Legacy of Kain

1999 was possibly the most important year for gaming. Until then it was easy to dismiss video games as childish and simplistic. Something that people grew out of much like when they decide to put their toys down. But in 1999 two games were released that demanded attention. Metal Gear Solid: Solid Snake, broke onto the market and would fit right in with movies such as, Escape from L.A., Bladerunner and Universal Soldier. This was a mega Movie of a game with as much cinematic cut scenes as there was gameplay! I played that game so much that when I walked away from the console I could still see the radar in the top right of my vision. This is a beloved game and even though the series ended on something of a low note, it is easily one of the best games ever made.

In the same year- and in fact on the same demo disk, was Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.

This, while being the second entry into this world, was the first game that I played in the series. A story about a vampire who was betrayed by his master and after being put to death, refused to stay dead. After enduring unimaginable pain, Raziel, firstborn of Kain’s lieutenants came back to life. Throw in a Lovecraftian god for good measure and you have the premise for a fantastic game. But the creators of LOK: Soul Reaver did something that no one else could, they injected not only magnificent voice actors, the likes of, Simon Templeman, Michael Bell, Richard Doyle and the late great Tony Jay and René Auberjonois, but they also gave their audience the respect of using some of the most beautiful language that I have ever heard. From the opening to the epilogue, it is a symphony of poetry wearing robes of a tragedy and wielding the sword of revenge.

Much like Silent Hill, the limitations of the era’s hardware was masked with a wonderfully atmospheric fog which lent itself so well to the mood of the game. It felt like the land was dying. In the story, this is the mood. At the end of LOK: Blood Omen- the predecessor, the main protagonist, Kain, was given a choice. Sacrifice himself and save the land- but ensure that the vampire’s are made extinct, or let the land die and rule over it’s corps. Given that there are five games in the franchise, I think you know what he chose. LOK: Soul Reaver 2 came out in the PS2 era and benefited from the beautiful graphic upgrade, and this retroactively added more atmosphere to the first Soul Reaver game. With the first Soul Reaver game being set as far in the timeline as it gets - yes the timeline is all messed up in these games, it shows just how sick and decedent the land of Nosgoth became.

The underline story of the series is one of freewill versus fate. If fate is real then there is no such thing as free will. “Throw a stone into a river and the water with flow around it as if the obstruction was never there.” But introduce the concept of free will, and see the chaos of change.

Kain is bound by fate and the inevitable end is that the land dies. Raziel, who has free will is not only seeking vengeance, but as he travels through time his influence helps to heal the land and change the outcome that “fate” has demanded.

Free will is no mere illusion, it is the very thing that leads to growth and allows the world to thrive.

Now throw in an ancient war, angelic vampires, an elder god that despies what the vampires became and a few ghosts, and that right there is a game that must be played at least once in your life. With the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 HD remakes less than a full month away, there has never been a better time to pick up the game.