It's been 25 years since the first Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver released on the PlayStation. Now finally, we have both Soul Reaver 1 & 2 available as a remastered version on the PC.

The graphical fidelity upgrade for the most part looks excellent on most models, save for maybe Moebius the Time-Streamer. He just looks a bit off and the expressions don't seem to translate well over to his updated model for some reason. Otherwise, I think they did a fantastic job with touching up the environments, especially in Soul Reaver 1, its not as noticeable in Soul Reaver 2's environments, but the models look nice there as well.

In the game play department, the controls are about the same, although they did add a camera control function which is a really nice addition to be able to control the camera around Raziel. They added a nice map to Soul Reaver 1 with the associated symbols for the clans and areas that you can warp to, and not have to look them up or guess which ones are which, really handy.

To me, Soul Reaver 1 was a masterpiece in gaming from an exploration, platforming, and puzzle standpoint. While the meat of the game is not focused on combat, it does have some strategy in how to take out enemies. Sunlight, fire, impaling, water - these are all possible ways to eliminate the enemy vampires in Nosgoth. I like that about this game. Same with the bosses, they are not traditional fights, each one has a specific strategy to defeating them.

Soul Reaver 2 on the whole is a bit less impressive, the game focuses more on combat, but the tactile nature of the first game is lost upon it. I don't like the changes made specifically to how the reaver works. Also Raziel faces mostly human enemies in the first parts of the game, and the other enemies I mostly ended up running past because it was more frustrating than satisfying to fight them. The presentation and overall world looks better in Soul Reaver 2, as well as the story being more fleshed out with more cinematic scenes. But I feel overall I liked Soul Reaver 1 more by comparison.

At the end of the day, it is absolutely worth the $30 price tag. You get 2 excellent games of their time. A worthy collection for any Soul Reaver fan for around $15 bucks a piece. A good price point for new players entering into the series as well.

New players may initially be turned off by a lack of directions or waypoints, but that is part of the charm of these games. Figuring them out as you go along, the sense of satisfaction for finally solving a puzzle, navigating a platforming section, finding a secret area, discovering how to beat the bosses. To me Soul Reaver 1 is a masterpiece, not because it is perfect, but because of what it brought to the table in its time. Most games today don't offer the same degree of storytelling, exploration, puzzle solving, and just enough unique combat to keep it fun and amusing. Switching between the material realm and the spectral realm as the world around you shifts to open up new possibilities for navigation and exploration. Games to this day don't offer this kind of unique game play and interactivity.

Some critiques would be I really wish they would have included Legacy of Kain: Defiance in the remaster. First time players will be left wondering who the Hylden are, and will not get an answer to that lingering question at the end of Soul Reaver 2. Defiance to me wraps up both arcs.

Here is hoping we eventually get a Defiance remaster and I would like to see the Blood Omen games get some love too, but that may be just wishful thinking on my part.

In any event, I fully recommend this remaster if you are okay with puzzle solving, platforming, and exploration that does not directly tell you where to go next. The combat while fun, is not the focus of these games, yet I find the unique approach to it fun, your mileage may vary there.

It's been 25 years since the first Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver released on the PlayStation. Now finally, we have both Soul Reaver 1 & 2 available as a remastered version on the PC. The graphical fidelity upgrade for the most part looks excellent on most models, save for maybe Moebius the Time-Streamer. He just looks a bit off and the expressions don't seem to translate well over to his updated model for some reason. Otherwise, I think they did a fantastic job with touching up the environments, especially in Soul Reaver 1, its not as noticeable in Soul Reaver 2's environments, but the models look nice there as well. In the game play department, the controls are about the same, although they did add a camera control function which is a really nice addition to be able to control the camera around Raziel. They added a nice map to Soul Reaver 1 with the associated symbols for the clans and areas that you can warp to, and not have to look them up or guess which ones are which, really handy. To me, Soul Reaver 1 was a masterpiece in gaming from an exploration, platforming, and puzzle standpoint. While the meat of the game is not focused on combat, it does have some strategy in how to take out enemies. Sunlight, fire, impaling, water - these are all possible ways to eliminate the enemy vampires in Nosgoth. I like that about this game. Same with the bosses, they are not traditional fights, each one has a specific strategy to defeating them. Soul Reaver 2 on the whole is a bit less impressive, the game focuses more on combat, but the tactile nature of the first game is lost upon it. I don't like the changes made specifically to how the reaver works. Also Raziel faces mostly human enemies in the first parts of the game, and the other enemies I mostly ended up running past because it was more frustrating than satisfying to fight them. The presentation and overall world looks better in Soul Reaver 2, as well as the story being more fleshed out with more cinematic scenes. But I feel overall I liked Soul Reaver 1 more by comparison. At the end of the day, it is absolutely worth the $30 price tag. You get 2 excellent games of their time. A worthy collection for any Soul Reaver fan for around $15 bucks a piece. A good price point for new players entering into the series as well. New players may initially be turned off by a lack of directions or waypoints, but that is part of the charm of these games. Figuring them out as you go along, the sense of satisfaction for finally solving a puzzle, navigating a platforming section, finding a secret area, discovering how to beat the bosses. To me Soul Reaver 1 is a masterpiece, not because it is perfect, but because of what it brought to the table in its time. Most games today don't offer the same degree of storytelling, exploration, puzzle solving, and just enough unique combat to keep it fun and amusing. Switching between the material realm and the spectral realm as the world around you shifts to open up new possibilities for navigation and exploration. Games to this day don't offer this kind of unique game play and interactivity. Some critiques would be I really wish they would have included Legacy of Kain: Defiance in the remaster. First time players will be left wondering who the Hylden are, and will not get an answer to that lingering question at the end of Soul Reaver 2. Defiance to me wraps up both arcs. Here is hoping we eventually get a Defiance remaster and I would like to see the Blood Omen games get some love too, but that may be just wishful thinking on my part. In any event, I fully recommend this remaster if you are okay with puzzle solving, platforming, and exploration that does not directly tell you where to go next. The combat while fun, is not the focus of these games, yet I find the unique approach to it fun, your mileage may vary there.