Legacy of Kain - Will 'Nosgoth' do the Series Justice?

Recently a bit of news came my way that did nothing but fill me with a unique, refined type of joy that i haven't felt since the glory days of the PlayStation 2. I learned that the people at Square Enix have been working on the latest installment to the long since dead Legacy of Kain series.

In order to understand the true gravity of this news, one first has to understand just how much impact Legacy of Kain had on the gaming community. It was a game series that held all of its strengths in one area of its being, story, rather than focusing too much on pandering to gameplay mechanics. Its story was vast and complex and built up of so many factors; all of which impacted one another to form unexpected and intellectual plot points. Because of this devotion to writing the series didn't even need to be conveyed through digital gaming to be a success, but as digital gaming was able to provide unmatchable capability for portrayal of the story, the two factors fell hand in hand; leading to a certain degree of synchronization between the story and the method of telling it that is rarely seen. Because of this expertly crafted architecture to the design of the series, it quickly became a measuring post to evaluate the strength of the story aspect in other games. My own personal rule being that if you can understand Legacy of Kain, you can understand anything.

It was during the PlayStation 2 era of console gaming that the series finally came full circle with its storyline, eliminating the need for any further releases. Though other factors may have led to the series ending where it did, it is an undeniable fact that the given story did reach its conclusion.

But even with this fantastic story driven experience the lore of Legacy of Kain and the world to which the characters lived in was the weakest aspect. The reality of the writing was that the story of the infamous Vampire Kain was simply the pillar to which thousands of other stories were centered around within the world of Nosgoth. There was so much more to explore; more to the world, to the eras and to the stories of supporting characters that were only briefly touched on in game.

Initially i believed this to be the reason that Nosgoth was being developed, to give some focus to the world of Legacy of Kain rather than to Kain and Raziel. Only now after their recent Q&A livestream on Twitch TV do i realize how wrong i was.
During the Q&A i asked whether or not the game would be an MMO as i had originally thought it was, or simply a PVP Platform. They answered my question by saying that the Nosgoth is simply a game designed for players to easily 'get into' and have fun with. Initially this was worrying for me as Nosgoth was confirmed to be a project entirely focused on PVP gameplay and with no real

conveyance of story beyond world design. I had feared this after looking at the gameplay footage and thinking that it seemed far too lack luster to be an MMO. The problem with the idea of using Legacy of Kain for an online PVP Platform is simply that it would feel like too much of a waste, player vs player is something that can be made easily without the need for story direction where as this series in particular thrives on story direction. In my mind, they came off as two pieces of a puzzle that don't fit together; which would go far to ruin the famous synchronization of design that came with Legacy of Kain.

However, after looking a little bit closer i did finally come to a conclusion which gave me a positive perspective on the project. Whether we as gaming enthusiasts like it or not, the games industry is a profit obsessed, bureaucratic business which is just as hungry for money as anything else. With large companies expecting profits in the millions from singular game releases it becomes harder and harder for long since dead, diamond in the rough, game franchises like Legacy of Kain to be revived. My meaning being that despite its solid fan base, the development of another 'true' series installment may not have been realistic. We need to remember that these developers need to make money too, they have to be paid and to provide for themselves and their loved ones.
So why would Square Enix develop Nosgoth when its both 'free to play' and not 'pay to win'? What money is there to be gained from this?

I chose to believe that Nosgoth is an awareness project, using focus on gameplay development and player to player interaction to try and expand or strengthen the Legacy of Kain fan base. By doing this there is a chance that players who are not familiar with Legacy of Kain could actually be intrigued and seek out the previous titles. This works as a better method of reviving the franchise than simply releasing another single player title. It increases awareness and creates a dynamic where players can give truly valuable feedback to shape the face of future installments to the franchise. During the Q&A it was confirmed that future single player installments are not out of the question. This leads me to believe that perhaps Nosgoth is simply a clever way of preparing for things to come. This is of course simply my theory and shouldn't be taken for the truth. But i would like to the think that Nosgoth aims to prepare the market for Legacy of Kain, not hold the franchise on its shoulders. Only time will tell...

Thanks ever so much for reading, your support is very much appreciated. Please don't forget to find me on Twitter and Steam! And be sure to check out the Nosgoth website and show your support for the people at Square Enix!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/McGinnBen

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Nosgoth.com: http://nosgoth.com/blog