Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver remaster sparks the revival of a forgotten franchise

PlayStation announced Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered with a first-reveal trailer on September 24, showcasing the visual improvements made over the originals and introducing story beats and key players in the games like Raziel and Kain.

Crystal Dynamics returns as developer, while Aspyr Games takes over publishing duties from the now-defunct Eidos Interactive.

Despite the critical and commercial success of the series, Legacy of Kain hasn’t gotten a new installment since Defiance in 2003. In that time, the franchise went mostly forgotten and ignored, also failing to receive any ports to newer consoles. But the Soul Reaver remaster means big things are likely in the future for Legacy of Kain.

Studios typically use smaller, less-expensive projects as a tool to test the waters of the market, and gauge interest in a specific intellectual property. If the “feeler” product sells well, or exceeds expectations by other parameters, the publisher moves forward with a new title in the series. Capcom utilized this strategy with the Marvel vs Capcom Collection. And with the announcement of the Legacy of Kain graphic novel in August, Aspyr is probably doing the same with the Soul Reaver remaster.

Soul Reaver is part of the wider Legacy of Kain mythos, which also includes Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2, and Defiance. The series chronicles the vampire Kain’s rise to power in the land of Nosgoth, and his lieutenant, Raziel’s attempts to topple the overlord and restore balance to the world. The franchise as a whole received mostly positive reviews, with the Soul Reaver titles being the standouts. Aspyr Games recently worked on another remaster of a turn-of-the-century franchise in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider games in the past, so perhaps a working relationship between the companies may herald another revival.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered is available now for preorder. It is set to release on December 10 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC for $29.99.