or Xbox version instead. This game right now is too old and it never got updated or modernized for the PCs of today as this game was designed for the 2k decade. You need many workarounds to make it work like running it on compatibility mode with full screen optimization disabled and using stuff like Xpadder to make it work and even with this it won't display correctly. As…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What they failed to realise is that the game of the year is actually Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, a game from 1996
positive · AI labelView post →Masterclass of writing. 10/10 classic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally back on the right impaler’s track | 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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a reminder of when storytelling in gaming was at its absolute peak. I just revisited it after playing the remastered Soul Reaver games, and honestly this one still hits harder than ever. It’s crazy how well it holds up. The writing, the atmosphere, the voice acting, everything feels so rich. You can tell every line of dialogue was written with purpose. The dynamic between Kain and Raziel is still one of the best in gaming. It’s the kind of storytelling modern games wish they…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for September: WWE 2K25, Persona 5 Tactica, Green Hell, Fate/Samurai Remnant, and more. **PS+ Extra and Premium** - WWE 2K25 | PS5, PS4 - Persona 5 Tactica | PS5, PS4 - Green Hell | PS5, PS4 - Fate/Samurai Remnant | PS5, PS4 - Crow Country | PS5, PS4 - The Invincible | PS5 - Conscript | PS5 **PS+ Premium** - Legacy of Kain: Defiance | PS5, PS4
neutral · AI labelView post →Unfortunately, after playing all of the LoK games to completion, I'm forced to conclude that LoK is a great story and world trapped in a bunch of mediocre video games. Runs fine on Proton 9.0-8; 1 CTD in my playthrough. First, the controls, which are in many ways the worst they've ever been. The fixed camera does not work at all for platforming or combat, which is at least 2/3 of the entire game. It never shows enough of the enemies or the places you need to go, is constantly moving and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legacy of Kain: Defiance (PS2) has been rated for PS5 and PS4 in Taiwan. Likely dropping as part of the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog..
neutral · AI labelView post →Love this game, love the series. But the camera is horrendous. Controls are also a nightmare. I felt for my first chapter of the game playing as Kain, I felt as though I was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ around with the controls more than actually playing. Controller support is nonexistent, I had my controller SLIGHTLY working, but for telekinesis it just went to hell. remaster this game, damn.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10 points out of 10, a game from childhood. Combined with the new remastered versions of the first two, you can complete the full story (about Raziel and Kain), remember and rethink this story once again. It's a great game and there aren't many like it these days. However, it's a pity that the gameplay can be a bit archaic.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not perfect: you'll be fighting terrible camera angles, some janky controls and at times frustrating puzzles. Yet, the reward for all your endevours to carry on is one of the best video game stories and some of the most interesting and entertaining characters. Opera and Vampires, what more could you ask for? Well.... Maybe a sequel.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing lore and gameplay , 100% recommend this old jewel
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm amazed there is a game in this series that ACTUALLY works and doesn't crash on start up or freezes in the main menu. Too bad this series is cursed to be a trash money grab scam on steam looking at the poor state these relics are.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I once spent several hours on the phone to a reader from Sweden who had called the office of the magazine publisher I worked for, asking for help on Legacy of Kain. And because I'd reviewed it, they got put through to me and I ended up walking them through a big chunk of the game in real time.
neutral · AI labelView post →Since I was tagged, here's my 'old-school edition'. This was tough since I didn't grow up with videogames... I used to play some Legacy of Kain on my cousin's PC though~ @delightfuldanni.bsky.social @bio1izard.bsky.social @spirelleart-re.bsky.social @bdsm-chan.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →I was super disappointed with the new Legacy of Kain game and comic. I really didn't like the way a lot of the history was re/written, it felt cheap, especially the stuff with the amulet. Cool on paper, but poorly executed imo. Did anyone like it?
negative · AI labelView post →Behold My stuff Finally got the Legacy of Kain backer rewards (eeee signed LP!) Also got the new scary game hotness Holding out for a physical copy of Control Resonant so not getting that today (no spoilers!)
neutral · AI labelView post →One can only match, move by move, the machinations of Fate. And thus defy...the tyrannous stars.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A masterpiece. Let's hope in a remaster or, even better, new sequel!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First of all best game of the series in terms of compatibility (works out of the box) and in terms of control responsiveness. The game has incredible time wasters, you got spongy enemies, enemies that just toss you around, backtracking to an obcene level which was always a part of Soul Reaver saga. The game cleary felt short to the developers so they tried to pad it as much as they can which was not necessary at all. The last quatre of this game is where the actual content really is where you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Soul Suck" Edit: Damn!, This game series easily has the deepest and most interesting storyline of all time. Note: You must play SR1 and SR2 before Defiance at least.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I layed this on an xbox 20 years ago. why the ♥♥♥♥ is there no controller support. this problem was obviously already solved.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Controls ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ suck, controller doesn't work, also crashes. Considering its a port of a old game I didn't expect a flawless experience but seriously it sucks.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the Soul Reaver/Defiance trilogy in my teen years and absolutely loved the story. Loved the concept and was really stoked for it. Now, having recently re-played the remasters of Soul Reaver 1 and 2, Defiance really falls behind in every aspect. My memories of it was that it was a great game, but having about 15+ years of gaming on my back, I really can't recommend the game besides for story purposes and "finishing" the trilogy (and I putting quotes since the story actually was never…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best single player games of all time. With the new remaster of SR1 I hope the entire LoK series get's the same modern exposure.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Now would be the perfect time to get some STEAMDECK support for this game since the remasters are doing so well of the previous games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →bought the game on my sream deck and wont let me play keeps asking for me to insert disc
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →played through on steam deck what a good game very good story excellent voice acting when are we going to get a remake of this masterpiece trilogy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legacy of Kain: Ascendance (Official Game Soundtrack), by Celldweller (2026) [OST, dark electro].
neutral · AI labelView post →Final of the epic series. I enjoyed the story, glad at last to know it in full. But god i hate gameplay. The camera and camera related direction control are nightmare. Level design is to much relaying on repurposing same locations. In general, the game is very unpleasant to play. Works on Deck flawless tho.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Developer Interview: my Q&A with the creator of EmuReady. cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33735252 > I've been lucky in my incessant poking at the developers of all kinds of gaming projects, programs and sites recently. > > I'm sure by now you'll know that I've done this with plenty of devs: from Heroic and Lutris, to RomM and RetroDECK. With plenty others as well. My aim is to chat to the people who create the things you all know and love, and might use yourselves. I feel that…
neutral · AI labelView post →What you've read here about the story is true. It wraps the story up wonderfully. The gameplay is more hit/miss. You can see some amazing ideas in here. SR1 was a great game but lacked engaging combat. SR2 tried to fix that by just giving you a bunch of stuff to fight. Defiance tries to fix it by giving you actual moves and combos to use. They succeed in this regard, but the game will just throw enemies at you at all times. You'll fight over and over and over. You'll earn every combo…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game needs to be remastered asap!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legacy of Kain: Defiance is a great game, but the camera makes it a chore to play. It will randomly jerk, making me lose focus of my character. For a game from 2003, despite the technological limitations back then. I can name numerous games with far better controls. My word of advice is to get the game on a discount just for the story if you are a fan of Legacy of Kain series; otherwise, the controls and gameplay mechanics leave a lot to be desired.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the masterpieces of the series. Yes it has its quirks like the camera view, but it didn't too long to getting use to it. Brilliant game! Hope there will he remake of the series!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Since everyone else here is gushing about the game (as they should), I'm gonna do something a little more practical and let you guys know if you should get this console port for your modern PC. The short answer: Yes. Of the infamously bad PC ports of this era, this is actually one of the better ones. However, be ready to use online console manuals to translate your controls to whatever gamepad you're using on occasion... Mind you: The controls aren't the same as console if I recall, you'll be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hello Everyone I am LIVE NOW With BIRTHDAY STREAM and Day 3 of 7 year Streaming Anniversary Marathon ! Today I will be playing Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver Remastered ! I am also Running a 35% discount on 5pack of gifted subs ! Streaming on Twitch ! twitch.tv/unclelander
neutral · AI labelView post →My personal top 10 video game franchises of all time: 1) Dark Souls 2) Legend of Zelda 3) Persona 4) Mass Effect 5) Baldur's Gate 6) Legacy of Kain 7) Gothic 8) Fallout 9) Monster Hunter 10) Elder Scrolls HM: Final Fantasy & System Shock
positive · AI labelView post →We finish the game, with all it's twists and turns. The Legacy of Kain games have such amazing writing & acting. Thanks for hanging out everyone! Special thanks to @cranag.bsky.social for the raid! Afterward, we sent reinforcements to @ivyvt.bsky.social! Check them out! Until next time, ANTLAR VULT!
positive · AI labelView post →
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