Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – A 90’s Storytelling Giant
Its hard to describe how special Soul Reaver is. Growing up in the 90’s there was no other game like it. The voice acting, music and writing were a decade ahead of its time. Legacy of Kain was my biggest obsession as a kid and I have nothing but love and joy for the whole series.
Soul Reaver came out in 1999 and still feels great to play. Its an aged wine that almost makes you forget the crazy advances in video games that have come since.
Anyone even kind of interested in video games should give Soul Reaver a try. I would consider it one of the greatest games ever made.
The Intro to Soul Reaver will burn itself into your brain
Starting a new game, you’re hit with the thundering intro of Information Society’s “Ozar Midrashim”. This is the main theme of the game and is even remixed a couple times through out. To go along with this you’re introduced to Raziel – the main character. He’s voiced by Michael Bell – a veteran in the voice acting profession. His performance throughout the series along with Simon Templeman as Kain, are of the highest standard of voice acting.
And its not only them – there are sooo many voice actors in this series that act their souls out. You owe it to yourself to play these games and understand what I mean.
Anyway, you’re given backstory to the setting in the form of this series’ buttery smooth dialog. The catalyst for the story at hand is set in motion – we’re convinced vengeance is the answer to our sorry situation. The game thus starts, and you’re set free on a rampage.
Soul Reaver is a game of many angles
The music, atmosphere and smooth controls make basic exploring is as fun as anything else. A large part of the game is wandering through beautiful gothic landscapes. Puzzles and cutscenes are your way of knowing that your going somewhere.
The puzzles are kind of wack
The puzzles in Soul Reaver can get pretty old, most of them are pushing around giant boxes into slots. You’re usually rewarded in the form of a new way to progress, or even an upgrade.
I would argue these puzzles are too common; the pacing of the game can suffer for it. There’s a specific location in the game that you have to solve I believe four similar box puzzles… This is the only area in the game that uses them this much and while it can be a chore; its not a chronic issue.
The Spectral Realm
Shifting between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead is integral to Raziel’s existence. This affects the environments in both style and utility. Everything becomes warped and gets bathed in a dreamlike green and blue. Entering the spectral realm is a treat as well, You see the world morph into this alien version of itself. What this game was able to do with it’s seamless loading times was amazing.
The spectral realm also warps physical mass into shapes that can be useful for progress. Walls open into caves, floors melt below you and pillars shrink, giving you a chance to jump on them.
It’s always worth a quick flip to see the other side. If not for progress; do it to hear the spectral version of that area’s music. Or just to see how wacky the room gets.
The cutscenes are the real reward – The writing of Soul Reaver was years ahead.
Legacy of Kain absolutely shines when it comes to story telling. The characters manner of speaking is this utilitarian yet stylish and effective dialogue. It’s the perfect type of ye olde english that never strains itself. This combined with the quality of the audio give every spoken line a monumental impact.
The story delivered through these cutscenes unfolds in the form of this dialogue. You’re given a window into the characters mind as they contextualize what’s happening. Cutscenes that involve multiple characters create a scene of verbal chess. An epic game of arguments and comebacks to gauge which side currently holds the upper hand.
This is what anybody could enjoy about this series: The sheer banter between these immortal vampires and gods.
The combat is responsive but nothing special.
Using your environment is a big part of the combat. Ambient sunlight, water and spikes on the walls are always available in some form. This strategy stays fresh as your treated to some pretty satisfying death animations. Combine environmental strategy with weapons found through the game and you have the gist the of combat. It’s all fun enough, but it never stops feeling weird that Raziel can’t kill anything with his huge claws.
Glyphs are an underrated addition to Raziel’s kit
Glyphs are Soul Reaver’s magic system. They cast mana – called “Eldritch Energy” and make quick work of enemies. They only vary in flavor and not in utility though. They’re all a type of aoe explosion that one shots everything except bosses. They’re located in psuedo-dungeons that make up some of the most creative puzzles in the game.
Soul Reaver and the rest of the series are still gems of storytelling
In the discussion of games worthy of hall of fame entry – Legacy of Kain should get a quick admission. This series was doing narrative driven story telling back in the early 90’s. The writing and voice acting rivals that of the newer God of War games and even The Last of Us.
The graphics and animations do show their age, so the cinematography suffers a bit. Would I love to see a new entry in the series with all the bells and whistles of modern gaming? Of course – but the story concluded. Everything came full circle and I can’t think of any loose ends big enough to justify a new entry.
Also, some key voice actors are no longer with us. Paul Lukather as Vorador and Tony Jay as the Elder God are two integral voices that come to mind. The series should be celebrated for what its already done with the medium. Legacy of Kain is still among the gold standard of storytelling in Video Games.
