Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

"Soul Reaver, beautifully crafted in almost every aspect"

Soul Reaver is something else. The most engrossing game I have played in over a year.

At first I didn’t think this was a game I would enjoy, saw some game footage and dismissed it as another generic third-person adventure game. Then I met someone obsessed by all things Legacy of Kain, and bought the game to better understand a fan-fic she is writing and also to see why she adored it so much… and I am so glad I did. There’s an almost unparalleled depth to the story, it can be quite immersing and leave you with the impression that it sets a higher standard of story telling in video games.

The line between good and evil has never been so obscure in a video game. In this epic game you play the role of Raziel, chief lieutenant to Kain who rules the land of Nosgoth with malevolence. Raziel heads a clan of vampires, as do his brothers, making you one of the most powerful beings in the land. However Raziel’s evolution as a vampire surpasses that of Kain’s, making his master extremely envious and bitter. In a great CGI intro we see Kain’s indignation and the punishment of Raziel, execution by being thrown into the Pit of Despair, an endless pit of searing energy where you are destined to fall for eternity in pain. Someone or something has a different fate in mind for Raziel however; you find yourself awake in some kind of lair, beyond the reality of Nosgoth. A voice calls to you, telling you of your situation, you are given a second chance of life to correct an imbalance in the afterlife caused by Kain in Nosgoth. Your physical body ravaged by the Pit of Despair, your mind in turmoil, you have little choice but to follow the path the voice tells you is your destiny.

It’s a third-person perspective adventure with much to explore in Nosgoth, and great looking world it is too. The graphics are of a very high standard, made even more impressive by the way they have been implemented in the well designed world. The textures up close appear drab and lifeless however one thing this game does to keep you from noticing that unavoidable flaw is astound you with amazing architecture, from pillar to arch the detail and overall look of it is to be complimented. It’s not just the setting that gets high praise, the characters and in particular the many varieties of enemies you’ll encounter are very well defined, drawing you further into the game. The special effects are well done too, you see flickering shadows on the wall as you pass a torch and some great weather effects such as the snow fall in one area of Nosgoth. The resolution is great as you’d expect of the dreamcast and the developers didn’t slack off on any area of the game’s graphics.

Out of everything that carries this game above the rest in its genre… the acting, the voice acting, stands out the most. There are a lot of cut-scenes in the game, and in turn a great amount of speech. From the guttural menace in Kain’s voice to the bitterness and passion in that of Raziel’s the voice acting is better than that in any other game I’ve played. Can you tell I couldn’t possibly be any more impressed by this aspect of Soul Reaver?

Helping set the atmosphere is an orchestral soundtrack, one that has well made pieces of music while not being catchy enough to distract you from the task at hand. Most impressive is how it flows through the game, fading in and out at the exact right moment, rising to heart pounding levels on certain dread inducing occasions. It perfectly matches the mood. It does however touch upon repetitiveness at times, but thankfully very rarely and certainly not close to levels where you decide to turn the music off.
The sound effects are perfect. Impale an enemy on a spear and you hear a very satisfying growl from the beast before it dies. Everything sounds as it should, helping along the impression that this is a fully realised world that you’re in.

If Soul Reaver is to have a failing, as the lack of a perfect rating shows, it’s that as an experienced gamer or not it doesn’t take too much effort to get through the game. There is a lot of ground to explore and many rooms are cavernous, some puzzles taking an age to figure out, but the game lacks enough objectives to keep you coming back to it once the main quest is over. Aside from exacting revenge on Kain the only real other quest is the search for the Glyphs, ancient objects of magical power which enhance your own power should you find them. There are six to be found, many having their own massive area of the game to explore. The lighthouse puzzle was a particular favourite part of the game for me, much more than a simple run through a series of corridors to find the glyph. So what you get is the quest involving Kain and a side-quest to find Glyphs (really a side quest as you don’t need them to complete the main quest, though does help as they allow you to attack enemies with less risk) and a respectable challenge. Soul Reaver isn’t completely devoid of reason to play it all again, the story and overall experience is more than good enough to pull you back to it after completing it. As with your favourite movie you’ll want to see the moments that made an impression and the characters again.

Something that impressed me a lot were the battles against Kain’s mutated children, Raziel’s brothers, after a millennia of time away Raziel returns to find them now as deformed behemoths more evil than before. To be found in the depths of their lair, Raziel must confront them. Killing them grants him new powers and abilities when he reaves their souls and it’s how you fight them that is something worth mentioning. Instead of tedious shows of strength you have to use logic and wits to defeat your brethren. In most cases you’re given subtle hints about their weakness and you then have to search for a way to exploit it using anything that comes to hand in the area. This can be frustrating but the solution is never so obscure that you haven’t a hope of finding it out and it allows for some spectacular deaths and plenty of satisfaction. Actually the way you can defeat any enemy in the game is well done. With the vampire clans of your brother’s you can kill them in much the same ways as you’d expect vampires to die – impale them through the heart, use water or sunlight or just completely crush their bodies under large blocks.

One of the best games I’ve had the pleasure to play on any system, a great story well told, concern about the longevity but considering how much has already been packed into the game maybe memory restriction meant that no more extras or diversions could be included. While it won’t take most people long to finish and while it may not be a game to return to many times.. it is a wonderful game that’s very much worth playing and one I’m grateful to have not passed by.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/02, Updated 08/15/02