You start the game with two supernatural abilities, or Dark Gifts, Mist (which shrouds you from your enemies) and Fury (a manic combat attack). Additional Dark Gifts such as Charm (mind control) and Super-Jump must be acquired from your most deadly enemies to aid you in your deathly challenges. You also have a multitude of weapons at your disposal, each with their own gruesome finishing move. After each brutal attack you must draw strength by draining your enemies of their blood.
With a focus on combat and stealth, this mission-based action game boasts an advance artificial intelligence system that determines how the characters in the game react to Kain. The inhabitants of Nosgoth respond according to how Kain interacts with them, and how he's behaved up to that point in the game--if he mindlessly attacks people this will attract unwanted attention, but the more stealthily he moves through the shadows the longer it will take for people to realise he's a vampire... The game's strong characters and storyline drive players through its massive, detailed 3-D environments.