I originally got a copy of Soul Reaver in my younger years back in the olden days of the Playstation, but the fartherest I made it into the game was reaching the vortex of souls and...stopping. I dunno, maybe my younger self was too spooked or confused on how to progress, despite Raziel and the Elder God giving hints on where to progress next.
However those first 15 or so minutes of the game, and especially it's opening cinematic stuck with me since then.
Real talk: That cgi intro scared me for the longest time since I watched it as a kid, mainly Kain ripping off Raziel's wings. That shit is like ripping out one's spine and it grossed me out that I avoid watching that scene in any videos focused on the series (heck I skipped it during this playthrough :V).
Anyways, fast forward 20 years later, using up some fan patches, I felt...ya whatevs, my backlog may be 2000 games big, and this is part of my backlog, I'm in the mood.
All in all it was a really interesting game; puzzles, platforming and secrets requiring the use of the powers you gain from slaying the demons you've slain. The decaying world of Nosgoth was something I hadn't fully grasped as a young lad, nor how the 2 realms were designed as a primary gameplay mechanic, even though it is among the VERY first things that the game teaches you.
Got stuck and can't progress? Switch to the other realm and look around for a path.
Back to the decaying Nosgoth, now that I've fully gotten an understanding of the series' themes, Raziel awakening in a dying world and his trek through Nosgoth as well as his later exploits in the later games, makes the game's setting much more understandable.
Granted the characters DO comment on how badly things have become after the centuries of Kain's rule, but I guess I hadn't fully grasped it due to...well the game is visually a product of its time but it still evokes a good atmosphere of a gothic and dying world.
Moving onto the gameplay, i find the platforming decent even if it is annoying at times as their sections on paper are sensible and fine, but the overall control of Raziel becomes a major impact. Puzzles were nice too, and I don't mind the big blocks being used for puzzles, although the fact that Raziel can lift one cube only as high as another cube, but nothing shorter is hella weird.
I didn't go for all secret items and upgrades this time around but will attempt that in a future playthrough.
I'd say the really weak part of the game is the combat, especially when the Reaver you obtain can only manifest at full health in material realm being the more convenient way of killing things in this game. Like seriously, picking up any of the impaling weapons feels like having picked up a knife in Final Fight, with the Reaver giving you the safe distance of the pipe :V The camera doesn't help much in this case either. Thankfully, I think the devs might've been aware of the combat, so generally most combat allows you to get back to material realm from a nearby aura, but overall the less of it the better for me. I'm certain you can just skip past any enemies you find and focus on most of the puzzles and platforming, although the Cathedral had it worse with a puzzle room having enemies respawn in them =_=
Bosses were...hilariously easier than I anticipated and fall under the category of 'puzzle boss' ala in them Legend of Zelda games. Also Kain getting KOed in 3 hits? Ah well, not like a human could last 1 second against him :V I do like that they give you powers that can help in finding secrets as well as progression though the very final power you obtain was...hardly noticable outside of its necessity to progress through the final dungeon or two.
Backtracking can be a chore sometimes when you want to continue from where you left off or going back to get some secrets with your new powers. For the most part warp portals are placed at convenient places that can let you access certain locations easier, although with the game's base speed being a product of its time, it can feel a big of a slog sometimes.
All in all the game was a nice experience, though it just now occurs to me how 'green' hued this game becomes the farther I played :V I liked how the areas are connected to each other, which is made easier to navigate through thanks to the warp portals. I have however noticed some curiosities:
The human citadel is leftover from a cut dungeon that Raziel would've progressed through, whereas the Cathedral felt like it was the longest dungeon in the game to get through. I recall reading in magazines and on the internet how Soul Reaver 2 continues the plot, which makes more sense now with knowing what got cut from the game, along with the rather ho hum ending :P
Speaking of which I still have my PS2 copy of Soul Reaver 2 >=3 Gonna play through Blood Omen some time this year too (Vae Victis!)
Course I can't talk about this game without mentioning its spectacular voice acting and great writing. Tony Jay really left an impression with his performance, and I had the pleasure of watching a few eps. of ReBoot at the time too so him as Megabyte remains among his best performances.
Amy Hemming should really get back to doing fantasy centric stories, she really excelled in them as seen with this game.
In closing, I'll drop some images along with my fav. track in the game
Wait, now that I think about, Raziel holding out his cape to suck in souls is...memorable and also funny because of how his lower jaw is, at best dislocated and also that scarf being elastic just adds to the funniness of it.
_65.gif)
BTW Kain and Raziel both look badass to me; they were among my first signature art when I started posting on forums back in the 2000s
^Apparently this is by Akiman? Would really need a source on that....
