Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - PlayStation

It seems that Capcom’s Resident Evil series has spawned a plethora of dark and sinister horror games. Unlike Silent Hill, which would put you into a depression for the rest of the day, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver doesn’t have that, “I want to kill myself” quality about it. That can’t be a bad thing now, can it?

After a long cinematic introduction and a brief background on what the situation is, you will be guided through what seems to be a compulsory training session by a mysterious voice. After switching to another realm – a realm where all is different – you will soon come across hundreds of evil beings that must be fought in a specific manner. Once defeated, you must devour their souls to sustain your strength in the new realm. As well as hand-to-hand combat, there are many weapons to discover at your disposal that will prove very useful in the game’s later levels.

Combat aside, puzzle solving also plays an intricate part in Soul Reaver. It is at this point that the similarities between this game and Tomb Raider become apparent. The pushing of perfectly cubed blocks to reach higher platforms has a distinct deja vu quality about it.

However, as a complete title, Soul Reaver does offer some innovation, both in level design and control techniques. Also, streaming from the disc reduces loading times considerably. All in all, Soul Reaver is a polished title and has a quality that places it on the A-list. more