Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered news & patch notes

Citizens of Nosgoth!

Hear ye one and all, teeming human cattle… your emperor deigns to deliver you good tidings!

Slake your thirst for Legacy of Kain: Defiance updates with the gifts of my beneficence…

New Reaver Skins

Choose from a vast array of 32 Reaver skins, enabling you to customize your experience all the more! The options on offer have been evenly distributed between myself and Raziel, and range from adaptations of existing blades from across Defiance, to weapons derived from other entries in the series, to even further-flung sources of inspiration.

Do you long to wield the classic incarnation of the Soul Reaver from Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain? Perhaps a Wraith Blade of exotic color would bring you greater joy? Several are provided freely, while others are unlocked via the Arcane Tomes. None are restricted to particular skins, however, so mix and match them to your black hearts' content!

❖     32 Reaver skins

❖     16 for the Reaver (Kain), 16 for the Wraith Blade (Raziel)

❖     Some unlocked alongside Kain and Raziel’s skins

New Character Skins

To complement the many new guises already fashioned for myself and Raziel, a myriad of alternative forms for the supporting players in my story now awaits you in turn!

Cloak the most dubious of our ostensible allies, and the most sniveling of our pathetic foes, in semblances of a new kind. Some of their costumes are reminiscent of past adventures we have shared; others serve as windows to alternate visions and possibilities.

❖     Five high-fidelity skins - one for Moebius, Ariel, Vorador, Mortanius, and Turel

❖     SRX skins for Moebius, Ariel, and Vorador

❖     Legacy (Soul Reaver 1) skins for Moebius and Ariel

New Wing Attachments

Behold, vampire worshipers - for you may now soar the skies on halcyon wings, in the manner of our ancestors of old! These majestic appendages splay out while floating and gliding, and can be rendered transparent, or wholly dispelled, as one so pleases via the options menu.

Take wing by selecting my Scion of Balance visage, or by choosing Raziel’s Angel of Death, Prefallen Lieutenant, Hylden Adversary, and Vampire Messiah forms.

❖     Wings for Kain’s Scion of Balance skin

❖     Wings for four of Raziel’s skins

❖     Can optionally be made transparent or fully disabled

❖     Cosmetic only – wings do not change gameplay

New Lost Levels

Memory, alas, is far from inviolable, and those roads not taken are many to choose between. Tread the passages of time with us, for the Lost Levels have been expanded!

Lay eyes upon these testaments to high ambition, exposed now after decades of dormancy. Castoff fragments of the Overland which once connected our world await to tempt those enthralled by wanderlust. The fire above and brimstone beneath the city of Avernus lies barer for all to see than it ever has. Even remnants of locales from past journeys have been dredged from oblivion. These are yours to discover. Can you contain their forbidden truths?

❖     15 new Lost Levels

❖     Updated Lost Levels introductory texts

Two Combat Arenas

The Gathering Room of the Circle of Nine, enwombed by the Sarafan Stronghold and its piteous defenders, has once more been purposed to the merciless slaughter of the weak.

Join with me as I furnish this sacred chamber with the entrails of those so hapless to offer themselves up for the feasting. Whereas Raziel’s finesse with the Reaver leaves much to be desired, he, too, warrants the opportunity to follow in my wake…

❖     A combat arena for Kain (under Lost Levels menu)

❖     A combat arena for Raziel (under Lost Levels menu)

New Gallery Art

Much credit ought be paid to the artist behind my portrait, for I was something of an impatient subject in life. Eternity, it seems, forges tolerance for the arts. Should you find yourself eager to appreciate all the idolatry of me on offer - as you should - the galleries shall appease you…

❖     Remastered character renders

❖     Additional character symbols

❖     Additional concept art

❖     Bonus Gallery update

New Bonus Videos

For those most disposed towards idle spectation, even your base needs are accounted for. Seek your regalement in a return to the Theater of Grand Guignol, where a second sequence of behind-the-scenes videos has been supplied for you to unlock!

These early cutscenes provide a most singular spin on the production of Defiance… presuming you can forgive me for leaving my textures at home.

❖     33 unlockable early cinematics

❖     An additional bonus early cinematic, unlockable with 40 Arcane Tomes

Steam Trading Cards and Badges (PC ONLY)

Cast your gaze towards the Steam Store Page to discover a host of new bounties ready to be claimed. A grand collection of trading cards and badges in the likeness of the Balance Emblem now resides here for you to earn and craft! As you progress towards the vaunted Foil Badge, deify me with decorative backgrounds for your profile… or indulge dark heresy with emoticons.

New in-game options:

❖     Added texture filtering toggle for retro and Ascendance skins

❖     Added lighting toggle for classic graphics

❖     Wing attachment toggle

Miscellaneous fixes

And a medley of more minor corrections to my story. I prefer not to think of these as redrafts. Light rewrites, perhaps…

Gameplay:

●       Collision, texture and lighting level improvements

●       Added a new introduction text to the Training Room

●       Added a fire shade enemy type to the Dark Prophecy demo

●       Souls are no longer in the ground in the Citadel forges

●       Fixed previously unclimbable walls in the ruined version of the mansion

●       Collision lowered on the earth platform in the Earth Forge to prevent leg deformation

●       Increased window of vulnerability during Kain´s last boss fight

●       Enabled foresight for the classic camera

Visuals:

●       Improved wraithblade HUD icons

●       Corrected the position of Balance Emblem HUD elements

●       Removed the bat flight symbol in chapter 9 for Kain

●       Corrected TK rune icon issues

●       Reaver visual effects no longer appear in the pause menu or during photo mode

●       Restored Water Reaver's missing charge effect

●       Fixed the previously invisible waterfall in Spirit Forge

●       Added creature health to the encyclopedia

●       Fixed text and image placement on the world map

●       Added the missing symbols to the Dark and Light Guardian statues

●       Rain is no longer clipping through ceiling in Vorador's Mansion

●       Necromancer summoning effect colour updated

●       Ring menu tweaks and text updates

●       Character model fixes

Audio:

●       Object, Moves and Reaver voice lines now only play when using the examine option

●       Added the missing Russian voice lines

●       The music during the original credits video no longer cuts out

●       Music now correctly transitions to material realm in Water and Earth Forges

●       Fire sound no longer loops when Fire Reaver spell is used

●       Souls in the Elder God chamber have their sound restored

●       Kain's Theme music was restored during Avernus boss fight

●       Music now restarts in Raziel´s last boss fight

●       Added grass footstep sounds for Kain

Controls (PC ONLY):

●       Fixed keyboard input for realm shift not showing/flipping the reaver icon HUD element

●       Fixed mouse inverted setting not working on PC

Vae Victis! Now indulge with me the sweet taste of blood, and the bitter taste of hope…

—Kain