Legend of Kay

Another product of the early 2000s boom of 3D platformers, Legend of Kay stands among other great titles like Psychonauts and Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy as a fun and creatively built title. Compared to its peers, Legend of Kay is more combat-focused as it’s heavily inspired by Eastern martial arts and legends. It also offers greater gameplay variety through an assortment of mini-games and the distinct weapon styles you need to master. Couple all of that with an engaging story that will have you interacting with a host of intriguing characters that help Kay on his journey towards self-discovery and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Here’s everything you need to know about Legend of Kay:

Combat Platforming

What distinguishes Legend of Kay from its 3D platforming brethren is its focus on delivering a fun and challenging combat experience. The game boasts 3 distinct weapons, sword, hammer and claws, each with its own fighting style.

Switching styles up is fast and fluid, allowing you to adapt to any situation. Need more power? Bring out the hammer. If speed is a requirement, then the claws are your friend. Where more balance is necessary then the sword will guide your path. Adding this system to the game’s already excellent platforming and traversal mechanics makes the game a must-play. This simple yet deep system makes Legend of Kay’s gameplay some of the best in the genre.

Rich Content

One thing that concerns players when it comes to classic platforming games is the content to price ratio. Thankfully, Legend of Kay is quite rich and highly replayable. Its main story spans across 25 unique levels with over 15 enemies of varying shapes and sizes. On top of that, you’ll get to showcase your martial arts skills against epic bosses. Once you’ve cleared the story once, you’ll want to revisit the game through its various mini-games that will really put your skills to the test. The content here becomes even more varied with games like wolf riding, boar racing and dragon flying expanding the gameplay pool tenfold.

The Far East

Legend of Kay has a clear inspiration from East Asia and martial arts legends. Kay is a young budding fighter whose main focus has always been punching and kicking his opponents. Like in most martial arts tropes, his Master wants him to learn more about the Way, meaning to understand the spiritual factors of being a true martial artist. Through his journey across the game’s multitude of levels, Kay will slowly develop himself into the true fighter he is meant to be.

The Bottom Line

Legend of Kay is a classic 3D platformer that is both fun and challenging in an old school way.

Pros

• Engaging and challenging mix of platforming and combat
• East Asia and martial arts-inspired story
• Lots of mini-games make it quite replayable

Cons

• Voice acting can feel jarring and poor quality