This may be controversial, but the further down the series timeline you peer, the more you notice that the Legacy of Kain games have gradually descended in quality. Opinions are mixed on so many games in the series – but one is constant – that the first Soul Reaver game, and the second in the Legacy of Kain saga, is easily the best. But while these games were such dramatic departures from what we’d seen in games when they were released twenty-five years ago, they’ve arguably been lost to time. Thankfully, Aspyr has returned to the fold with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered. While it’s easily the best way to play these games, some blemishes can’t be polished.
As you’d expect from its imaginative name, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered combines both Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 into a comprehensive package. The original game feels like a real product of its time, released for PlayStation over two decades ago. Soul Reaver 2 was released only two years later for the PlayStation 2. Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered combines both games with strong visual improvements, gameplay tweaks and a wealth of bonus content bound to satiate the series’s long-term fans.
As mentioned, the Soul Reaver games are a sub-series within the Legacy of Kain series. These games don’t follow Kain but rather his lieutenant Raziel. Following the first game’s events, Kain executes Raziel as Raziel’s abilities surpass him. Thought to be dead, Raziel is resurrected by a mysterious Elder God, now a Soul Reaver who thirsts for souls rather than blood. Hungry and understandably angry, Raziel embarks on a journey of revenge and, eventually, wrestles with his own destiny.
When Soul Reaver first hit the PlayStation, it felt unlike anything before it. Besides Metal Gear Solid, no game had a greater sense of presentation and storytelling than Soul Reaver had. Helmed by Amy Hennig, who would go on to contribute greatly to Naughty Dog’s successes, the Soul Reaver games are revered for their storytelling and characters. Revisiting both of these games with this release, it’s easy to see why.
Both the games have great depths to their stories, focusing on themes of betrayal and destiny fulfilment. The cast who helps bring these characters to life helps, too, with big-name talents like Simon Templeman, Tony Jay, Neil Ross, Richard Doyle and Anna Gunn bringing the characters of Nosgoth to life. The indomitable Michael Bell is the standout, bringing Raziel’s struggles to life and making it a joy to watch his character transform across both games.
Both the Soul Reaver games feel like two sides of the same coin. The original Soul Reaver is renowned for how little it holds players’ hands, allowing them to explore Nosgoth as far as their abilities allow. It feels very of its time because of this, though Aspyr’s work with this remaster makes it flow much better for newer players. The most notable new inclusion is a map, which shows your next objective and a clear direction where it can be found. It’s less extensive than adding waypoints to the game, similar to what Nightdive did for their Turok 2 remaster, but it is a helpful addition for newer players or those who get lost easily.
Beyond the improvements, Soul Reaver plays similarly to games of its era – think Zelda or Metroid. Raziel is given free roam of Nosgoth, able to travel through both the Spectral and Material realms to unlock new areas and abilities. There are boss battles and a wealth of platforming challenges and puzzles to solve. It all plays exceptionally well – this remaster includes modern controls, which makes the platform oh-so-slightly easier. Smoother framerates mean that combat flows better, too.
In keeping so faithful to the original, the issue plaguing Soul Reaver still persists with this remaster. While the combat is fun and varied, and exploration rewarding, Soul Reaver does throw the same puzzles at you as you come to the end of the adventure. It makes the game feel more tedious than it should, though at least you could argue this remaster presents the original game, warts and all.
Despite this, the original Soul Reaver still looks like a classic. Revisiting the game so long after playing the original, I found it incredibly engaging, and I can still see why it was considered such a cult classic back then. There was nothing else like it, and, while the standards of presentation have well exceeded what was presented back then, only a few games build worlds and characters as effectively as Soul Reaver did.
The second game in the compilation, imaginatively titled The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, is an entirely different beast. While it takes the story and world established in Soul Reaver and completely expands on them, the game’s open nature has been scaled back considerably. While I appreciate that this is in service of telling a better story, it does mean that Soul Reaver 2 feels like a much simpler game than the original.
Though Soul Reaver 2 is still enjoyable. For one, it served as a nice palate cleanser to be led through an incredibly told story rather than wander aimlessly between areas as I did regularly in Soul Reaver. It is harder to argue for Soul Reaver 2’s merits, especially comparing it to its predecessor, but despite the scaling back of all the great things about Soul Reaver, the story being told here is so good that I can’t be too frustrated at this design choice to scale things back.
So, while these games could be better, both remastered counterparts do a great job of tinkering with elements wrong with the game without changing things up too dramatically. With Remastered, you’re essentially getting the first game with a great focus on exploration and worldbuilding, reminiscent of early Zelda and FromSoftware games and the second game that feels like its borrowing wholesale from early Tomb Raiders. Both are great experiences, and both are worth your time.
Beyond the games, the collection also comes with a wealth of supplementary content, both official and fan-curated, that many superfans will appreciate. Packed to the brim with old trailers, official art, renders, compendiums of lore, and even playable cut levels, there’s a heap included in Remastered. They’re not massive life-changing improvements, mind you; it’s clear that the cut levels were never finished, but they are aspects of the games that so many fans will appreciate and explore.
But, of course, the most significant changes here are in how the games are presented. Both games have received similar treatment to Aspyr’s previous compilation of Tomb Raider remasters. Every texture has been upscaled and filtered to look how you remember it rather than how it actually did. Combine that with improved lighting and the game’s incredible moody soundtrack, and Nosgoth looks like the gothic dark universe it was always meant to be. No stone has been left unturned with this remaster, with even areas like the skies, which were previously blank, having nice new skyboxes drawn for each to really give each area in Nosgoth a sense of place.
Of course, Raziel is notably different. He and every other character receive new models that bring them closer to the official renders rather than the limited renditions that the original hardware could handle. This makes the game look a lot less “crunchy” than its previous presentation, though you can switch between the original look and the remastered look with the tap of the right stick with no effort. I like this approach – it highlights how faithful these remasters are to the original games while offering both options to suit your tastes, no matter what they are.
And despite such differing opinions about the Soul Reaver games, especially the second, The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered is a great way to play them and see what all the buzz is about. I adored their tone and atmosphere all those years ago, but finally revisiting them in a higher quality visual than what was previously available is an absolute pleasure. That’s all you can ask for from a remaster, so Legacy of Kain: Soul Reavier 1&2 Remastered ultimately delivers.
