Nosgoth

About

Nosgoth pits two teams against each other in fast-paced combat where roles flip between rounds. One side controls vampires, relying on close-range melee attacks and agility. The other plays as humans, using guns and tactical positioning. Matches consist of two rounds, after the first, teams swap factions to fight as their opponents’ race. Victory comes by earning more points through eliminations and objectives. The game emphasizes adaptability, as strategies must shift when switching from vampire to human or vice versa. Set in the Legacy of Kain universe but built as a standalone PvP title, it drew criticism for abandoning the series’ single-player roots. Launched in 2015 after years of development shifts, it struggled to retain players and closed in 2016. Some praised the chaotic blend of action genres and deep lore, while others found the mechanics unbalanced. With a short lifespan and mixed reception, it remains a niche experiment in competitive fantasy combat.

Storyline

Nosgoth chronicles a previously-unexplored span of time in the events of Soul Reaver: the centuries between Raziel's execution and Raziel's resurrection, both events originally depicted in the introduction to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Since the collapse of the Pillars and the holy war, Nosgoth's oppressed human population has carved out a harsh existence in slavery and exile, largely relegated to life as food in Blood farms. The land's emperor, Kain, and the Council – his six lieutenants – reign over the heartlands with their vampire clans. When Raziel, Kain's first-born lieutenant, betrays his master, Kain condemns him to execution in the Lake of the Dead. Before long, however, Kain himself disappears, abandoning the empire. Using the Chronoplast to travel through time, he departs in search of a means to restore health to the corrupt Pillars of Nosgoth, and the world itself. Kain's surviving lieutenants remain to shepherd the decadent realm, but quickly succumb to mistrust, infighting, and, ultimately, civil war. Raziel's leaderless progeny, the Razielim, become victims to persecution from their brethren, and, now unrestrained by Kain's leadership, clan falls against clan. Nosgoth's humans capitalize on the escalating state of turmoil and distraction among the vampires to escape the blood farms, rekindling their own civilization. Rebuilding cities and recovering skills over hundreds of years, the human slaves come to represent an increasingly credible threat to the vampire race. They form an army, and a devastating attack on their enemies' outposts begins. The clans settle their disputes and reunite in an uneasy alliance to quell the insurgency. The new war between both races for domination of Nosgoth ensues.