14 DAY TRIAL // The Legacy of Kain saga delivered some really impressive action experiences many years ago so, when fans heard that Square Enix, the new owner of the series, was turning it into a multiplayer experience, quite a lot of them thought it was the end for the franchise.
However, Nosgoth is a different beast than the Legacy of Kain titles. Sure, it takes place in the same universe, but it's doing its own thing, without trying to interfere with the already-established games.
The online title focuses on competitive experiences of 4-versus-4 players who take turns playing as humans and vampires during a match, all while deploying different abilities and chasing each other on various maps.
Nosgoth has now entered closed beta and the game is improving by leaps and bounds with every update. Does it manage to deliver a fun multiplayer experience or should the vampires devour it? Let's have a quick look.
Nosgoth online matches consist of two stages. In the beginning, one team gets to control human characters, while the other uses vampires. At half time, the teams swap and the brawl begins anew.
Each race has different classes, all using various abilities or weapons.
Humans can become Hunters or Alchemists, using crossbows and grenade launchers, respectively, while vampires can of course choose the Reaver class, which has a deadly leap, or the Tyrant, which can charge and throw around their enemies. There are also unlockable classes, like the Prophet for humans or the Sentinel for vampires, each with different powers.
While the general design philosophy is that human characters have powerful long-range attacks, while vampires are masters of close-quarters combat, the truth is that vampires have a distinct advantage because they're the ones on the prowl.
Vampires can climb buildings or even fly, as the Sentinel, and through the use of their different abilities, they can disorient even the best groups of human players.
However, in order to counter this balance problem, the mid-game race swap offers a chance at redemption for the former humans, while the former vampires now need to make do with their newfound human vulnerability.
There are still plenty of other mechanics at play that make things balanced, as humans can recharge their health and ammo at various shrines scattered around the map, while vampires need to feed off their victims to quickly recharge their health.
In terms of visuals, Nosgoth looks quite good, with a dark style but quite a few colors making sure the experience isn't all that drab. Some animations are a bit choppy, like the human sprint, and the minimap could use an option to automatically rotate depending on the player.
Overall, Nosgoth is a pretty intense experience that certainly delivers a fun competitive take on the Legacy of Kain universe. Much work is still needed but it's quite fun in the closed beta. Check out a gameplay video of it in action below.
