The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver games were originally released in 1999 by Crystal Dynamics, long before the new Tomb Raider games Crystal Dynamics created these 2 masterpieces. These two games are connected or are a sequel to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain which was released in 1996. A remake of the games had long been running in the rumour mill and now its finally released on December 10th of this year.
A Dark Fantasy Masterpiece
The Legacy of Kain games were groundbreaking games during their time with sophisticated action and brilliant storytelling enhancing the already rich world the Blood Omen game had introduced to the world 3 years earlier.
Of course the game is a ‘remaster’ and not a ‘remake’ the visual designs, character designs and mechanics have virtually remained untouched. Which could be a problem to younger audiences as it may seem graphically inferior when compared to other releases but for those who did play the originals it will still be a captivating experience.
Without spoiling too much we play as Raziel, a once decorated lieutenant under the vampire lord Kain, our character had discovered some new powers where he could extend his wings and glide around without transforming, Kain in what seems like a fit of jealousy rips the wings off and pushes Raziel into the oblivion. Raziel gets resurrected some 1500 years later at which point we take control.
Still Retaining The Charm Of Its Gameplay
The remasters in this sense tries to recapture the charm that the originals carried with some light touches here and there. The graphics have been upgraded just enough for the games to retain their originality but where we may still see the age of the games is the combat, the combat system remains the same thus it will feel clunky and inaccurate due to it being virtually untouched.
What is an absolute breath of fresh air is the fact that the game now is playable with modern controllers. We can control Raziel with full 360 degree stick support due to which exploring and movement in general feel much better and easier. Coupled with that is a compass and a map which helps a little bit in knowing where to go.
These games made up for the lack of combat mechanics with the many environmental puzzles strewn in front of Raziel to solve. Solving these puzzles to progress always felt satisfying even if most of them involve pushing crates or putting them on top of each other to progress. However, some may feel that pushing crates this way is just old and boring and they would be right as it may not appeal to players to pay for what is a new release yet still feel like they are playing an old game.
Soul Reaver 2 Continues With The Improvements
While Soul Reaver 1 may not appeal to some players due to the aforementioned mechanics of the first game. Soul Reaver 2 manages to somewhat alleviate the problems the first one had, such as adding a normal save system, more combat elements that added some colorful strategy to Raziel’s sword.
The visual improvements continue through to the second game as well, the colors do pop a little bit more adding some visual flair. Other than that the game remains as it was from its original 2001 release. Both games also have the feature where players can toggle between the original graphics and the improved ones allowing to really see what parts of the game were changed or not.
Of Course the story continuing from its predecessor has still managed to keep players engaged with new plot twists and characters being introduced that keep it interesting and keep players guessing until the next corner as to what could happen next or how would Kain or any other character respond.
A Glimpse into the Future
The Soul Reavers games are brilliant pieces of storytelling that are well deserved candidates to receive the remastering treatment it was released during simpler times when combat mechanics and puzzle design didn’t matter as much as the story did. Some 20 years later it can be said with confidence that the story holds up, it is a captivating and aggressive story of revenge with amazing voice and dialogue that uplifts it to the nth degree.
We can hope that Crystal Dynamics is allowed to reboot the story just like how they did with the Tomb Raider games from 2015 and then in 2018. These two gems have managed to hold up even in this climate of expecting top tier graphics, in-depth combat mechanics and captivating storytelling. A proper reboot would do well to introduce the franchise to a younger audience and hopefully gain their support for sequels if they are likely.
