Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain on PlayStation was a bonafide cult classic on the console. It was like a traditional overhead Legend of Zelda-style adventure game, but where you played as an inhumanly blood-thirsty vampire in a medieval dark fantasy setting called Nosgoth.
When the time came for its sequel, fans were stunned by the dramatic shift in style and direction. Kain was no longer the protagonist, the story picked up after the evil ending, and the gameplay became a 3D puzzle platformer with metroidvania elements. For the most part, fans welcomed Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Raziel, the new protagonist.
Soul Reaver eventually got a sequel on PlayStation 2 and while it didn’t have the same impact as the first, gamers eagerly awaited what came next. Legacy of Kain: Defiance was a solid action game, but it would be the last time players would see Kain and Raziel. How does the Soul Reaver and its sequel hold up? Do the new graphics honor the original? Find out in our Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered review!
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered
Developer: Saber Interactive, Aspyr, Cyrstal Dynamics
Publisher: Aspyr, Eidos
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation (as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), PlayStation 2 (as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: December 10, 2024
Price: $29.99
One of the great things about Soul Reaver is that you don’t need to have played Blood Omen to understand it. Yes, it is a direct sequel, but it is also written in a way that keeps it self-contained. All players need to know is that Kain is a vampire who usurped nine sorcerers and conquered the world. During his reign, Kain appointed lieutenants who enforced his rule.
Soul Reaver‘s story begins 1,500 years after Kain has effectively won. He and his lieutenants began to evolve, becoming less human and more demonic. Their hands become like cloven hooves, their skin becoming like scales, and becoming endowed with new powers. Kain became more monstrous but he was not the first to receive the blessings: it would be Raziel, one of his lieutenants.
Raziel was gifted wings and in a fit of envy, Kain ripped the bones out from his back and cast him into the Lake of the Dead. This punishment was like frying for thousands of years in a swirling vortex and when it ended, Raziel became a shriveled husk, forever changed by his descent.
He was no longer a vampire. He had become a goddamned wraith, a devourer of souls, and a walker between the spectral and material planes. Seeking vengeance against Kain and his brethren is a small piece of Raziel’s quest. The scope broadens dramatically and defeating each of the lieutenants reveals that there is more to the plot than revenge.
By the time the story of Soul Reaver 2 kicks off, Raziel sees beyond the futility of vengeance and seeks a higher quest for the truth. He won’t just be traversing the material and spectral planes. In Soul Reaver 2 Raziel transcends goddamn time itself; exploring Nosgoth’s past and future.
The best aspects of these games are the story, voice acting, and script. The PlayStation was already showing that video games could have good voice acting and narratives, as seen in Metal Gear Solid, but Soul Reaver took it to another level.
The story is already a complex web of intrigue with themes of Gnosticism, free will vs fate, and Raziel’s profound odyssey for enlightenment in the face of absolute damnation. Double crosses abound and darkly ironic twists made Soul Reaver one of the more memorable titles of its era.
The story is enhanced by amazing performances from Michael Bell as Raziel, Simon Templeman returning as Kain, and the indelible Tony Jay as the elder God. Bell delivers a powerful and emotive performance as Raziel, capturing his anguish, confusion, and growing determination. His voice work effectively conveys Raziel’s transformation from a vengeful creature to a more thoughtful and empathetic being.
Jay, as the elder god (and as other characters), has a distinct, deep voice that resonates. He actually sounds like an omniscient entity that has existed for eternity, speaking eloquently and authoritatively, commanding every scene he’s in. Templeman, as Kain, is delightfully snooty and boastful but always convincing as a vicious vampire who looks down on you.
The voice acting goes a long way in enhancing the grim and gothic atmosphere. Throughout the game, Raziel comments on things he’s seen. He exposits vital information about the world while also cluing the player on his character with his insights.
Bell’s ragged and sophisticated delivery carries the atmosphere with an excellent soundtrack. The music is a mix of brooding ambiance with occasional thumping tribal rhythm. Some industrial elements make it have a timeless quality that suggests the lost-in-time feeling of Nosgoth.
Exploring Nosgoth in both games feels like being trapped in one massive super dungeon. Soul Reaver unfolds like a metroidvania where paths are blocked due to Raziel lacking a certain ability he can gain from defeating his brethren. Powers like phasing through gates, swimming, and climbing add variety to his growing range of mobility.
Starting Soul Reaver 2 will feature basically every power that he had when the first game ended. It truly feels like the second half of the game as it was originally intended to be. Regretfully, as varied and dense as the level design was in the first game, Soul Reaver 2 is noticeably more linear and veers on being boring with its dull level design.
The weakest aspect between both games is its rudimentary combat which is a bit stiff and lacks variety. It was forgivable in the first game since it was an early 3D game in an era where 3D action was still experimental, but the sequel was on PlayStation 2 and came out about a month after the first Devil May Cry.
Raziel can lock on foes and swipe his claws, side-stepping to avoid attacks. He can pick up disposable weapons and gets the Reaver which functions as melee and has a ranged attack. It was always considered a less refined iteration of Ocarina of Time‘s combat due to the awkwardness of the movement and spartan mechanics.
Thankfully, the Soul Reaver games lean more toward being puzzle adventure games. Combat is more of a means to an end and is something Raziel has to do if he wants to restore his health. A neat gimmick is that vampiric foes are immortal and require Raziel to perform fatalities to absorb their souls.
The problem with Soul Reaver 2 is how it leans more in the direction of combat than its predecessor, while not improving the melee in a meaningful way. This compounds the boring level design since hallways will be stacked with foes getting in the way. Unfortunately, the sequel is less fun to play because its story is where it goes utterly off the rails in interesting directions.
The puzzles in both titles are well-designed and the way the spectral and material planes work keeps gamers exploring the same areas in new ways. The spectral plane is a surreal, twisted version of the physical plane. Geometry twists and pulls, giving way to new areas and flooded hallways become ominous, walkable passages.
There are a lot of block puzzles, and while they can be amusing once in a while, both games overstay their welcome. Most of the time you’ll be able to figure out the solution by looking at the puzzle, but then still have to go through the motions of slowly moving blocks into place to solve it. Some of them can be very tedious.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered‘s approach to enhancing the visuals is akin to Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. Players can switch back and forth between the new and original graphics, with the character models being updated to resemble their original CG renders. The level geometry is 1:1 but with new textures and atmospheric lighting effects to punch up the mood.
This is a very faithful remaster and includes a wealth of extras that will please fans. All of the hilarious archival outtake videos are included, and there is a surprising amount of cut environments. Don’t expect much while exploring the unfinished areas. They have no enemies, the doors don’t work, and shifting to the other plane won’t twist the world.
Some of the cute areas are more unfinished than others, often looking almost untextured and lacking critical setpieces to the environment. These cut areas also don’t have the updated graphics and are steeped in an uncanny eeriness that comes with exploring abandoned beta levels.
The framerate has also been bumped up to a stable 60 FPS across all platforms, and players can expect razor-shape image quality. Load times were already nonexistent thanks to the original game design, which streamed assets, which was cutting-edge at the time but has not become commonplace.
The quality of life enhancements improve both games’ playability; specifically the camera controls which are now full 360 degrees and mapped to the right stick. This simple addition makes both games feel very modern and approachable now and the world map helps by giving information about missed collectibles.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered are the definitive versions of two awesome but flawed games. One game surpasses one in another aspect and vice versa, but between them both you’re going to get a superbly gothic and atmospheric epic backed by some of the greatest and moodiest dialogue in any game ever.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 using a copy purchased by Niche Gamer. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
