The fan-made HD remaster of the legendary Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is finally available for the public. Released in August 1999, Soul Reaver was heralded as an industry achievement. Sadly, despite its early success, Legacy of Kain has not been an active franchise since 2003. However, with Embracer Group’s acquisition of the IP, many believe a new Legacy of Kain game may be more likely now than ever.
Soul Reaver was a dramatic departure from its predecessor, Blood Omen. Not only did the series transition from a top-down 2D action game to a third-person 3D open-world game, but also starred brand new protagonist Raziel, a former lieutenant of the previous series lead, Kain. After his betrayal and execution at the hands of Kain and his vampiric brethren, Raziel returns as a soul-devouring wraith to hunt down and exterminate Nosgoth’s vampire menace. What followed was a gothic tale of vengeance and self-discovery unlike anything seen in that day and age. The success of Soul Reaver gained the Legacy of Kain franchise a very dedicated fanbase, which even after years of its dormancy, still celebrates the series for its achievements. After Embracer Group teased sequels and remakes of its newly acquired Eidos IPs, the Kain fanbase has been reinvigorated with hopes of a new title.
One motivated fan, RainaAudron, created a full HD remaster for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver that is now available for download. Released in time for Soul Reaver’s 23rd anniversary, RainaAudron painstakingly tracked down several original textures used in making Soul Reaver - with some provided by Soul Reaver lead artist Daniel Cabuco - to give the 1999 classic a much-needed facelift. The trailer previews the aesthetically updated enemies, bosses, and locales around Nosgoth, which, despite the age of the PS1/Dreamcast era graphics, look better than ever with the new HD textures and 60 FPS framerate. Taken along with several related PSX graphics projects like the Bloodborne PS1 demake, it seems these ‘outdated’ visuals still carry a certain charm to some. The remaster is founded upon the 2000 Dreamcast port and will require the use of the Flycast emulator and Soul Reaver Dreamcast Rom to play. Interested players may download the remaster themselves at RainaAudron's SR1 HD Remaster website.
Soul Reaver Finally Gets a New Look in This Fan Remaster
With so many single-player games embracing in-depth storytelling, it's tragic that an older storry-based game has gone unnoticed for so long. Even series progenitor Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain was a remarkable feat of storytelling in its own right, with a commendable voice cast whose performances have since made the Legacy of Kain story so iconic. Ironically, one of the pioneers of story-driven single-player games, Amy Hennig, made her debut as a game director with Soul Reaver and continued her defining career with the Uncharted series.
As Kain fans continue their wait for the next official entry to the series, RainaAudron's Soul Reaver HD Remaster is a fine way to pass the time. While there's still no official word regarding its future, the transference of the Legacy of Kain IP to Embracer Group has, sadly, been the best news the fanbase has received in some time, given Square Enix's disregard of the property. Perhaps the response to this fan-made remake of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver might be just the thing to inspire Embracer to awaken the series from its eternal slumber.
Source: RainaAudron/YouTube, SR1 HD Remaster