Fangs For The Memories
HIGH Stellar worldbuilding, story and voice acting.
LOW The gameplay has not aged well.
WTF Why are there so many block pushing puzzles?!?
25 years ago, a game was brought forth that felt so far ahead of its time, it was almost unbelievable.
Serving as a spinoff and sequel to the incredibly dark isometric RPG Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the aptly named Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver introduced players to a new anti-hero named Raziel, as well as graphics in the third dimension and polygonal art.
It also featured a deeply intelligent story about the nature of good and evil, personal choice, revenge, and sacrifice while also allowing players to explore an open world to face challenges as they chose. It was amazing.
For those unfamiliar, Raziel is a vampire in thrall to Kain, the supreme vampire who destroyed the world in Blood Omen. By daring to surpass his lord in terms of vampiric evolution, Raziel raises Kain’s ire and is hurled into a pit to suffer eternal damnation. Raziel is then saved by a mysterious force and given the ability to subsist on souls rather than blood, and charged with vanquishing Kain and all of his minions –a task he readily accepts. Throughout the journey, Raziel is forced to reckon with his own purpose, weighing what it means to be a reluctant savior. Sharp dialog and clever writing make this tale stand out in the annals of game writing.
For 25 years, Soul Reaver and its sequel Soul Reaver 2 have lain dormant. Aspyr has now taken up the mantle to bring these classics back from the un-dead with gorgeous new character models, quality-of-life controller improvements, and access to previously-unreleased features. Unfortunately, 25 years is an eternity in videogame terms, and despite being remastered, these originals have not aged well.
I want to start with the good, because there is a lot of good to be found.
First, in the name of preservation efforts, it’s wonderful to have access to these titles again on modern systems. Hearing Michael Bell voice Raziel after so long was a wonderful present to receive in these dark times.
The new character models — especially for Raziel and his nemesis Kain — instill them with new life thanks to added details like the folds of Raziel’s cloak, or the scars on Kain’s body. It’s great stuff.
The ability to flip back and forth between new and classic graphics with the press of a button is a nice feature, and I’m glad Aspyr took the time to include it.
…If only playing the Soul Reaver titles were as mesmerizing as enjoying the upgrades and watching the story unfold.
Raziel is handled from a third-person perspective as they explore the ruined land of Nosgoth. Raziel can go back and forth between physical and spirit form at-will, and doing so changes the landscape around him — a trick that aids in navigation and puzzle solving. For example, an unreachable ledge in the physical realm might warp and shift location to become accessible while Raziel is a spirit, and so forth.
Unfortunately, while this is still a solid idea, it’s quite rough by today’s standards. In one section I spent 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to climb the same structure, as Raziel needed to be in the exact right spot for the jump. The climb animation wouldn’t register otherwise, causing me to fall from a jump that I should have easily cleared, leading me to start the entire process over again.
Frustrated, I quit only to find on my next playthrough that saving doesn’t start me exactly where I left off, but back at the beginning of the game. Granted, I kept all the abilities I’d unlocked, but such design is almost like a bad joke these days.
During a puzzle sequence I was required to move blocks from one location to another, but the game refused to accept the correct input to properly move the block. I struggled with it for ages, eventually assumed I wasn’t pursuing wasn’t the correct solution, and then wasted even more time trying various other ways to solve the problem. I finally gave up and watched a walkthrough only to see that I had the solution correct the first time, I was just slightly out of position and the right animation never triggered. Feeling vindicated but annoyed, I pressed on and encountered several more finicky block puzzles in a row, followed by a puzzle that gave no clues as to its solution.
At this point, I had reached my limit with Soul Reaver and moved on to Soul Reaver 2.
Soul Reaver 2 is more combat-forward than its predecessor, with a greater number of weapons and animations, but Raziel’s power is so limited that it’s unsatisfying to play — combat lacks any weight as enemies barely react when struck.
The ‘open’ world also causes irritation by having too many paths constantly gated. Raziel often needs specific abilities such as phasing through solid objects or survival underwater to progress, so players are forced to progress on a linear path, but that path is presented in a nonlinear manner, leading to backtracking and frustration.
To its credit, Soul Reaver 2 has a slightly better save system, but the lack of navigational aids still leads to so, so much backtracking and aimless searching for the correct way forward.
Honestly, I’m glad The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered exists. I know longtime fans will rejoice at playing on newer hardware and the story is still to be relished. I am truly hopeful that this reappearance will entice a new generation of fans and perhaps inspire the creation of a true finale for the series overall. As for me, I’ll be content with my memories of playing these games new, as I find them too frustrating on multiple levels to genuinely embrace them today.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics and published by Aspyr.It is currently available on XBO/X, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 9 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Violence. This is a collection of two adventure games in which players follow a banished vampire on a quest for vengeance against his former master. From a third-person perspective, players traverse a fantasy realm to battle vampires, evil spirits, and human vampire hunters. Players use claw strikes, swords, and spears to impale and decapitate enemies in frenetic combat. Enemies emit large splatters of blood when killed. A handful of areas depict impaled bodies and heads on spikes; one cutscene depicts a vampire hunter ripping out a character’s heart.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized. All dialogue is fully subtitled. All audio cues have a visual marker as well. The game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.
He juggles this passion for gaming with his most important job, being a husband and dad.Fortunately, his boys are growing up as gamers (with decidedly more skill, much to his annoyance) and he has a very understanding spouse.
He hangs out on Twitter sometimes as @JPSJeffOrt, Facebook FAR less frequently, and while he misses performing all the interviews from his former online life, he’s much more relaxed now!
- Axis Football 2026 - October 28, 2025
- Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition Review - September 16, 2025
- MACROSS: Shooting Insight Review - May 13, 2025
This game looked thoroughly unappealing in its time. I honestly can’t believe they’re rereleasing it today.
Sorry I just saw this! I was pretty excited about it back in the day- maybe because I had the Dreamcast version that looked markedly better than the PS1… I still love the story – always a sucker (ahem) for a good vampire yarn