25 years ago, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver introduced the world to the vampire Raziel. In the game’s opening scene, Raziel is betrayed and executed by his master, the vampire emperor Kain. Enduring untold suffering and disfigurement, Raziel rises eons later as the iconic and vengeful blue wraith we all know and love.
In 1999, games were built differently. Deep narratives were uncommon and fully voiced cut-scenes were rare. Soul Reaver had both and quickly became a classic.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Soul Reaver, Aspyr is proud to announce Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Remaster pillars defined
As with our work on Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, the key to a great Remaster is to bring a classic game to modern hardware with enough visual and quality-of-life improvements to feel natural, while carefully preserving the integrity of the original. We want new fans to join the Soul Reaver faithful in reliving Raziel’s adventures.
Engineering goal: Performance with pixel-perfect preservation
Thankfully Crystal Dynamics was able to provide us with the source code, so we started with the original engine and a complete set of assets. This foundation ensured we could deliver the exact same combat, puzzles, and boss fights, with the same balance and feel, as the original.
With its environmental storytelling and the innovative mechanics that allowed players to shift between the material and spectral realms, Soul Reaver pushed the limits of computer memory in the ‘90s. The way we’ve engineered the title will preserve that legacy for players returning to Nosgoth or visiting for the first time.
But we didn’t want to stop at the original toggle between realms. We also integrated a toggle between classic and modern game art, on the fly, without ever having a hit to performance.
Gameplay Goal: Surprise and delight lifelong hardcore fans
The Soul Reaver game narratives are powerful and beautifully complex. Starring Michael Bell as Raziel, Simon Templeton as Kain, and Tony Jay as the Elder God, Soul Reaver 1 & 2 feature some of the most iconic performances in video game history. And of course, kudos to Amy Hennig’s work writing and directing this visionary game when the tools to do so were burgeoning.
We did, however, want to surprise and delight our most hardcore fans, so the conversation evolved into what additions we could make that wouldn’t upset the original design intentions but would add to the overall experience. Here’s what we came up with:
- Control Improvements: Soul Reaver launched while the D-PAD was the dominant control method. We’ve ensured with DualShock 4 and Dual Sense that analog control feels and plays as great in Soul Reaver as it did in Soul Reaver 2.
- Camera Upgrades: We’ve mapped the camera in Soul Reaver to the right stick which allows us to move the camera on the Y-Axis. Of course, there weren’t robust skyboxes in the original because you couldn’t look up. So we made some! Enjoy right stick mapping to see the vibrant skies and platforms above.
- Trophies! For now, just know we’re using trophies as our wink and nod to the community for the most iconic gameplay moments. We’ll share more specifics at a later date.
- Map & Compass: Nosgoth is a vast, open world. Navigating, even with quick travel, can be daunting for first-timers. We added a map and compass to assist with finding the next objective, so you’ll never feel completely lost, even if you decide to play through optional content. The map is a brand new, never-before-seen map of Nosgoth co-created by Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics and key members of the Legacy of Kain community. It is one of the most beautiful additions to the game and a celebration of the fans who have kept the games alive for so long.
- Photo Mode: A popular feature from Tomb Raider I-III Remastered returns! We’ll include our photo mode to let you showcase some of the best gameplay moments of Soul Reaver 1 & 2.
- And a few more surprises: Where’s the fun in spoiling everything already?
Art goal: Visuals as in ‘Your Memory’
We want the games to look the way they did in your mind.
Here are the art changes we made:
Soul Reaver cut-scenes rendered with higher fidelity models: Source code does not always have the assets to render cut-scenes with newer assets. Our engineering teams combed through the archives to find the right files to render the cut scenes with new, higher fidelity assets. This makes the transition from modern gameplay mode to cut-scene seamless.
New Hero models for Raziel and Kain: These models are inspired by the look of the original pre-rendered cutscenes.
Glowing eyes and Wraith Blade: We’ve added a glow to Raziel’s eyes and the Wraith Blade to take advantage of lighting upgrades
Real-time shadows: Applied to all characters and objects
New Enemy and Boss models: I’ll admit these are a bit scarier than I remembered!
Day and Night cycle (SR) A legacy feature that was cut from the final release has been restored to add mood and atmosphere to Nosgoth.
Graphics toggle: While we did add many improvements to textures, UI, and VFX, any point during gameplay, including in Photo mode, you can swap back to the original graphics.
Thank you to the original Soul Reaver 1 and 2 teams, Crystal Dynamics, and the community for letting us visit Nosgoth and resurrect Raziel one more time.
We’ll see you on December 10. Pre-orders are available today on PlayStation Store!