Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this game is a one-of-a-kind experience. Legendary, and the myth entirely deserved. I wish I could just put to text here how many incredible experiences are laden in this game. But, there are too many, and such would be too trite.

If you want a game where the combat is secondary, the story is plugged into every nook and cranny, and there is so much text that future item descriptions forever seem wanting...

There are some downsides. In eschewing expectations, there are some unintuitive features. The foreign healing items, the outdated c-RPG base that was altered to fit the game, and expanses of the game where interactions become more streamlined and pigeon-holed (Curst Prison & Carceri, lookin' at you), the game shows some age. BUT, these encounters do succeed in making you feel something. From the late game's abundance of NPCs to either finally reward combat builds, or to build a sense of insurmountable struggle, or to reward tactical familiarity with your party.

I highly recommend playing with a guide, if you only intend to play once. Or think you might not replay the game. There's so much to find, one playthrough is hard to accomplish everything. At times, perhaps even impossible when you want to see the different nuanced outcomes.

Additionally, I highly recommend making your character a non-combat character. RUSH WISDOM. YOU WANT WISDOM. DO NOT SQUANDER IT. High charisma is something primarily your character can use in conversation, so it is also a very valuable piece. Intelligence accomodates this build better than STR, DEX, and CON do. Still, you're not forced into necessarily playing one way. There's flex to the stats, and you could play a High WIS-CHA fighter, rogue, or mage. And by late game, if you want to stomach the beatings, WIS-CHA-INT mage is absolutely unbeatable.

AND GET THE BRONZE SPHERE BACK. KEEP IT.

"An eternity passed, and my torment receded. Bringing me back from the precipice of madness. The descent had destroyed me ... and yet? I lived."

That's all I can say for the story. The dialogue, and even the most fantastical and potentially contrived elements are spun brilliantly by Amy Henning's work. Of multiple decades acclaim through the videogames industry.

I write this review at seven hours, having only played about an hour or two of gameplay, but having spent five hours in the Bonus Content section of the game. There is so much here, from redeveloped cut-content worldspaces, to original concept art (even from Defiance - hinthint maybe), and materials that I'm not sure have ever been gathered together before. Perhaps never even having seen the light of day.

This is a love letter for fans who have been with the series for twenty five years, or more for the Blood Omen OGs. (I may or may not be, depending on where you draw the line.)

And the game plays solid. Super solid. It's smooth, it's accessible on keyboard, so it's gotta' be great on controller. It's exactly how I remember it on OG playstation, and it's touched up about as much as I can imagine without making it different. I can play on a 4K monitor, and marvel at the opening cinematic, and enjoy the game in awe. The built-in subtitles are crisp, there's some hints for newer players for first times you encounter more abstract mechanics, but the puzzles are intact.

For those new to the game? I will be the first to say, it's twenty-five years old, so there is going to be some lacking from newer games. The combat isn't top notch anymore, but it has impact with executions and environmental tools. The puzzles use mechanics that were seen throughout the platformer boom-and-bust, but I argue Legacy of Kain's is the most refined; with genuinely 3d Block puzzles (in the first hour no less) that are based around character movement in the environment - and its Spirit Realm double. Backtracking happens, but it had native fast travel even in the 90s, and you're always making progress.

If you've never played Soul Reaver 1, or Soul Reaver 2, and you're interested in what that sounds like? I think you're in for an experience you won't soon forget.

They went to the community for a creative director, and I really think it shows. There has genuinely never been a better time to get into the Legacy of Kain than 2025.

I love this game. So too do I love this remaster, and I've only just started.