Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2

Moby ID: 5563
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Following the events in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Raziel discovers a way back through time and encounters one of the Circle of the Nine, Mobius the timestreamer. Mobius urges Raziel to continue his quest for revenge and destroy the vampire lord Kain. Raziel reluctantly agrees and heads off to discover the knowledge and weapons that will allow him to achieve his goal.

Soul Reaver 2 is a third-person action game with puzzle-solving and some platforming elements, similar to the previous installment. The game world is viewed from behind Raziel's shoulder; the player can move him in any direction, climb, attack, swim, jump and use specific abilities. Raziel retains his special moves from the previous game, which include gripping onto the sides of ledges, climbing walls, and gliding downwards with his torn wings. Like in the previous installment, Raziel can travel between the material world and the spectral realm at will, gaining access to new areas by exploiting distortions that exist between the mirrored worlds. As before, he must drain the souls of his enemies to prolong his existence in the material realm.

Raziel no longer gains abilities from absorbing great souls and instead must imbue his Soul Reaver weapon by activating certain elemental temples. Once activated, various "elemental fonts" can be used to charge the Soul Reaver to specific attributes. Raziel can arm himself with a variety of other weapons including daggers, swords, axes, spears as well as the Soul Reaver and bare-handed claws.

Unlike the previous game, Soul Reaver 2 is linear and follows specific paths through different areas. Raziel cannot return to certain areas once he has left them behind. The game features diverse puzzles, often involving blocks or manipulation of different devices. One common theme is "light puzzles" where Raziel must reflect light, using mirrored objects, so that they touch switches or objects which require activation.

Spellings

  • ソウルリーバー2 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

143 People (123 developers, 20 thanks) · View all

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 58 ratings with 5 reviews)

A narrow, one way alley, but it's great to play and there are no block puzzles!

The Good
There was much to love about Soul Reaver 2. The graphics, for one, were fantastic. Not as good throughout the game as in the opening movie of course, but they were still great, you could see the expressions on all the character's faces as they gibbered. THe magical effects with the Soul Reaver and the Forges were also very impressive and put Star Wars to shame. The storyline, as anyone who has played other Legacy of Kain games will tell you, is fantastic. The history of the world of Nosgoth is immense, vastly complicated (and more so due to time travel) and fascinating. In this game, you get to bounce through three eras of it, watching how Raziel's influence changed history millennia ago and led up to his vampiric birth, etc. One of the cooler things about time travel is that you can see the world in different states. The first period you start in features a darkened swamp, fertile grasslands and forests, and vast caverns. There are two more, which I won't reveal, but each one changes the locations enough that you can reach new areas, explore more of Nosgoth, and it's really cool to see how all the pieces fit together in the way things change. You get to see the swamp in three eras, as well as the Sarafan Castle ranging from snow-covered to squatted in, to ruined and full of demons. The puzzles are another area where the game shines. There are no block puzzles throughout it, they all rely on ingenious means of hauling blood around in basins, casting shadows and light, activating torches, etc and every one is among the best puzzles I've ever seen. Not that I've seen many, but these are superb. Every time you figure one out you'll be amazed at the genius of it. (It's too bad the people that did the puzzles here didn't do them on Blood Omen 2, which had horrible block-and-switch puzzles with no variety) However, there are five puzzles throughout the game and even I who hate puzzles, found myself wanting more.

The Bad
The worst part, which you'll notice at once, is the dialogue. Oh, it's nice and short and sweet in the opening movie, but from there on it becomes an infinity of incomprehensible Shakespearean babbling which not even an English Major could sort through. The plot is confusing enough already without everyone beating around the bush. Unfortunately, this talk is all PART of the plot, because everyone you meet (there are only about 4 major characters including the one you play, the rest are basically bit parts, with one exception who doesn't get enough screen time to really be major)...basically everyone is lying to you, trying to get you to do what they want. And its hard enough to figure out what anybody REALLY wants you to do. However, Raziel has a no-bull attitude and isn't playing anybody's puppet...except when he can't help it. Second, the fights were, to put it simply, a walk in the park. For the first half of the game you never had to block or dodge or even do anything except mash that 'Light Attack' button. Then, suddenly, the enemies become immensely harder, and you have to basically die a lot until you get good enough to beat THEM by button mashing too. There are a medium size variety of foes in the game, but the tactics are identical for all of them, and aside from the occasional jump over an attack, or running stab, you win by just whacking away until they give out. Even Blood Omen 2 has a better fighting style than this. All the fights were atrociously easy (except the first few demons who were atrociously hard until you got used to their style) and really dissapointed me. Finally, the game is entirely linear. There is absolutely no side material, you simply walk straight from one point to another, with a cutscene at each major turn, solving puzzles that are straight in your path. You can't choose your directions at all, and in fact there's only one point in the game where it's not shaped like a narrow corridor which you have to walk along (whether it's in churches or castles or canyons) and in that place, you're just taking a slightly alternate route to the same point. The areas you play in are all pretty little, too. You just spend the whole game running back and forth between two ends of a long, straight path.

The Bottom Line
Overall....hard one. I certainly enjoyed the game, even if the fights were a pushover. It was great fun to watch the massive plot unfold under your nose, and twists popped up at every corner, and this game got me interested in the rest of the Legacy of Kain series, the rest of which is also great. If you like epic stories as well as fun gameplay, check this game out. If all you like is intense hand-to-hand, gut wrenching, edge of your seat action, look somewhere else. But to anybody who enjoys intrigue and drama with their zombie-hacking, this should keep you happy, and for a great price as well.

Windows · by munchner (10) · 2002

Linear, but still good fun to play!

The Good
The first thing that I loved was the first thing that was presented; the opening movie was superb quality and it retold the ending of the previous game, Soul Reaver 1, but it did so truthfully and didn't drastically change things (such as retcon a few important details). After the FMV came a regular cutscene, which still had pretty good quality and... LIP-SYNCING! That's right, whereas in Soul Reaver 1 the mouth of a person didn't move, people actually talk now! Of course, the syncing isn't perfect - but it's still a MAJOR improvement.

Still on the grounds of graphics, every detail was great. I liked the Shade enemies and how they looked see-through yet dark, the many other enemies were improved from the previous game (most notably the Slaugh). Most items/structures that were rendered seemed quite smooth, though some still were noticeably rough-edged (but it was an early PS2 game... I think). Things such as the Soul Reaver weapon and Mobeius have also been "improved" (I place "improved" in inverted commas because some fans may not agree that this change was for the better).

Onto music, then. The first thing that hits you is that this game lacks that mighty kick-ass opening music of Soul Reaver 1, but on the bright side it does have a alright soundtrack despite its absence (If you can get around the fact that the music rarely plays in some areas of the game).

Gameplay. Luckily they've kept the same type of gameplay and perspective from SR1, and they've improved some minor details - such as removing the sometimes annoying and glitchy block puzzles (which are replaced by more creative and unique puzzles - such as the one in Janos' Retreat and in the Forges). The glide function was much more smoother, and gives you more air-time (yay!), and other minor details were improved. Over all, the biggest gameplay changes where the inclusion of Save Point markers and new Soul Reaver fonts and puzzles, along with a linear exploration.

Oh, and another note: Cutscenes were used in the last game for the sole purpose of Raziel's journey, but in this game, cutscenes forward the game and also provide interesting details and notes about Nosgoth and its inhabitants.

As for a fun factor, I'd say that despite its linear nature, Soul Reaver 2 is quite a fun game. Impalement, vampires, blood, souls, exploration, puzzles, evil dudes, expanded story! And did I mention impalement!? Of course the game is fun. If anything, its more fun than Soul Reaver 1 - and what's more, it isn't filled with (many) glitches!

The Bad
For those who have played Soul Reaver 1, you'll notice that this game doesn't have a soundtrack that was as good as SR1. The kick-ass music track that played practically throughout is absent here, and there's nothing that is as good in Soul Reaver 2. In fact, after playing SR2, you'll possibly be unable to recall the slightest bit of audio.

The game is also linear, but it removes the easiness of getting lost - which was almost always the case in SR1 (unless you used a walkthrough guide).

The Bottom Line
For a Legacy of Kain fan, this truly is a highlight of the series. I would recommended it to any Legacy of Kain fan, or anyone whose played any of the previous games (Blood Omen 1, Soul Reaver 1). For a player new to the series, I would still recommend it, but with the caution that the storyline may be hard to pick up. But apart from that, it's all good gaming, my fellow gaming friend.

PlayStation 2 · by Reborn_Demon (127) · 2007

An amazing piece of game with stunning graphics...

The Good
The game's Graphical Programming is quite advanced compared to the last game. The added Extras at the end of the game are very funny and the artwork is amazing. The fun during game play is Raziel's new found sense of humor, and his brother-like relationship with Kain is interesting. If anyone liked the last game, then I strongly recommend this game, it is also good for those who want a more involved RPG to play.

The Bad
The main let down of this game, for me, was the poor story line, and after the reviews that I had read in magazines, the main play graphics were annoying. I think the game's playing graphics are about the same as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.

The Bottom Line
In brief this game is an amazing piece of work. The main story-line is about a young Vampire forced by a half-truthed revenge on his lord, who is lead into the past and is again mis-lead by the devious Moebius. Kain of course creates a paradox by bringing the two Reavers together.... the world lies on the edge of a knife as Raziel tries to over-power the Reaver to find out more of his past. The finale is a repeat of an earlier FMV, Raziel, caught between life and death, is forced to over-power the reaver, after killing his human self, he is again faced and caused to kill his vampire self. As Kain gives a warning we are left with a cliff-hanger as Raziel slips into the Spectral Realm to recover and continue this story in Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver 3.

Buy the Game to find out the entire story and to meet the Saraphan and find the truth about Moebius, Kain, Ariel and Raziel's bretheren.

Windows · by Eldarwen Taralom (2) · 2003

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Best writing...ever? Donatello (466) Jan 5, 2014

Trivia

Cut content

  • The game originally called for time-travelling Raziel to run into both forms of Kain, that is the older one he is already familiar with, along with the younger, more arrogant Kain known from the Blood Omen. An early preview of the game, suggests this was the intention.
  • The Water, Earth and Spirit Elemental Reavers were meant to be included in this game, they were not finished in time. Their symbols can be seen in the Elder God's Chamber along with Fire, Air, Light and Darkness.
  • Apparently, the Spirit Reaver was meant to have a Hookshot-like ability.
  • In the "Making of" material section, the Enemy subsection included artwork of Vampires that were meant to be encountered ingame. However they were cut from the final release, and the only Vampires are either main characters or the strung-up kills of the mercenary and Sarafan Armies. Apparently, there were two parts where Raziel would have met them. Firstly, there was a planned sequence involving Raziel interrupting a slaying. And secondly, there was to be a hidden vampire village in the swamp ruins. It's not known whether or not they would have been allies or enemies. There were vampiric and/or demonic cultists planned to appear but they were also dropped. Actually, the lack of vampiric opponents is a surprising turn of events considering that mutated and devolved vampires made up the bulk of the enemies in Soul Reaver.

References: Series

  • When Moebius stands in confrontation with Malek at his side, faint screams can be heard in the background. The screams and dialog match the introduction to the first Blood Omen game, implying that events are occurring at the same time.
  • When Raziel enters the 'full circle' room for the first time (the room with the snake on the ground), in Moebius' crusade era, there are paintings on the wall depicting the Sarafan warriors and a statue of Raziel himself. Well, if you look at Rahab's picture, you'll see a couple of seahorses carved in his armor. Funny thing, since Rahab will be the first vampire with the ability to swim in Soul Reaver...

References

Although the game was released before the movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, there's a reference to it, or at least a big coincidence.

When Raziel is heading back to the Serafan Stronghold, after Janos Audron's death, as he reaches the pillars, 3 demons block his way. These demons are very similar to the Balrog in LOTR, but without wings. One of them turn to Raziel and say "You shall not pass!", just like Gandalf says to Balrog in the movie!

Title screen

The background image that swirls around during the title screen is actually the Tomb of William the Just, the view shifts between the material realm and the spectral realm.

Information also contributed by chiriniea, Mark Ennis and WildKard

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Related Sites +

  • Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds
    Website dedicated to the 'lost' content of the games in the Legacy of Kain series. Missing bosses, areas and plotlines that might have been.
  • Zarf's Review
    A review of Soul Reaver 2, done as a comparison to its predecessor, by Andrew Plotkin (November, 2001).

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  • MobyGames ID: 5563
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Additional contributors: Jon_Talbain, Shoddyan, Slug Camargo, Foxhack, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger.

Game added December 30, 2001. Last modified January 20, 2024.