The video game industry is about pushing the envelope to get ahead of the competition, whether on a game's plot, level design, graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay.
The transition from 2D gaming to 3D gaming with the introduction of video game consoles capable of rendering 3D graphics, such as the PlayStation 1 and the Nintendo 64, is a testament to this fact.
However, there are games that tick out almost every aspect previously listed, and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is one of them.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver History, Gameplay
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for the PS1 and PC in 1999 and the Dreamcast in 2000, per the Legacy of Kain Wiki.
The game is a sequel to the 1996 game Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and as such tells the story of Raziel, a former vampire turned wraith 1,500 years after the events of its predecessor.
Players must take control of Raziel and help him accomplish the mission of ridding his former vampire comrades and saving the land of Nosgoth from Kain, the corrupted Guardian of Balance.
To do so, Raziel must use the powers he gained during his journey, such as firing bolts of telekinetic energy, using eldritch energy to attack a group of enemies simultaneously, and the sword called Soul Reaver, which he will acquire during his journey.
The game is mostly similar to the other games in the Legacy of Kain series, but with more emphasis on puzzle solving and hack-and-slash action, a la Devil May Cry minus the style meter.
Players will need to switch between the material realm and spectral realms to solve puzzles, as some items can only be interacted with in one realm but intangible in the other, per Eurogamer.
Along the way, enemies exclusive to these realms will do their best to prevent them from completing it (e.eg. vampire hunters in the Material Realm and vampire wrath in the Spectral Realm).
Although skillful and capable of putting a hurt on his former brethren, Raziel will need to learn some new abilities to further improve his ability to defeat his various enemies. However, not all of them go down permanently, as in the case of vampires; the player must devour a vampire's soul to put them down permanently.
Critical Reception And Possible Return
Critical reception for the game was positive, with reviewers from IGN and Gamespot applauding Soul Reaver's graphics, soundtrack, and hash-and-slash gameplay.
Gamers who played the game in the past also agreed with critics' reviews of the game, with Soul Reaver receiving a Metacritic user score of 9.0 based on 251 ratings.
Although a perfect game in some regards, it was found somewhat wanting due to its simple, repetitive gameplay, which could be annoying sometimes.
Regardless of the fact, Soul Reaver has reached critical acclaim that Crystal Dynamics sent out a survey to gamers who played their games in the past, per Screen Rant.
The game developer sent the survey out to see if the gamers who played their pst games wanted to see the Blood Omen series back, especially Soul Reaver, in the form of a remaster, remake, reboot, or sequel.
Those who have yet to play the game can do so by purchasing it from Steam or on GOG.
