I’ve mentioned in the past that I did not grow up with any kind of Playstation system that wasn’t called the PSP, thus desperately trying to prove to other kids on the playground that the Nintendo 64 was the superior system because it had, like, Mischief Makers and Top Gear Rally. One of the games I secretly envied PS1 for owning it at the time was Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I vividly remember magazines giving it high scores and praising it as a pinnacle of writing, acting, and overall depth for a game released in the mid-90s. Due to the lack of proper re-releases over the years, as well as an old Steam port that refuses to work properly, I had never managed to play this wisp of a childhood memory of mine… until now.

Aspyr is at it again, with a brand new remaster, or better yet, a collection of remasters. Following in the footsteps of their recently released Tomb Raider collection, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered aims for the same premise: delivering reworked versions of Crystal Dynamics / Eidos classics in an affordable package, with just a few quality of life enhancements and extra accessibility options. Thankfully enough, this time around, in an actually polished state, unlike Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered.

I know that expecting for remasters to feel polished and unbuggy sounds like the bare minimum, but I was actually slightly worried before the release of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. I had no idea if these old-but-lengthy games would hold up according to modern standards. But that stemmed from my nigh-nonexistent prior knowledge of them, besides the fact that Soul Reaver is not the first game in the Legacy of Kain series (more on that later). I just thought they would be made in the same vein as old-school Tomb Raider, a style of 3D gameplay that aged as poorly as milk.

To be fair, I could quickly notice signs of age when assessing the gameplay. The platforming felt a bit odd, and the camera refuses to work alongside you at times. The combat felt dated but also surprisingly modern at the same time, if that makes any sense. Even if the collision detection felt downright bad at times, and some enemies felt unnecessarily spongy in both games, it actually reminded me a bit of the Batman Arkham games, as well as a bit of Ocarina of Time. Picking up a halberd on the wall and impaling an enemy on it felt absolutely delightful.

But even if the combat felt better than expected, and the level design felt impressive for late 90’s and early 2000’s standards (both games are surprisingly lengthy), what really impressed me, especially when it comes to the first Soul Reaver, was the quality of the writing. Look, back in 1998-99, not a lot of games featured impressive writing and voice acting. There was Metal Gear Solid… and I guess that’s it. Soul Reaver felt like I was playing a proper gothic novel, complete with astounding narration by Raziel, the game’s protagonist (the dude who looks like Brandon Lee dressed as Nosferatu). He delivers an actually impressive performance, back when there was no benchmark for, uh, “serious voice acting” in gaming. Remember, this came out two years after Symphony of the Night.

The same can be applied for the sequel, Soul Reaver 2. There’s more of Kain in this game, as well as other NPCs delivering great performances. The only difference between both games, in terms of their sound departments, is that Soul Reaver 2‘s soundtrack and sound effects feel less compressed. Aspyr did not remaster the music or crunchy sound effects in this collection, but to be fair, I don’t even think that would have been possible. I’m fine with that issue, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Regarding the visuals, I’m going to say something that will sound completely pointless, but I swear it makes sense: both games look a lot better, even if not a lot of proper rework had been put into them. The main enhancements are seen on the character models, especially when it comes to Raziel’s brand new sexy model, and lighting effectss. Level geometry largely remains the same, and that’s not a bad thing per se – it still looks quite good. Add in some framerate and resolution buffs, and what you have here is a pair of modernized games which look quite good for 2024 standards. You can revert back to old-school visuals by pressing R3, but the framerate and resolution won’t change.

It’s a bit like the Tomb Raider collection (the main improvement in that collection, at least graphics-wise, was Lara Croft’s model). Considering this a remaster using the original game’s source, I am fine with both games basically feeling like their original versions, with just some slight improvements here and there. Both games play fine enough, with nowhere near as many bugs or game-breaking issues seen on the Tomb Raider collection, or some of Aspyr’s Star Wars re-releases. I just have one main big issue with the collection itself, and that’s what’s actually included in it.

Don’t get me wrong, Soul Reaver and its sequel are absolutely fantastic games, I’m not complaining about them. My issue with them is that, well, they are the second and third games in a series comprised of six titles. The first Legacy of Kain game, Blood Omen, is not included, for example. There are lots of files and documents trying to explain to you what the hell happens in this stupidly dense and detailed world before diving into Soul Reaver, but I legitimately think that not including Blood Omen and its sequel was a missed opportunity.

I understand that, if you are a PS5 owner, you can either subscribe to one of the many tiers of PS+ and access un-remastered versions of Blood Omen and Blood Omen 2, but what about Switch or Xbox players? Their only solution is to resort to GOG in order to play them. Some might not be PC gamers at all, so they might be completely in the dark regarding the franchise’s lore. I wish that, at the very least, Blood Omen had been included in this collection. For crying out loud, it’s pixel-based and 2D. I doubt hardware limitations would have been a hindrance. I don’t know if there is some kind of licensing issue with the original developer (Silicon Knights, the folks behind Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes), but if other versions of Blood Omen are available elsewhere, I doubt that’s a thing.

I wish this collection had retained other Legacy of Kain titles, as jumping straight onto the second game in the series can be quite confusing for newcomers. But even then, I can’t complain much about Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. Both games in this collection have aged quite a bit, but still feel shockingly modern in some regards. They look just a tad bit better, control and perform just a tad bit better, and are wrapped in a neat little package full of extras and bonus features. I now finally understand the hype behind this franchise. Even if you have no nostalgia whatsoever towards it, they are still part of an incredibly deep and well-written universe totally worth exploring if you’re a fan of gothic horror.

Graphics: 7.5 The main enhancements are seen on the character models and lighting. Level geometry largely remains the same, and that’s not a bad thing per se – it still looks quite good. Add in some framerate and resolution buffs, and what you have here is a pair of modernized games which look quite good for 2024 standards.	Gameplay: 7.0 Combat can suck a bit at times, but considering how old these games are, I was impressed nonetheless. The gameplay hasn’t been revamped, so you can see signs of age.
Sound: 8.5 I cannot believe these games, as old as they are, from a time when voice acting was a mere afterthought, feature such pristine voice acting, coupled with pretty good music accompanying them. The first Soul Reaver’s soundtrack is extra compressed, as to be expected, but the second one sounds as modern as it can be.	Fun Factor: 8.0 I wish this collection had retained other Legacy of Kain titles, as jumping straight onto the second game in the series can be quite confusing for newcomers. The games themselves are shockingly good, and have aged better than most of their peers. Extra content and glossaries help out a bit as well.
Final Verdict: 7.5

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered was provided by the publisher.