WindowsDreamcast
| genre = Action-adventure
| modes = Single-player
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a 1999 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation and Windows. A port to the Dreamcast developed by Nixxes Software was released in 2000, serving as Nixxes' first project. The second game in the Legacy of Kain series, Soul Reaver is the sequel to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Soul Reaver was followed by three games, one of which, Soul Reaver 2, is a direct sequel.
Taking place 1500 years after the events of Blood Omen, Soul Reaver chronicles the journey of the vampire-turned-wraith Raziel, lieutenant to the vampire lord Kain. Raziel is killed by Kain, but is revived by The Elder God to become his "soul reaver" and to exact revenge. Raziel shares this title with Kain's sword, the Soul Reaver, which he acquires during the game.
Crystal Dynamics began development of the game in 1997, but a deteriorating relationship with Silicon Knights, who had developed Blood Omen, created legal problems. This and other delays forced material originally planned for Soul Reaver to be instead released with later games of the series. Soul Reaver gained critical acclaim. Critics praised it for its intriguing gothic story and high-quality graphics. However, the game was criticized for its simple and repetitive gameplay and an unsatisfying climax. By 2001, the game sold 1.5 million copies worldwide.
A remastered versions of Soul Reaver and its sequel were released on December 10, 2024, as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered.
Gameplay
The player controls Raziel, a disfigured and ghostly vampire. The game is normally shown from a third-person perspective behind Raziel, but players can rotate the viewpoint around him. Gameplay relies largely on shifting between the material and spectral planes of existence to progress through areas. Although interaction with objects is limited in the spectral realm, this can be advantageous, because Raziel can phase through otherwise impassable gates there, and water is insubstantial, allowing him to walk on lakebeds; however, blocks, doors, and switches can be manipulated only in the physical realm. Many puzzles are based on the differences between the two realms; for example, platforms and environment features in one realm may change form to open new paths in the other. Block puzzles are also common and require the rotation, flipping, and moving of large blocks to progress, often with a time limit and while avoiding enemies. Human and spectral enemies can be killed with Raziel's claws or any weapon, but vampires must be bludgeoned into a stunned state and then destroyed by impaling them, setting them on fire, or tossing them into a hazard such as sunlight or water. When killed, enemies leave behind souls that replenish Raziel's health, which automatically decreases in the material realm and increases in the spectral. Possession of the Soul Reaver sword stops automatic degeneration of health in the physical realm, but Raziel loses the sword instantly if he sustains damage and can regain it only by restoring his health to full. Refusing to sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars, he doomed Nosgoth to eternal decay and proceeded to raise his vampire lieutenants, including Raziel, to besiege the land. By the time of Soul Reavers introduction, the vampires are now the land's dominant species and apex predators, the humans have been decimated, and the vampire tribes have each claimed a region of Nosgoth and turned their attention to internal matters. Unknown to the vampires, beneath Nosgoth lurks The Elder God, an ancient and powerful entity. The Elder God controls the Wheel of Fate, a cycle of reincarnation of souls that circle the Wheel in a loop of predestination; however, because vampires are immortal, their souls do not spin with the Wheel, causing the land to decay as the Wheel stalls. By the time that Raziel is revived centuries after the game's opening cinematic, Nosgoth is on the brink of collapse, little more than a wasteland wracked with cataclysms and earthquakes.
Story
Raziel approaches Kain's throne and extends newly grown wings. In an act of seeming jealousy, Kain tears the bones from Raziel's wings and has him thrown into the Lake of the Dead, a large natural whirlpool; however, Raziel is resurrected as a wraith by The Elder God to become his "soul reaver" and kill Kain, thus restoring Nosgoth. After Raziel kills Melchiah and absorbs his soul, he confronts Kain among the ruined Pillars of Nosgoth in the Sanctuary of the Clans. Kain does not appear surprised to see Raziel, apparently having even been expecting him, and implies that he has destroyed Raziel's vampire clan, which only enrages Raziel even further. When Raziel begins to criticize him, Kain simply launches a tirade against him before noting what has become of the empire and engaging him in combat. Kain quickly overpowers Raziel and attempts to strike him down with the Soul Reaver, a powerful sword that absorbs its victims' souls, but the Reaver shatters when it strikes Raziel, and Kain escapes, strangely satisfied. Raziel enters the spectral realm to find the blade's soul-devouring spectral form, which binds itself to him. After this, Raziel meets Ariel, who restores his strength, and learns of Zephon's location from The Elder God.
Raziel ventures into a large cathedral once inhabited by the humans and finds the Zephonim clan. After ascending into the cathedral's spires, he finds that Zephon is now a large insect like creature whose body has merged into the cathedral spire in which he dwells. Raziel kills Zephon and uses the gained power to infiltrate an ancient crypt. There, Raziel discovers coffins for members of the Sarafan, a fanatical order of vampire hunters killed centuries before Kain's rule. To Raziel's horror, he finds the crypt was designated for him and his brothers; as cruel irony, Kain revived the Sarafan to serve him as his vampire sons. Raziel ventures through a secret passage under the crypt and finds a flooded abbey inhabited by the Rahabim clan, whose members have mutated into amphibians; its leader, Rahab, has become a merman. Raziel tells Rahab what he has learned about their human pasts, but Rahab is unmoved, claiming that Kain "saved" them, and attacks. Raziel defeats Rahab and absorbs his soul, then crosses the Lake of the Dead to the abandoned fortress of his brother Dumah. The Elder God explains that the Dumahim vampires were scattered following an invasion of human hunters. Raziel eventually finds Dumah shackled to his throne with his heart pierced. Raziel revives Dumah and leads him into a giant furnace, burning him alive and absorbing his soul.
Afterward, Raziel discovers the Oracle's Cave, where Moebius the Time Streamer once hid the Chronoplast, a magical time machine. Raziel traverses the caves and finds Kain in the Chronoplast's control room. Raziel is angered over what he has learned but Kain says that his actions are justified due to being subject to destiny, and when Raziel confronts him over transforming the Sarafan into vampires, Kain scoffs at his perception of them as noble crusaders defending Nosgoth. Raziel attacks Kain while the latter continues to adjust the Chronoplast's controls. Although Raziel eventually gains an advantage, the Chronoplast activates, and Kain escapes through a time portal, beckoning Raziel to follow. Raziel complies, ignoring warnings from The Elder God. At the end of the game, Raziel emerges from the timeslip and is greeted by Moebius.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver ends on a cliffhanger by showing a postscript, a verse where Moebius comments on the nature of time and his ability to "plunge the fate of planets into chaos", leading directly into the events of Soul Reaver 2.
Development
thumb|An early version of the [[Glyph menu during development]]
Soul Reaver entered development alongside Blood Omen 2 in 1997 and focused on puzzle solving instead of Blood Omen 2s action. During design, the development team created larger areas that could be explored more thoroughly as Raziel acquired new powers, avoiding the "shallow[ness]" of Blood Omens layout. Crystal Dynamics based Soul Reaver on Silicon Knights' research of vampire mythology for Blood Omen. Other aspects of the game, such as the idea of a fallen vampire who devoured souls, were inspired by the epic poem "Paradise Lost".
The staff aimed to develop gameplay similar to Tomb Raider and used an upgraded version of Gex 3s game engine to generate the three-dimensional game world. According to Lemarchand, they also aimed to combine gameplay with storytelling in a similar manner to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Amy Hennig, the game's director, likened the technological advance from Blood Omen to Soul Reaver to the evolution of The Legend of Zelda series from the Super Nintendo to the Nintendo 64—bringing the franchise into 3D while maintaining a similar style.
Before Soul Reavers release, the relationship between Silicon Knights and Crystal Dynamics dissolved. Because their research was used, Silicon Knights filed an injunction to stop further promotion of the game. Other delays pushed the release date from October 1998 to August 1999. In an interview, series director Amy Hennig stated that the development team split the original, much larger plans in two after realizing that they had "over-designed the game", given the constraints on time and data. This decision explains Soul Reavers cliffhanger ending and the appearance of originally planned material in later games. Despite the split, Hennig explained that the team left unused components - such as extra power-ups and enemies - in Soul Reavers game engine to avoid unforeseen glitches that might have arisen from their removal. To further fit the music to the environment, the sound team consulted level designers regarding layout and appearance.
For the game's voice acting, Raziel was voiced by Michael Bell, and Tony Jay, who had provided the voice of Mortanius and other characters in Blood Omen, voiced The Elder God. Anna Gunn, Simon Templeman and Richard Doyle reprised their roles from Blood Omen as Ariel, Kain and Moebius. Bell, Templeman and Jay also provided the voices of Melchiah, Dumah and Zephon, respectively, and Neil Ross, who voiced Malek the Paladin and King Ottmar in Blood Omen, voiced Rahab.
Release
Marketing
Soul Reaver was showcased at the 1998 E3, where attendees were given free demo discs. Over time, further demo discs were released, including one bundled with Official PlayStation Magazine. Soul Reaver was released for the PC and Sony PlayStation in 1999 and for the Dreamcast version in 2000. The Dreamcast version used a much higher frame rate than did the PlayStation or PC version, and the Dreamcast port had further graphical enhancements. A Japanese PlayStation release for the game was planned, but canceled. In 2000, Soul Reaver was added to Sony's "Greatest Hits" list, and the combined, global sales of its PlayStation, Dreamcast and computer versions surpassed 1.4 million units by late 2001. Sony later re-released the game for digital download on the PlayStation Network in 2009.
Eidos Interactive, the game's publisher, spent US$4,000,000 on a pre-release advertising campaign, which included magazine articles, television ads, and a tie-in comic book published by Top Cow Productions. Because such films like Stir of Echoes, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project and The Mummy had premiered earlier in 1999, Soul Reavers release was considered "ideally timed" for a horror-oriented game. The lack of load times was a key marketing point praised by several reviewers. After release, Eidos and BBI partnered to release action figures of Raziel and Kain.
ESRB rating
The PlayStation version of the game initially received a Teen rating from the ESRB, but this version's rating was increased to Mature when it was released as a Greatest Hits title, which is also retained with its PSN reissue. The Dreamcast port of the game had always been rated Mature.
Reception
Daniel Erickson reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Difficult puzzles and the omission of a map make this stylized game for hardcore adventure-gamers only."
Soul Reavers dark and gothic atmosphere was generally well-received, and several publications praised the game's cut scenes. Next Generation Magazine echoed this, stating that, "even if you own the PlayStation version, you may want to rent this anyway", but expressed disappointment that no new features were added to the Dreamcast port. AllGames reviewer called the cut scenes "seamless", and their frequency neither too high nor too low. GameSpot also considered the atmosphere as rich as that of Blood Omen, yet less dramatically overstated, and considered the graphics "among the best that have ever been on the PlayStation." However, the magazine criticized the save system for occasionally forcing players to replay large sections of the game to get to new areas. PC Zone criticized the PC port of the game for "chunky" graphics and bad camera controls, stating "it feels too much like a PlayStation release ported hurriedly on to the PC". Computer Gaming World similarly felt that the limitations of the PlayStation carried over in the PC port, rendering the latter's visuals "mind-numbingly boring". GamesRadar placed Soul Reaver at #4 on a 2007 list of the top seven video game apocalypses, regarding the post-apocalyptic Nosgoth as "one of the most fascinating wastelands we've ever explored".
During the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for "Console Adventure/Role-Playing Game of the Year".