29 Dark games like Legacy of Kain: Defiance that you should try

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentUpdated May 19, 2026How this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

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We filtered the 50 games similar to Legacy of Kain: Defiance down to the 29 that fit the “Dark” category. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Hogwarts Legacy and GreedFall top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

iRank84/ 100

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GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

The best dark games like Legacy of Kain: Defiance

29 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Each one has been evaluated across 12 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Vampire: The Masquerade - BloodlinesClosest overall match

iRank86

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMagicMeleeNarrativeDarkHorrorFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 95%· 15KRAWG👍 87%· 905MC80IGDB72· 3

Year 2004Dev Troika Games · Activision BlizzardPlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, open world exploration and stealth mechanics, while skipping post-apocalyptic world

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is a story-driven action-RPG based on table-top role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the part of the World of Darkness franchise. The game is setting a gothic urban fantasy where vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings live secretly by humans.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Combat90Setting80Visuals62

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Steam GOG

#2Hogwarts LegacyClosest on combat

iRank84

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMagicMeleeNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 90%· 366KRAWG👍 75%· 935IGDB85· 9OC84· 176

Year 2023Dev Avalanche Software · Warner Bros. InteractivePlaytime ~30hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the third-person Action RPGs cluster, with deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings puzzle design, open world exploration and exploration and discovery, while skipping horror setting

The castle is the achievement: densely built, worth exploring on its own terms, and full of small detail. Spell-chaining combat is more involved than expected. Outside it, the open world follows a familiar checklist of camps and puzzles, and the main story resolves in a rush that leaves several threads sitting unfinished.

Released 20 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting51

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeMagicNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 76%· 22KIGDB71· 11OC74· 124

Year 2019Dev Spiders · Focus EntertainmentOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are third-person Action RPGs — sharing deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings open world exploration, exploration and discovery and skill tree progression, while skipping horror setting

A mid-budget RPG with a colonial-era setting that is genuinely unusual, and diplomacy that can resolve most quests without combat if you invest in it. Faction reputation matters. Production values show the budget — environments repeat heavily between regions, animation is stiff, and combat never becomes more than adequate.

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Released 16 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting47

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Steam GOG Xbox

#4Risen 3: Titan Lords

iRank65

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMagicMeleeNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 74%· 6.4KIGDB51· 7OC60· 41

Year 2014Dev Piranha Bytes · Deep SilverOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Both are third-person Action RPGs — sharing deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: open world exploration, setting medieval and exploration and discovery, while skipping horror setting

An old-school European RPG: three factions with genuinely different magic schools, a world that does not scale to your level, and exploration that rewards wandering into places you are not ready for. Combat is its weakest link — stiff, poorly telegraphed, and frustrating in the early hours before your character is competent at anything.

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Released 11 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting38

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Steam GOG

#5The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

iRank94

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMagicMeleeNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 97%· 869KRAWG👍 93%· 7.2KMC92IGDB92· 26OC93· 179

Year 2015Dev CD PROJEKT REDPlaytime ~43hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with open world exploration, setting medieval and exploration and discovery, while skipping horror setting

The third game in a series, it holds nothing back from the player. Open world adventures of the renowned monster slayer Geralt of Rivia are now even on a larger scale.

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

Released 12 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting36

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeMagicDarkNarrativeFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 68%· 4.0KIGDB57· 11OC56· 69

Year 2014Dev Spiders · Focus EntertainmentOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · PC

✓ Fits the third-person Action RPGs cluster, with deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: punishing difficulty, skill tree progression and crafting mechanics, while skipping horror setting

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Released 11 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Visuals100Tone89Setting47

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Steam GOG PS

#7Fable: The Lost Chapters

iRank89

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeMagicNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 92%· 8.2KIGDB84· 3

Year 2005Dev Big Blue Box · Microsoft Game StudiosOn PC · Mac

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, open world exploration and sandbox world, while skipping horror setting

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Combat83Setting47

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Steam

#8Risen

iRank81

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMagicMeleeNarrativeDarkFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 89%· 11KIGDB81· 2OC67· 10

Year 2009Dev Piranha Bytes · Deep SilverOn PC

✓ Fits the third-person Action RPGs cluster, with deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with open world exploration, ranged combat and exploration and discovery, while skipping horror setting

Where it drifts furthest from Legacy of Kain: Defiance: setting.

Released 6 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Combat81Setting47

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Steam GOG

#9Alice: Madness ReturnsClosest on setting

iRank82

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeHorrorFantasyThird Person

Steam👍 91%· 29KRAWG👍 82%· 575MC75IGDB72· 5

Year 2011Dev Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, precision platforming and puzzle design, while skipping combat magic

This sequel to American McGee's Alice follows the protagonist, Alice Lidell, as she returns to the dark world of her subconsciousness, the nightmarish version of Lewis Carrol’s Wonderland.

Released 8 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Setting84Combat74Visuals67

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Steam Xbox PS

#10Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

iRank82

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeNarrativeDarkFantasyHorrorThird Person

Steam👍 85%· 8.7KIGDB78· 6OC80· 137

Year 2024Dev DON'T NOD · Focus EntertainmentOn Xbox · PC · PS5

✓ Both are third-person Action RPGs — sharing deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension and exploration and discovery, while skipping combat magic

Released 21 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Setting82Combat72

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Steam Epic Xbox

#11Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

iRank74

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeFantasyHorrorThird Person

Steam👍 85%· 6.4KIGDB63· 15OC61· 30

Year 2014Dev MercurySteam · KonamiOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings Metroidvania exploration, open world exploration and setting medieval, while skipping combat magic

The close of the Lords of Shadow trilogy, alternating a weakened Dracula between his castle and a modern city, with the same weighty whip combat as the first game plus magic and platforming. Its reputation is deserved in one specific way: the modern-city stealth sections are widely disliked, and the game is poor at signposting where to go or what an acquired item is for.

Released 11 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Combat74Setting67

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Steam Xbox

#12Onimusha: Warlords

iRank89

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeFantasyHorrorThird Person

Steam👍 94%· 3.3KRAWG👍 92%· 103MC86IGDB75· 8

Year 2001Dev Capcom · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are third-person Action RPGs — sharing deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings survival mechanics, horror tension and historical setting, while skipping combat magic

Capcom’s riveting samurai adventure returns! This version includes the original game’s intense swordplay and dramatic revenge story, plus a host of enhancements. Improved controls allow players to move and fight with analog-stick precision.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Combat74Visuals67Setting60

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Steam Xbox PS

#13Darksiders: Warmastered Edition

iRank84

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeFantasyPost-ApocalypticThird Person

Steam👍 88%· 18KIGDB81· 11OC77· 63

Year 2016Dev Kaiko · Nordic Games GroupOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: Metroidvania exploration, puzzle design and punishing difficulty, while skipping combat magic

Released 13 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals100Tone80Setting77Combat74

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Steam GOG Epic

#14Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening - Special Edition

iRank71

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeDarkNarrativeFantasyHorrorThird Person

Steam👍 62%· 4.0KIGDB90· 1

Year 2006Dev Capcom Production Studio 1 · CapcomOn PC

✓ Both are third-person Action RPGs — sharing deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings shooter, third-person shooting and fighting mechanics, while skipping combat magic

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Released 3 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Visuals100Setting80Tone77Combat74

GenreRPGSubgenreAction RPGSub-subgenreThird-Person ARPG

SoloMeleeNarrativeDarkHorrorThird Person

Steam👍 76%· 5.3KIGDB70· 15OC69· 159

Year 2019Dev Frogwares · Bigben InteractiveOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of third-person Action RPGs: deep RPG systems, action RPG combat and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: shooter, third-person shooting and horror tension, while skipping combat magic

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Released 16 years after Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

Genre100Game mode100Tone100Visuals100Combat72Setting61

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Steam GOG Xbox

Complete list of dark games like Legacy of Kain: Defiance

The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Legacy of Kain: Defiance, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.