The wait will have been long before the “resurrection” of a series that marked the action-adventure game on PlayStation and PC, almost 25 years ago. The quotation marks are not too much, because, as its title clearly expresses it, we are here on a remaster and not a remake. We will therefore travel between the waters of homage and easy nostalgia. Enough to sound the death knell for Raziel or to offer him a new lease of life?
Hi Barbie, Hi Kain!
Although many were introduced to the world of Nosgoth with Soul Reaver, this compilation is really just Episodes 2 and 3 of a Legacy of Kain series of games, which has five in total. These opuses are Blood Omen (1996), Soul Reaver I and II (1999 and 2001), Blood Omen 2 (2002) and finally Defiance (2003). Exit the first game which was a flop, this remaster thus ignores the adventures of Kain and the rest of the story to concentrate on the winning combo which allowed as many people as possible to discover the series. He opts for a logical choice which plunges the nostalgic into familiar territory and brings the new ones according to the same modus operandi as their elders.
There's no need to be familiar with Blood Omen to understand the workings of the storyline, these episodes start with a different protagonist: Raziel. Both vassal and firstborn of Kain, Raziel is a vampire, a pure product of his master whom he served faithfully alongside his brothers for nearly a thousand years until his involuntary betrayal. His sin? Having evolved before his master, acquiring wings that should have belonged to Kain, the latter always ahead of his “offspring”. This is, of course, not to the taste of the despot who breaks the body of his protégé before throwing him into the lake of the dead. Condemned to eternal damnation, Raziel is finally extricated from his torment by a mysterious ancient god who offers him revenge on Kain. The proud vampire that he was is now succeeded by a gaunt creature, a soul vampire, neither completely alive nor completely dead, who will be able to evolve between two worlds: that of the living and that of the dead.
- Still, he seems very admiring, right?
These few lines are told as soon as the game is launched through a sumptuous cinematic. The story is presented in an impeccable French version, carried by well-known voices, such as those of Bernard Lanneau and Benoît Allemane who embody Raziel, Kain and even the Ancient One. As you might expect, the original version is also flawless.
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- Yes, yes, he’s definitely a vampire, everyone has their “evolutions”
The great strength of Soul Reaver lies in its ability to immerse us in a universe with a real mythology. In the lands of Nosgoth, in a world that seems by turns familiar and mysterious, the narration of the title maintains a subtle balance between gray areas and a common thread, conducive to letting the imagination work. In addition, his writing is articulated on two levels: that of the player and that of Raziel. The game thus takes up pop culture codes with the figure of the vampire, providing the player with some keys to understanding the world in which he advances. While on Raziel's side, without playing the amnesiac card, the astonishment and the reversals of situations work as a lot of time has passed between the time when the vampire was evolving (no pun intended) and today's.
The cube
A little context is necessary to understand the passive associated with these two games. When it was released, Soul Reaver was a slap in the face by offering a mature story, a rich universe with charismatic characters, all in an open world in clean and pretty 3D (thanks Crystal Dynamics) and entirely dubbed in French.
In the heyday of PlayStation, the game falls into the action-adventure category, although it is almost a metroidvania. At first glance, it seems to adopt a two-part rhythm: exploration/puzzles and confrontations. However, this is partly false, the combat aspect being more of a pretext.
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- Sad dilemma of having to choose between the stake and the fire
To our teenage eyes, these seemed to be key moments, hemoglobin fans that we were. There were several ways to kill these horrible vampires using weapons and the environment (impalement, daylight, fire, etc.). As the adventure progressed, we had to deal with a bestiary that had evolved, presenting different characteristics, therefore requiring adaptation. Although nostalgia speaks and these moments always have their little effect, it is clear that the confrontations remain imprecise and that they mainly serve as excuses to sow a few pitfalls on the way to go from point A to point B. As for boss fights, much more than a test of reflexes, not to mention puzzles, they respond to a rather classic video game logic, namely repeating an action a certain number of times to defeat them.
More than its confrontations, the game is mainly based on exploration. The latter is based on the need to alternate between the world of the living and that of spirits to take advantage of Raziel's different abilities and open up previously inaccessible paths. There are of course powers to be recovered throughout the hero's wanderings, granting a real feeling of freedom and power. It’s really a great success.
As for the puzzles, they remain more or less clear, a large part being based on moving, turning, snapping cubes into reserved locations to reconstruct a fresco or any puzzle. At the time, these moments were a real pain, not because of the complexity of the mechanism, but because of the lack of certainty of having found all the cubes to stack and activate, all this without getting lost. Additionally, these puzzles had the bad taste of being in the darkest corners of Nosgoth, which complicated the equation. Today, Aspyr has integrated a small icon to indicate the elements of the game with which to interact, which is a significant plus. However, this does not revolutionize the heaviness of these phases which are from another time.
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- Knowing our demanding readership, I skipped the puzzles based on frescoes to reconstruct
A half-hearted remastering
Under the leadership of the Asypr studio (also behind the remake of Tomb Raider I to III), the aesthetic operation went rather well. The textures of the environments have gained in detail, without transcending the original experience. The graphic redesign is especially splendid on the characters who have the right to a new youth with a complete remodeling, more faithful to the initial spirit. Like a before/after photomontage meant to dazzle us, it is also possible to switch from one mode to another with a simple press of the joystick, as is the case with the remastered Tomb Raider.
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- On Soul Reaver first of the name, nothing to complain about, the work was exemplary.
If we put the two installments side by side, the makeover is clearly more visible on the first part than on the second episode, which seems to have needed less attention due to its age, unless it was perhaps the subject of a certain laziness on the part of Aspyr… In any case, already of hypnotic beauty, this facelift has allowed the game to gain in fluidity, the transitions between the real world and that spirits being very natural and all rotating wonderfully. The title still benefits from this particular melancholic and gothic beauty, despite some clouds on the board (in the literal sense of the term).
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- Look closely at the two images presented to you and look for the differences between the two images.
On PlayStation, due to the technical limitations of the time, an ambient fog masked the more distant settings, which was a good thing because, with the means at hand, it contributed to the aura of mystery of the title. On the other hand, today, this occlusion no longer exists, so we would have liked to glimpse or guess what is happening behind this opaque blur. It's a shame because, the game requiring many back and forths in its structure, this tends to lose us a little more in Nosgoth, and not in the good sense of the word. Finally, if we quibble, certain edges of the 3D models can be glimpsed, but these few rough edges could have been erased.
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- Fog warning over Nosgoth, yellow alert
Apart from the graphic evolution, Aspyr has also added some comfort options. We can cite the presence of a free camera (which has become the norm in adventure games), a map and a compass, as well as the possibility of saving wherever we want or even icons indicating the elements on which we can take. This may seem gimmicky, but these are not small improvements considering the back and forth required in-game or for solving puzzles. On PlayStation, you had to constantly reposition the camera with the triggers to place it behind Raziel and observe his environment, or fumble with the elements of the scenery to discover which ones to interact with.
A first step was taken towards the players, but the second step was not taken: we can therefore regret the absence of a map specific to each location, with the possibility of annotating it, which lends itself yet so well suited to the metroidvania genre. The camera is still subject to jolts and tends to get carried away in cramped places and during the most demanding platform phases. Finally, although it is possible to save freely, reloading a game takes you back to the starting area, which is rather uncomfortable as the level design is tortuous. This problem of returning to the original hub is nevertheless alleviated on Xbox Series thanks to the Quick Resume functionality.
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- Well, I didn't select the most striking bonus, but that's to keep the surprise effect.
Finally, the final surprise and icing on the cake, this compilation provides its share of bonus content which mixes both elements of the time and contributions from fans. There is a plethora of illustrations and cosplays, there are unfinished levels, scripts, bits of lore and even some behind-the-scenes pieces. This is a nice addition to get to the other side of the curtain. Note for those who are not familiar with the language of Shakespeare, some of this content is only available in English.
When concluding, let's point out that, although Apsyr's work is notable, we must be aware that this compilation suffers from a game design that remains dated. The less patient may not find what they are looking for as its DNA is so specific to its era. However, if you embark on the adventure, there is a good chance that you will fall under the spell of a saga that deserves more.
Tested on Xbox Series
