After the disappointment of Soul Reaver 2 and Blood Omen 2, I am very happy that Defiance managed to live up to my expectations, despite some flaws. Unlike previous Kain games, Defiance chooses to focus on both of the series' protagonists at once, alternating between their stories. I think this is to its benefit, switching around makes for a more engaging storyline.
Let's start with the gameplay, which I would say is a mixed bag. Defiance's combat is much more free-flowing than previous games, and resembles something like Devil May Cry (quite presciently, given DMC3 would not come out for two more years). Kain is actually very fun to play, thanks to his Telekinesis' mechanics: At any time you can pick up the enemy you're targeting and toss them in a direction of your choice- into pits, spikes, fires. What's particularly fun is that if the enemy hits you they'll be vulnerable to your attacks, acting as a combo starter/extender. You can hit an enemy into the air, hit them with your air combo, interrupt it and pick them up with TK, throw them against yourself and combo them again all before your feet touch the ground. It's a really clever mechanic that allows for a lot of experimentation and I'm shocked that more games of this genre haven't tried something like it.
The rest of the combat is more by the numbers, but this would be fine if it weren't for two issues. The first one is that Raziel does not have Kain's TK, being instead limited to simple energy blasts, which makes his combat a lot less interesting - The game seems to realize this as his chapters rely more on exploration and puzzle-solving, but they're still mostly combat.
The other is the game fails to live up to its potential in terms of combat encounters. There's few kinds of enemies in the game, and none of them are interesting, running the gamut from common fodder to annoyingly spongey big guy. A lot of people end up feeling burned out by the end and while I wasn't too frustrated, I did feel myself having less fun by the end of the game. Doesn't help that enemies respawn when you leave areas, and one of the late game dungeons will be seeing you do a lot of that.
On that topic, Defiance intersperses mostly simple puzzles in-between the story and combat. The Forges, which were the highlight of Soul Reaver 2, are unfortunately now all extremely simple and formulaic dungeons with roughly identical architecture, appearance and progression. However I did enjoy going through Vorador's mansion, a positively massive dungeon which while a bit frustrating, I thought was quite fun. There's also some platforming to do and unfortunately it all sucks because of the fixed camera. For the rest, not much to say, but nothing awful either. I'd say that's a good breakdown of Defiance's gameplay quality overall, some points of brilliance and some bits of mediocrity. Honestly, I'll take it, all things considered, I had fun!
Presentation is better than it's ever been. Music is good, the game looks great (although unfortunately the all too common Forges are the exception), and the characters' models finally escape the uncanny valley, for the most part. Cutscene and gameplay animation are both great, and I find the game to be quite atmospheric at times.
Now obviously, the real reason anyone would play this game is the story. And I am pleased to finally say that Defiance is my favorite Kain story and easily a worthwhile end to the series. Alternating between Kain and Raziel you get to see both of their journeys slowly escalate to heights never before reached- all of Soul Reaver 1 to 2, and Blood Omen 2 to a degree, were building up to this, and the conclusion is worth it, although maybe a touch sudden. Defiance was not meant to be the last chapter of Kain's story, and that is clear, but at the very least it works as a satisfying ending, and that is enough.
In my Blood Omen 2 log I voiced worry on whether playing through all of these often janky games was worth it, and I'm glad that the answer is yes, yes it was.
Let's start with the gameplay, which I would say is a mixed bag. Defiance's combat is much more free-flowing than previous games, and resembles something like Devil May Cry (quite presciently, given DMC3 would not come out for two more years). Kain is actually very fun to play, thanks to his Telekinesis' mechanics: At any time you can pick up the enemy you're targeting and toss them in a direction of your choice- into pits, spikes, fires. What's particularly fun is that if the enemy hits you they'll be vulnerable to your attacks, acting as a combo starter/extender. You can hit an enemy into the air, hit them with your air combo, interrupt it and pick them up with TK, throw them against yourself and combo them again all before your feet touch the ground. It's a really clever mechanic that allows for a lot of experimentation and I'm shocked that more games of this genre haven't tried something like it.
The rest of the combat is more by the numbers, but this would be fine if it weren't for two issues. The first one is that Raziel does not have Kain's TK, being instead limited to simple energy blasts, which makes his combat a lot less interesting - The game seems to realize this as his chapters rely more on exploration and puzzle-solving, but they're still mostly combat.
The other is the game fails to live up to its potential in terms of combat encounters. There's few kinds of enemies in the game, and none of them are interesting, running the gamut from common fodder to annoyingly spongey big guy. A lot of people end up feeling burned out by the end and while I wasn't too frustrated, I did feel myself having less fun by the end of the game. Doesn't help that enemies respawn when you leave areas, and one of the late game dungeons will be seeing you do a lot of that.
On that topic, Defiance intersperses mostly simple puzzles in-between the story and combat. The Forges, which were the highlight of Soul Reaver 2, are unfortunately now all extremely simple and formulaic dungeons with roughly identical architecture, appearance and progression. However I did enjoy going through Vorador's mansion, a positively massive dungeon which while a bit frustrating, I thought was quite fun. There's also some platforming to do and unfortunately it all sucks because of the fixed camera. For the rest, not much to say, but nothing awful either. I'd say that's a good breakdown of Defiance's gameplay quality overall, some points of brilliance and some bits of mediocrity. Honestly, I'll take it, all things considered, I had fun!
Presentation is better than it's ever been. Music is good, the game looks great (although unfortunately the all too common Forges are the exception), and the characters' models finally escape the uncanny valley, for the most part. Cutscene and gameplay animation are both great, and I find the game to be quite atmospheric at times.
Now obviously, the real reason anyone would play this game is the story. And I am pleased to finally say that Defiance is my favorite Kain story and easily a worthwhile end to the series. Alternating between Kain and Raziel you get to see both of their journeys slowly escalate to heights never before reached- all of Soul Reaver 1 to 2, and Blood Omen 2 to a degree, were building up to this, and the conclusion is worth it, although maybe a touch sudden. Defiance was not meant to be the last chapter of Kain's story, and that is clear, but at the very least it works as a satisfying ending, and that is enough.
In my Blood Omen 2 log I voiced worry on whether playing through all of these often janky games was worth it, and I'm glad that the answer is yes, yes it was.