If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that a Legacy of Kain franchise revival has been a long time coming. The series comprises of five games (and one scrapped online spin-off) with combined sales estimated at 3.5 million, yet we’ve seen remasters of PS2 era licensed platformers and even the notoriously bad Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties before this collection. This isn’t the first to be released, though – the Evercade gained no-thrills conversions of the PS1’s Blood Omen and Soul Reaver a few months ago. A fine taster before this main course, as it were.
This collection focuses solely on Soul Reaver, bringing back the 1999 PS1 original – starring the tattered vampiric antihero Raziel – and its PS2 sequel from 2001. Aspyr are behind this package, which offers a similar experience in terms of presentation to their recent Tomb Raider 1-3 remasters. Textures have been improved, character models are enhanced with more detail and higher polygon counts, and the UI has been tided. A map, compass and a collectables tracker have also been added to help alleviate backtracking. Additionally, Aspyr has added a collection of artworks, photos, production documents and more – which aren’t required to be unlocked.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver was released towards the end of the PS1’s life, and it shows. Crystal Dynamics took everything they had learned from the 32-bit console so far to create a technical showcase. It’s a third-person adventure with several ideas ahead of its time, and some cleverly designed puzzles. Here, Raziel discovers a newfound purpose and renewed set of abilities after being left to rot in the underworld for centuries at the hands of villain Kain. As a vampire, they’re immortal – “death” merely transports them to the spectral realm to feed on souls. This realm can be visited at any time, overlaying the material world Kain has created, and often bears new paths. This means you’ll be switching between the two realms often. The vampiric demons Raziel faces play by ‘vampire rules’ too and can only be injured by melee combat. To defeat them, they must be impaled, scorched by fire or sunlight, or thrown into water. This means during every confrontation you’ll need to find the means to dispose of enemies fully. You’ll also need to inhale their souls in good time, or risk facing them once they resurrect themselves.
As for the more technical aspects, Soul Reaver featured a single seamless world with no loading screens, ergo no traditional levels or stages. Locations simply load on the fly while Raziel strolls through corridors etc. Even now, it remains an impressive technical feat. Instead of playing on a loop, the music likewise changes on the fly, altering slightly from one location to the next.
All of this is accompanied by a compelling story, not told from moment to moment, but across centuries. The voice acting remains excellent, and the writing is sharp. The relationship between Raziel and Kain isn’t as straight-laced as ‘good meets evil’ either – as vampires, they want to see their race survive, and both are prepared to listen to reason and explain their actions. It even dabbles with morality, with human NPCs that will eventually worship Raziel if left unharmed.
Perfect, however, Soul Reaver isn’t. It’s an adventure game in the very traditional sense, with very little guidance or handholding. Defeat a boss, and you’ll merely be instructed to find a way to access the next location, with the only hint given being the direction in which to head – hence the new addition of a compass. The game world is supposed to be a lifeless rendition of Nosgoth, with ruined cemeteries, cathedrals, and more, but closer resembles a cave complex due to its nondescript underground passageways, making it very easy to become lost. If you aren’t familiar with it, expect to be left scratching your head on a few occasions. That said, this does make eventually finding the path ahead all the sweeter.
Soul Reaver 2 meanwhile was a relatively early PS2 release, arriving around the same time as Ico and the first Jak & Daxter. There are telling signs that Crystal Dynamics hadn’t quite mastered the PS2, this being their first title for the platform. It’s a huge upgrade over the original visually, certainly, but can’t compare to some of the later games we saw on the system such as Devil May Cry 3 and God of War II. This sequel is more combat focused, pitting Raziel – who commences this time altering adventure with most of his abilities intact, including climbing and swimming – against mortal human adversaries. The combat system didn’t receive a huge upgrade though, still feeling like it was trapped in the 32-bit era. Environments are however much larger and more outdoorsy, and there’s even a sprinkling of colour with Nosgoth yet to be ravished by Kain. The knock-on effect of this is that it loses some of its gloomy atmosphere, while the music is more contemporary. Unlike the original, the game can only be saved at certain locations instead of whenever, and said locations can be quite far apart.
Ultimately, the compelling time-jumping storyline carries Soul Reaver 2 from start to finish, even though it never quite reaches the same highs as the ambitious original. Launching just two years after, and on new hardware, it’s about as good as we could’ve expected at the time.
Both games have improved visuals, which can be toggled between using R3. This includes a new character model for Raziel, with more detail. A slight modernisation, if you will. It’s a shame there’s no contrast option as the screen is plunged into darkness often, especially the original. The original does closer resemble the PS2 sequel now though, which is quite the accomplishment. With their 10-12 hour playtimes, these aren’t games that’ll be beaten in one or two sittings, making this pretty good value for money when considering that they aren’t straightforward re-releases. For anyone curious or eager to re-experience these classics, both are broad and rich enough to become lost in. Just be warned that at times you will become well and truly lost.
Aspyr’s Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered is out now on all formats. Originally developed by Crystal Dynamics.