In 1999 and 2001, we were given the Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2. The series was praised for its visuals, mechanics, and most importantly - story. While the series was lost to the unforgiving sands of time and we never got a new entry to the series (the series ended in 2003/4 with Defiance), the remaster lets players on every possible modern platform experience one of gamings most forgotten gems, and raises the question, is it worth it to buy the remaster?
Story
The Legacy Of Kain series centers around Raziel, a once faithful second in command to the title character, is killed and brought back as a wraith. With revenge on his mind for the betrayal, follow Raziels exploits across two games with original and remastered visuals through the land of Nosgoth across differnet different settings in time, enemies, and more.
To cover the plot of both games would defeat the purpose of the remaster, as the entire purpose this series was brought back from the dead was so that you can explore the excellent story and characters for yourself and not turn to nostalgic YouTube video essays about the game.
The plot between both games is very similar and lacks any substantial difference, which is why I just encourage you to only read the paragraph above and embark on a remarkable journey you wish would one day get an ending it better deserves.
Gameplay
In terms of gameplay, if you enjoyed the Darksiders series, you will feel right at home here. It is a semi-open world game where a lot of stuff you see will not make sense until you get a power or ability until you unlock it later in the game .However these backtracks are well worth the time and effort.
As Raziel, you have the ability to shift between the spectral realm and the material realm. However in the material realm, your health will slowly deplete which you can refill by defeating enemies and draining their soul.
Raziel has a very barebones arsenal at the start. At the start you fight with your bare hands, fly around with wings, and are able to move heavy blocks to reach new areas in the environment but as you progress through the game and defeat other members of Kain’s command, you get new weapons and abilites.
If you are new to the series, I recommend taking your time to play through both games, as each entry will take you about 8 hours or so to finish, and well worth the experience and is easily one of those games that if you go away for too long, you will forget how to play and make continuing where you last left off much harder than it needs to be.
Presentation
As previously mentioned, the game is jam packed with features. You can switch between the original graphics and improved graphics at the press of a button, a photo mode, a day/night cycle that was not in the original game, you can see never before seen content in the form of cut stages and more.
Visually the game is as retro as Star Wars: Bounty Hunter and Republic Commando, you will have to get through the generations old visuals to enjoy an excellent story, but it is well worth the journey.
The audio design is also great with some superb voice acting, and great soundtrack to match the atmosphere of both games, but otherwise there is is little to be said about this remaster with regards to reasons why it is worth the very attractive price of $29.99 for two of gamings most treasured lost gems being brought to modern platforms.
I spent most of my time with the PS5 version, but the small time I did spend with the PS4 version, I was unable to tell the differences between both of the versions, which makes it easy for me to recommend this regardless of console generation, you will have a fantastic time.
At the end of the day, if you are a fan of the Darksiders 1 & 2 games, this is something you will thoroughly enjoy. While it is highly unlikely we will ever see a new entry to the series ever again, fans of the genre can appreciate another fantastic gem that would have previously been lost to time.
