Home Gaming This is the Legacy Of Kain game that we almost got in 2012

This is the Legacy Of Kain game that we almost got in 2012

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Dead Sun (3)

Some of my very best gaming memories, come from a series of vampire games that had a better bromance than Twilight. Legacy Of Kain may be deader than a proper Ghostbusters sequel, but that doesn’t mean that more of it wasn’t on the way at one point. And that game was called Dead Sun, A Legacy of Kain before the plug was pulled on development.

There’s a huge post on NeoGAF right now, where former Kotaku contributor Mama Robotnik has posted a massive dump of Dead Sun info. The game had been in development for three years by Climax and would have starred lead characters Asher and Gein. A hybrid duo of both human and vampire lineage, they would have been linked to one another through death itself after a battle that saw Gein slay Asher. Check out the full gameplay video below:

According to observations from Mama Robotnik, the game would have harkened back to the earlier Legacy Of Kain titles, as well as Soul Reaver:

One of the echoes of the dead, a market seller, claims to be selling produce from Willendorf. Willendorf is a huge city from Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996), and has never been mentioned in the series since then. The assassination of Asher, disguised as a purposeless massacre but orchestrated by higher powers, mirrors the human Kain’s own murder by brigands directed by Blood Omen’s Mortanius the Necromancer.

Gein’s execution by being cast into water – and the subsequent fall and acidic burning of his flesh – is a clear allusion to the opening sequences of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999). Concepts such as soul consumption, the spectral realm, the decaying world, evolving vampires, blacked out skies and a hopeless future are all continuations of the themes started in the PlayStation classic. In the video, Gein holds a sword that looks extremely similar in shape to the physical Soul Reaver blade. Dead Sun appears to have been considered internally as the successor of the original Soul Reaver.

Vampires with black wings and the ability to fly – a power Gein himself manifests halfway through the video – were a pivotal plot point in the past segments of Soul Reaver 2 (2001). The sterility of Dead Sun’s humans while faced with an overwhelming adversary, is a parallel to the sterile Ancients of Soul Reaver 2.

The echoes of bustling cities and marketplaces, humans going about their lives while brigands protect their civlisation, echoes the city of Meridian in Blood Omen 2 (2002). The green glow around one of Dead Sun’s powerful enemies, is highly reminiscent of the corrupting possession energies (Blood Omen 2 spoilers) of the Hylden race.

The worship of false deities, the cancerous presence of The Elder God, the abandonment of gods and ritualistic sacrifice all feature throughout Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003). A decade later, Dead Sun seemed intent on continuing these story themes.

Man, that looked pretty damn cool. I’d love to see the Legacy Of Kain get a reboot, and return the idea of a solid action game with freaky puzzles to the mainstream. Guess that’ll never be however. And now I’m sad.

Last Updated: February 24, 2015

10 Comments

  1. Hey, we got Nosgoth right?….FML

    Reply

    • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

      February 24, 2015 at 10:55

      I’m confused. Is Nosgoth good? I’ve been told by various dota players that I should play Nosgoth. I think it’s because I picked Riki. Apparently this is not a done thing. 🙁

      Reply

      • Umar

        February 24, 2015 at 10:59

        Don’t know, not interested really. I heard it’s fun too. Just wish we would get another game in the LOK universe that wasn’t a F2P shooter…..

        Reply

        • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

          February 24, 2015 at 11:00

          Amen to this.

          Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    February 24, 2015 at 10:35

    Not watching, it’s like seeing your pet one last time before it gets put down.

    Reply

    • SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

      February 24, 2015 at 10:56

      🙁

      Reply

  3. SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad

    February 24, 2015 at 10:55

    The Great Panda is now very very sad. Akkad declares war on the city of men for this heinous atrocity against the Good Gaming Act. Signed and witness by the Panda five minutes ago. Bring back good games! You bastards!

    Reply

  4. Mike

    February 24, 2015 at 12:22

    I’d really like to have a featured comment by you guys. I reckon that’ll get me laid.

    Reply

  5. Kikmi

    February 24, 2015 at 13:17

    This looks fucking amazing

    Reply

  6. Kervyn Cloete

    February 24, 2015 at 13:32

    There’s a reason my gaming nick is Reaver. And now I’m sad.

    Reply

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