Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered Review (PS5) – A New Benchmark

Somewhat of a cult classic action-platformer in 2024, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (and its sequel) fans long thought the opportunity for a sequel or even a remaster was long since gone, after being greeted with nothing but silence despite the fan campaigns.

Thankfully, we were all incredibly wrong, as Aspyr Media added Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2& Remastered to their long list of classic hits, releasing it to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original. Packaged with both Soul Reaver games this review covers them both as a collective!

As already alluded to, the wait for more Legacy of Kain has been a long one, but thanks to Aspyr, we at least have a stopgap until a hopeful sequel rears its head. It’s becoming something of a champion for cult remakes, with another recent release being Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, and a soon-to-be-released Star Wars Jedi Power Battles as well.

As with any remaster, it’s important to note that this is still a 25-year-old game, albeit with a few modernizations. It’s being reviewed as a product of its time as much as it is a remaster, and not compared to modern games.
As with any remaster, it’s important to note that this is still a 25-year-old game, albeit with a few modernizations. It’s being reviewed as a product of its time as much as it is a remaster, not compared to modern games.

More Legacy of Kain, Finally

Booting up Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered will be a simple joy for die-hard fans, being greeted by the familiar face of the vampire-turned-wraith Raziel, as you choose between the first and second game, or a third choice of some previously unseen bonus content (nothing massive, just some ‘Lost Levels’ and artwork).

Narratively, it’s a tale as old as time. As Raziel, you’ll face betrayal, torture, death, spectral realms, and the utter need for vengeance, before everything becomes much bigger than just you and your thirst for blood in the second game, with a time-bending, time-traveling time waiting.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered will have you switching between visual modes A LOT. Image Credit: Aspyr Media.

During a time when story and narrative weren’t important in most platformers, Legacy of Kain pushed the envelope in ways most other games weren’t worried about, and it still shows today. A meaty script with some cut scenes that Hideo Kojima would be proud of, distinguished characters and performances from those involved at the time, and a gothic setting that’ll have you lost and confused one moment, and running for your life the next.

But narrative and story were never a worry for anyone, as the deep story and enticing characters are exactly why fans have been clamoring for more these last two and a half decades, no, it’s the other potential improvements available.

By far the biggest improvement throughout your time in Nosgoth will be the graphics. A shocking revelation, I’m sure. Whether it’s the general environment, individual textures, Raziel himself, or the bosses you’ll face along the way, seemingly everything has had a fresh lick of paint, and it looks glorious. You may not necessarily realize just how much of a makeover the game has had until you click in R3 (at any time), and switch between the classic and updated visuals. That should really drive it home.

During the aforementioned meaty cutscenes and script-heavy moments – usually, Michael Bell’s Raziel verbally jousting with Simon Templeman’s Kain or Tony Jay’s Elder God – I found myself swapping between the two settings, picking apart the updates to the models. It also adds a whole new menacing aspect to the bosses on offer, making them more intimidating and horrifying, just as years of being twisted and changed into abominations should do.

Zephon, one of the bosses in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered.
Zephon never looked this good (or terrifying). Image Credit: Aspyr Media.

Adding to the immersion, beyond just the visuals, is the improved audio. It’s unlikely even the most dialogue-averse player will get bored of listening to the performances of the entire cast, and with modern audio technology behind them, it only sounds better now. Audio design and soundtrack-wise, the slight differences you’ll hear depending on the realm you’re in are a great touch, as well as the smaller flourishes during boss fights, puzzles, and so on.

It Can’t All Be Good

As I’ve already established, this is a 25-year-old game, and with it comes some aged combat systems that’ll grow repetitive very quickly. A hack-and-slash experience without much variation, you’ll spend a great deal of time attacking mindlessly (especially in the sequel), with little to no need to use the dodge system during normal combat, as brute force always seemingly wins. At least in the first game, there’s a need to vanquish the vampire enemies you’ll encounter with specific means; be it fire, impaling/staking, or an environmental hazard like water or sunlight. That all but disappears in the sequel.

As boring and repetitive as the normal combat may be, the boss fights are heavily inspired by the puzzling and platforming you’ll need to get there, with most requiring some out-of-the-box thinking, uses of the environment, etc. More than just mindlessly slashing anyway, and are a slight bright light in an otherwise dark and boring aspect of the game.

During the eighteen-or-so-hours with the game, I found the performance to be an unreliable part of the game as well. My entire playthrough of the first game resulted in zero crashes, and beyond a few pop ins, ran significantly better than the second, where it crashed several times. and graphical pop ins were regular. Besides the technical optimization, more could certainly have been done to modernize the controls, with it being frustrating at times trying to move large items for puzzles, or picking up the wrong item from the floor.

Raziel finally has his iconic and lethal weapon. Image Credit: Aspyr Media.

The platforming and puzzles are as they were 25 years ago – well thought out, big in scale, and satisfying to complete, and all simpler than first glance would indicate. On more than one occasion I found myself mentally celebrating after putting together a particular troublesome mechanic that should have been obvious.

Making excellent use of the Material and Spectral realms available, puzzles quickly would force you to think outside the box, outside what you can immediately see, and outside the physics of that realm, you’re in at the time. It’s even more clear now how Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 influenced so many different modern games in this aspect.

Several new additions to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered couldn’t be more of a mixed bag. The compass proved immediately useful, even for just general navigation of the mazelike environments, but the maps of both games were utterly useless. Not full maps of the environments but just an oversight of all locations, the only function they served was to tell you which location name you were in at any given time. Nothing more.

As a complete experience over the two games in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, Aspyr has managed to take a beloved fan-franchise long-thought dead-and-buried, give it a makeover, and introduce it to an entirely new audience, all without ruining the original experience.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered

Luke Addison


Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is an action-adventure video game compilation developed and published by Aspyr. It contains remastered versions of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2, entries in the Legacy of Kain series originally developed by Crystal Dynamics.
Gameplay
Graphics
Performance
Audio
Narrative

Summary

Aged combat can prove repetitive, with some rinse-and-repeat combos, but an incredible facelift both in graphics and audio proves enough to keep the experience as good as we remember it. Add some basic quality-of-life additions like the compass, and Aspyr has succeeded in making this a more than serviceable remaster, but also a genuinely fun one.

HOURS PLAYED: 18

4
Pros
  • Improved visuals bring the gothic environment to life, along with Raziel and Co.
  • Performances from the entire cast shine through.
  • The added compass makes navigation simpler.
Cons
  • Repetitive combat gets boring quickly.
  • Crashed on occasions.
  • The map is a waste of time.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered released on 10th December 2024, and is available on PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows.

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This and every Thumb Wars review is featured on OpenCritic.

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