2024 was the 25th anniversary of the release of the first Soul Reaver game. In celebration of this release, Aspyr released Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. This also marks the first “new” release in the Legacy of Kain franchise after it went dormant in 2003 after the release of Legacy of Kain: Defiance, which merged the storyline arcs of the main series and the Soul Reaver series. As such, a lot of fans have been waiting for the franchise to resurface and this remaster is surprisingly impressive.

The sad part is that the importance of Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered will be lost on people who don’t realize what technical marvels the original games were. A lot of people look to Dark Souls and Mass Effect for games with interconnected worlds without visible loading screens. Soul Reaver 1 utilized similar clever trickery back in the days of the PlayStation 2. Soul Reaver also laid the groundwork for several other design choices that would later be implemented by FromSoftware.

You could also say that the Soul Reaver games utilize other mechanics popularized in later years. The high jump that is well known in the Ratchet and Clank franchise (crouch and jump) is showcased there, as well as the two overlayed worlds concept that originated in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The overlayed worlds concept has been used a lot since, but the Spectral realm and Physical realms in the Soul Reaver games allowed them to pack in unique puzzles related to vampiric weaknesses. It also allowed them to pack in more puzzles in a smaller world footprint. Less overall world space, but more dense content in each area.

As far as this remaster goes, I feel like Aspyr definitely took the same love and care with it that they took with their Tomb Raider remasters. There aren’t too many bells and whistles added, other than a world map to help with vague navigation, and a compass that also helps you get your bearings. These two tools are new but are simple enough to be helpful without impacting the intended experience.

The remastered visuals look crisp and stylized, but still look thematically accurate. They didn’t reinvent the wheel here, but certain elements allow the world to feel as interconnected as it actually is. For example, in certain areas, you can now see (due to a slightly larger render distance) other landmarks for faraway areas.

The controls are smooth and solid, the voice acting and soundtrack are top-notch as they were before, and the whole package really feels well-crafted and remastered. The camera improvements also are incredibly well done, pairing with the new photo mode quite well. All in all, any former fan of the Soul Reaver games should feel right at home here. It’s a faithful remaster that takes what was done well in the original games and gently restores it rather than trying to change it.

I like remasters like this because I want new players to see the games that impacted our current gaming landscape. I see the seeds of games like Darksiders and other current franchises planted even from experiences like Soul Reaver. Plus, there’s a sort of nostalgia here, because I have fond memories of watching my mom play the original release while I sat next to her, wide-eyed and curious about this dark story of revenge that unfolds.

I normally try to keep my emotional connections out of reviews like this, at least in impacting how I receive them, but I had high hopes for this one. Luckily Aspyr exceeded those expectations, and I know that other players will be able to enjoy these games all over again just like I have. Hopefully, this will mean that a new Soul Reaver game, or even just a new Legacy of Kain game will come out soon. I think there’s still life in this undead franchise yet.

A PC review copy of Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered was provided by Aspyr for this review.

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Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered

$29.99 USD
10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

  • Great Remastered Visuals
  • Fantastic Soundtrack
  • Smooth Controls
  • New Map and Compass
  • Fun Puzzles and Gameplay

Alexx Aplin

Alexx has been writing about video games for almost 10 years, and has seen most of the good, bad and ugly of the industry. After spending most of the past decade writing for other people, he decided to band together with a few others, to create a diverse place that will create content for gaming enthusiasts, by gaming enthusiasts.

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