The Legacy of Kain games have a fantastic horror-gothic setting and Defiance really uses it to great effect. For 2003 this is stunning.

thousands are sailing
the same self the only self
self willed the peril of a thousand fates
a line of infinite ends finite finishing
the one remains oblique and pure
arching to the single point of
consciousness
find yourself
starting back
The Legacy of Kain games have a fantastic horror-gothic setting and Defiance really uses it to great effect. For 2003 this is stunning.
Legacy of Kain throwing around a dozen deeply memorable locations PER GAME in an era when most titles were full of environments simply doing their job as best they could.