Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver Review

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Platform: PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Dreamcast, PlayStation Network

Release Date: PS1 and Windows: August 16, 1999; Dreamcast: January 27, 2000

Genre: Action-adventure

Set 1500 years after Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver follows the story of Raziel. Raziel is one of the vampire sons of Kain. The beginning cinematic opens with Raziel having an audience with Kain and displaying his wings. In an act of what I assume is jealousy, Kain rips the bones from Raziel’s wings and tosses him into a large whirlpool known as the Lake of the Dead. Raziel is later resurrected as a wraith by The Elder God to serve as his “soul reaver”. Now it is Raziels duty to restore Nosgoth by killing Kain and anyone in his way.

During his quest, Raziel meets Ariel, who preceded Kain as the guardian of the Pillar of Balance, appears as a spirit and offers Raziel advice on occasion. He also encounters his brothers—Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab and Dumah—whom serve as the game’s bosses. Each has developed different powers that Raziel partially gains by killing them and devouring their souls. Along the way Raziel even discovers the he and his brothers were once a noble family of vampire hunters. They were of course risen by Kain to be his vimpire sons and stripped of their human memories. The game ends with a battle between Raziel and Kain. The only thing is that as soon Raziel gets the upper hand in the fight Kain flees through an ancient time machine. Against the advice from The Elder God Raziel follows Kain and when he exits the time portal he is greeted by Moebius the Timestreamer, the inventor of the time machine. That leads into the direct sequel to this title, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2.

Tanx’ Review

The graphics in this game were definitely a great achievement at the time of it’s release. The dark gothic feel of the game was quite instense. You really felt creeped out by some of the maps. The scenery was definitely a great fit for a title about vampires. The different abilities and weapons you could unlock throughout the game kept me entertained and fight sequences fresh. Puzzles provided the challenge mental stimulation needed to keep the game interesting, even though they got a bit repetitive at times. With how much I enjoyed the game despite it’s repetitiveness at time I give this game a 4 out of 5.