Test - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1+2 Remastered: Test: A remake would have been better

Catching up on classics is a difficult matter. If the games are in 2D, the chance of having fun is still relatively high. Sometimes you even get a feeling for the fascination that the title exuded half an eternity ago. In the 3D area, however, the fall height is huge. What was THE technical shit 25 years ago just looks crappy today. Let's not even get started on the playing problems.

When they were released in the nineties, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII were absolute must-haves. They cemented the Playstation's reputation as a cool and grown-up console. Developers used the possibilities of hardware and disc storage for elaborate game worlds, orchestral soundtracks including voice output and impressive rendering sequences. There is nothing left of the glory of those days because technology has developed rapidly. What was visually complex and playfully innovative back then now only makes you smile tiredly. This also applies to the present Soul Reaver titles.

A fresh coat of paint

Part one was released in 1999 for the Playstation and Sega's Dreamcast, and two years later the sequel was released for the Playstation 2 and the PC. It's been a long, long time! That's why something had to be done, especially graphically. Developer Aspyr gave both games new textures in 4K, 60 frames per second and more precise controls. How much the fresh coat of paint improves the appearance can be seen by pressing the right stick: This way you can switch between the new and the (at least sharp) old look at any time. This means that a mess on the wall can be turned into a reasonably attractive stone wall in no time.

Only halfway? Unfortunately yes. Because the new graphic wallpapers were "glued" over the old ones, there was little scope for further embellishments. You look in vain for detailed structures, as well as for bulges or depressions that would give the floors more structure and credibility. The technical limitations that were due to the original hardware also remain.

In Soul Reaver, objects disappear in the dark or fog even at medium distances, enemies only move in strictly defined areas and although there are no loading times (on the PS5), you can't get through the game without the appropriate sequences, especially the slow opening of doors . After loading the save game, you always start in the very first room and then have to move to the current area via teleporter and running. Unfortunately, a modern quick save with restart on site is missing. In the larger and more attractive successor you also have to do without this, but that can easily be overcome given the regular reset points and save stations.

No peace for the soul

The focus of both games is Raziel. At the beginning of the first part, the proud vampire prince is betrayed and killed by his master Kain. But an ancient deity revives Raziel with new powers and turns him into an avenging angel who is supposed to kill Cain and thus free the land of Nosgoth from his reign of terror. Raziel is helped by the Soul Reaver, a magical weapon that is connected to him. But this power comes at a price: from now on, Raziel has to absorb the souls of defeated enemies in order to maintain his strength.

This is doubly important because Raziel can only switch between the material world and its spectral plane as long as he has full health. The latter is largely similar to the normal one, but confronts Raziel with different enemies and opens up new paths for him. Accordingly, change is the central element of the game: not only during jumping, but also in connection with the sliding and switch puzzles, things go back and forth regularly.

In some places you need a little time to find the solution. Sometimes the path to the next area becomes a challenge, at least for younger students. There was and is no detailed map or even guidance to the next destination. I find this refreshing because I have to at least begin to strain my brain or memory. How do I get to the other side of the gorge? Where does this box need to be moved to to solve the puzzle? Such classic challenges still work.

The action only plays a minor role in Soul Reaver. Luckily, because the fights really annoy me! Blunt hitting is always enough and despite aiming, I often miss the monsters and ghosts. Unfortunately, the knocking is a necessary evil because Raziel needs a regular supply of souls. But I'm happy about every fight I can avoid.

The bosses are the exact opposite. The usual use of weapons has no effect at all against the huge creatures. Rather, the key to victory can be found in the environment, for example in the form of a trap that Raziel can trigger. Although the arguments themselves are light, I still think their presentation is great. In addition, each of the grotesque creatures represents an important point in the story and, after victory, grants an ability that helps me progress.

The revenge campaign continues

Soul Reaver 2 begins directly after the events of its predecessor and continues its story. Raziel faces old and new threats, which this time he must face in different timelines. Once again included is the change between material and spectral levels as well as the Reaver, whose new elemental powers represent an important game element.

Unfortunately, Aspyr has held back on Soul Reaver 2's graphical refresh. When switching via stick-click, I can see a heavily overhauled Raziel, but mostly only the original environmental textures in higher resolution. In some places I have to really strain my four eyes to notice improvements. A few details here, slightly more intense colors there - it's hardly more than that.

The bigger problem, however, is the basic gameplay. Compared to the predecessor, fighting takes place much more frequently. With his Reaver and a handful of other weapons, Raziel attacks soldiers, lizards and other creatures. This works better than in the first part thanks to a clearly recognizable target, but by no means well. The ex-vampire reacts somewhat sluggishly and imprecisely to stretching movements. Every fight consists of tricky attacking, blocking and dodging. Even larger chunks rely on this boring principle. There is no trace of similarly cleverly staged boss fights as in the first part.

There are some successful puzzles and challenges in which the new elemental powers of the Soul Reaver are important in solving. In between, however, there are far too many fights with enemies who, from today's perspective, act stupidly. To make matters worse, they are constantly respawning! The focus on action doesn't suit Soul Reaver 2 at all and makes it a worse game, despite having stronger technology overall.

Successful bonus content

The games are not convincing, but perhaps the bonus content that comes with them is. Included are a whole range of fanart, cosplay photos as well as official concept and render graphics. The texts on the background story of the game world Nosgoth and its events, which are listed chronologically, are much more informative. This also includes all the texts that are spoken in both games. There are also funny video outtakes from the recordings in the studio at the time. You can also watch old demo gameplay for Soul Reaver 2 and the intros and credits of the games. All pieces of the soundtrack are available to listen to in good quality.

Most interesting are the playable versions of areas that didn't make it into the final version of Soul Reaver. These include expansions for certain areas in the game or forging with elemental improvements for the Reaver. There's nothing more than just walking around and looking, but these "lost levels" still give an impression of how extensive Soul Reaver was originally intended to be.