Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

The story of Soul Reaver takes place hundreds of years after the events of the original Blood Omen. This time, the game is played in the perspective of Raziel, a vampire and the first born of Kain’s lieutenants. As time passed, each vampire would evolve, but Kain’s evolution would always happen first. However, this all changed one day when Raziel approached his master with wings attached to his back. For his “treachery,” Kain casts Raziel into the Lake of the Dead, where he would feel a lifetime of pain and suffering for crossing his master.

Throughout Soul Reaver, Raziel will have to switch back and forth between two different realms. The first of these is known as the spectral realm. The spectral realm is pretty much just an area filled with the spirits of the dead and is where the Elder brings Raziel after his “death.” Since Raziel is already dead, he can’t technically die, but whenever he falls in combat, he will be brought back to the spectral realm. The next realm is known as the material realm, and is pretty much the real world. While Raziel is here, his life force will constantly deplete, but can be replenished by devouring the souls of his enemies.

Other than combat, much of Soul Reaver is based on completing puzzles. The game is filled with these and also has a wide variety of types. Heck, even some of the boss battles can only be completed by solving certain puzzles. However, there are so many puzzles that the game can start to become a little bit of a bore. In fact, in order to complete many of the puzzles, you must switch back and forth between the spectral realm and the material realm. The constant switching back and forth can occasionally be a little much, and might turn off some players from the game.

Located in Nosgoth, Raziel can also acquire items known as glyphs that will give him even more abilities. There are several types of glyphs that Raziel can use in his quest against Kain. These include a force glyph, stone glyph, and water glyph. Glyph abilities are used by pressing the select button and then choosing which glyph spell you would like to use. The ability to shift back and forth between the material realm and spectral realm is also a glyph ability.

For those gamers who can’t afford to spend a long period of time on the game, luckily there is the option of saving anywhere you want. While this sounds good, there is also a catch. Players can save the game at any time, but when you re-load your game, you start all the way back with the Elder in the spectral realm. The game does save all of your progress, but you will have to go all the way back to where you were last located.