Kain’s Legacy: Hands On With Nosgoth

The Legacy of Kain series isn’t the most obvious of choices for a new free to play game, but Nosgoth comes about after a series of twists and turns in the development process. It was originally an additional multiplayer mode that was to be shipped as part of a new game, but when that was cancelled, the decision was taken to spin Psyonix’ multiplayer development into a new project for PC – no consoles at the moment, I’m afraid – and let Square Enix experiment in the free to play market.

They certainly face some stiff opposition and challenges as they head to market, with the predictably bad initial reaction to the game’s announcement the first hurdle, but there are certainly some clever ideas that will help to make this stand out from the crowd.

The dark fantasy world of Nosgoth is one stepped in a deep lore and fiction that spans millennia, with a constantly swinging balance between the Vampire and Human populations. This game is set shortly after Kain’s disappearance, a moment which leaves a power vacuum in his wake and leads to a civil war between the lieutenants that he left behind. With those factional struggles, the enslaved human population picked this to be their moment to rise up and try to regain their freedom.

It’s a plot point the affords Psyonix the opportunity to chase after asymmetrical gameplay, something which is fairly uncommon within multiplayer games. What’s quite startling is just how very different the Humans and Vampires play, though fairly logical for them to do so, and it leads to something very interesting.

At this stage in development, as the game goes through a closed beta, there are three character classes on each side. The Humans have to deal with the ferocious and fast close quarters attacks of the Vampires, so have to try and engage from a distance with ranged weaponry.

The Hunter is your most traditional soldier, with a rapid firing automatic cross bow, the Alchemist – who come from the Red Sisters of Anacrothe – has a weapon more akin to a grenade launcher, while the Scout has a trusty but powerful bow and arrow and a particularly effective charged shot.

They all have additional abilities, which can be customised to a certain degree to allow for further variety. The Scout for example can turn invisible for a time and call in a hail of arrows into an area, or swap these for being able to drop a turret which spits out a hail of bullets in a circle for a few moments.

By contrast, the Vampires are all about attacks and brute force. Well, the Tyrant of Clan Turelim is, as the hulking beasts of the battlefield with a charge attack and big damaging punches. The Reavers of Clan Dumahim remind me a lot of the Hunter from the Left 4 Dead games, with long leaping attacks that pin enemies to the ground for a few moments.

Both of these classes have a lot of mobility, and are able to climb up walls and over buildings as they hunt down the Human players, but it’s the Sentinels who are the most mobile by far. Hailing from Raziel’s bloodline, Clan Razielim has the ability to fly, and probably takes the most getting used to.

On the whole, I found myself being reminded of the Left 4 Dead games as I played. The best way to play as the Human team is to stick together and move around the map in twos or threes, with a maximum of 5v5. It’s then up to the Vampires to use their additional mobility to their advantage, coordinate their attacks against the groups and pick off those who have become separated.

It’s an interesting mixture and one that I felt came out fairly well balanced. Each match features two rounds, with the two teams playing once as both Vampires and Humans and their scores added up, yet the battles always felt quite fair and even. Even the Sentinel’s ability to fly wasn’t too overpowering, and a well aimed and powered up shot from a Scout can knock them from the sky.

There’s been a lot of care put in to achieve this balance, with Humans almost exclusively ranged and Vampires all melee attacks. Additionally, there’s no way to take an opponent out in a single blow, and things like the Sentinel’s ability to pick up and drop a Human from height will only get part of the job done. It pushes this need to play as a team further.

Right now, Nosgoth is off to an encouraging start, but Psyonix are far from done. There are two freshly announced classes on the way, the stealthy Deceiver, able to disguise themselves as a Human, and the Prophet, who can use their tainted blood to harm or temporarily ward off the Vampires. Both will add familiar feeling class archetypes to an already complex mixture of play.

In spite of the initial disappointment that Legacy of Kain fans will have felt, Nosgoth shows a lot of promise in an arena that the series is not known for. As development continues and the game heads towards open beta, there’s a great potential to deliver something unique and interesting to the free to play market.