by Ben Mapp
Square Enix certainly does have a large reputation for producing high-quality games (such as both the Final Fantasy series and Kingdom Hearts) along with a loyal fan-base of millions worldwide, so surely investing in a new Legacy of Kain game on their part would only contribute to its success? It’s not impossible, but the goals of Square Enix have changed since the studio began absorbing other smaller studios and branching out as a business. Making money is and always has been key for them, but Legacy of Kain was originally developed by Eidos Interactive (which officially became Square Enix Europe in 2009) from Soul Reaver onwards and – simply put – Square Enix bought the studio primarily for the Tomb Raider licensing rights, not those to Legacy of Kain.
Square Enix certainly does have a large reputation for producing high-quality games (such as both the Final Fantasy series and Kingdom Hearts) along with a loyal fan-base of millions worldwide, so surely investing in a new Legacy of Kain game on their part would only contribute to its success? It’s not impossible, but the goals of Square Enix have changed since the studio began absorbing other smaller studios and branching out as a business. Making money is and always has been key for them, but Legacy of Kain was originally developed by Eidos Interactive (which officially became Square Enix Europe in 2009) from Soul Reaver onwards and – simply put – Square Enix bought the studio primarily for the Tomb Raider licensing rights, not those to Legacy of Kain.
The Legacy of Kain series is simply not something that Square Enix is passionate enough about, especially when the dark fantasy genre already has its major contenders in mid-duel (Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, etc.) In addition to that, Square Enix is already knee-deep in the genre with the continued success of their Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games and it would make little sense in them to take money from developing those series’ in favour of a new Legacy of Kain which, unlike the other two, may or may not prove to be an overwhelming success. It’s not a reasonable risk for them to take right now even if once they were close to developing a sequel to the series (Google Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun for more information on that project). A prospect for further development of this series has been entertained and the series has not been completely dismissed, but Square Enix has to be absolutely certain that they’ll get at least something from a brand new release. So what was the solution?
Either they continue to leave Legacy of Kain under lockdown until another studio comes along and purchases the rights (which will never happen) or they fund a whole new game, such as was the idea with Dead Sun, and wait to see whether or not it will make them a profit. Square Enix was simply not going to take that risk, at least not in the form of a traditional Legacy of Kain game. They needed something on a smaller scale, an independent Kain-themed game with good standing in its own right which could – over time – prove to them that there was an audience waiting for this out there. It would be an experiment of sorts and also a bridge for Square Enix to move onto the PC market. One way or another it was going to prove beneficial. Psyonix, although relatively unknown, had developed content for a lot of popular modern games (such as Mass Effect 3, Homefront and Bulletstorm), having mastered Unreal Engine technology – and they had already been working on a multiplayer component of the Dead Sun project. When the project was cancelled they were allowed to continue and expand their work, and this led to the creation of Nosgoth. The game is free-to-play and requires only a Steam account and all of the spec requirements for it to run. It is still in development, having just begun its Beta phase. The gameplay is as manic as it is fun and is also - quite suprisingly - addictive. Nosgoth also extends the storyline of the other games to a degree by filling in the gaps of what happened between Raziel’s apparent death and rebirth, despite some fans claiming that the inclusion of the Razielim (Raziel’s clan of vampires who were all thought dead after he was cast into the abyss) goes against the ‘strict’ continuity. In a fantasy world where time-travel is making all kinds of things possible and impossible, I personally find it remarkable that the Razielim haven’t made an appearance before now. That said, the plot-reason which Psyonix gave in their blog makes more sense than my reasoning.
The blog itself (on the official Nosgoth website) provides the details of each combatant of the new game which players can choose to read up on. This means that Psyonix can focus on developing the gameplay and making it as enjoyable as possible without overwhelming the players with the complex back-story. The back-story, really, is therefore entirely optional. All you need to know is that – in this world – vampires and humans are at war and you’ll be fighting for both sides, one against the other in turn. Nosgoth, unlike most other fantasy games, has the advantage of simplicity. It takes a lot of effort not to saddle the player with baggage especially when there are other games to take into account, and starting an avatar on other online fantasy games (such as World of Warcraft or Star Wars: The Old Republic for example) can be intimidating when you stop to consider just how many species, classes, weapons and settings are available within the virtual world. Nosgoth narrows this field down exponentially, tearing away the redundant stuff and allowing the player to simply jump straight into the guttural, violent action of the war. You are presented with just two species but with several classes each, and must utilise different strategies whilst playing as either one. Vampires are the aggressors and so hunt the enemy human players in a pack or alone, whereas the humans are much more the defenders and ought to stay in a group in order to up their survival chances. Of course, should you stick to this play-style is entire up to you – although it is recommended. A lonely human makes for easy prey. The same goes for a lonely vampire, dependant on their strength to withstand a rainstorm of arrows. The matches are competitive and, if you’re a fan of death-match games or have been in the past, then Nosgoth will certainly provide you with a new twist on that genre. Familiar strands of the other games remain, such as locations and some ace voice talent, but Nosgoth may well be played as a whole new entity in and of itself. I find it hard to believe that so many people would have signed up for the Alpha and Beta had the game not been affiliated with the Legacy of Kain brand, so it’s good to see that the fans of the previous games are already starting to huddle back together in support of this series’ continuation.
And so – here we are. Square Enix is letting Psyonix develop the next Legacy of Kain game exclusively for Steam and PC users, which is called Nosgoth. The content of the game will, as explained above, be focused on Unreal-style death-matches between combatants with the maps set within the familiar setting of Nosgoth, updated with current-gen visuals. Whether most loyal fans have sided with Psyonix or not on the development of Nosgoth, Legacy of Kain is back and is slowly reeling in new a new audience (and will reel in more once the beta begins). The game has the advantage of not being story-driven like the previous games were and so new players can jump in without having to go back and play the others. Square Enix is focused on making money which is fair enough. It is a business after all. But returning cult-classics to life might find them more money than they realise. The studio has proven that it is willing to purchase smaller studios and even invest a little in their licensed properties, which gives me hope for seeing the return of some of my personal favourites from across the years. Series’ such as Oddworld (which died at 2005’s critically-acclaimed Stranger’s Wrath), Beyond Good & Evil (the sequel of which has been in development hell since 2008) or even – as previously mentioned – Kingdoms of Amalur. All of these games were very highly-regarded and were each discontinued shortly after release, but Nosgoth could initiate a whole renaissance in studios resurrecting their old classics. Nostalgia is a powerful tool after all and can enforce a fresh interest, which is why the releases of certain HD collections (Metal Gear Solid, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, etc) have found moderate success on consoles. Nosgoth is important because, as Kain said with regrettable finality at the end of Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the game represents the ‘first taste of that bitter illusion. Hope.’
Once Nosgoth has passed its phases and is actually released should it be a success, then who knows what could happen to this franchise? Since the game will be free from day one it therefore has all the time in the world to develop a new fan-base from a combination of old and new fans alike. It might take years, but Nosgoth could be the first stepping-stone on the stairs to the next big Legacy of Kain instalment and – ultimately – the long-awaited continuation of the series. There’s a huge responsibility here too not just to the Legacy of Kain series but to all kinds of long-abandoned gaming franchise which, due to the success of Nosgoth, might be reincarnated for future gamers.
RSS Feed
