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''Legacy of Kain'' is a series of dark fantasy
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video games primarily developed by
Crystal Dynamics Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio developed the '' Gex'', ''Legacy of Kain'', and ''Tomb Raider'' series. Founded in 1992 by Madeline Canepa, Judy L ...
and formerly published by Eidos Interactive, then
Square Enix Europe Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was i ...
after 2009. The first title, '' Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'', was created by
Silicon Knights Silicon Knights was a Canadian video game developer. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack, the company was headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario. They started developing for computers such as the Atari ST and IBM PC compatibles. After 1996, they mo ...
in association with Crystal Dynamics, but, after a legal battle, Crystal Dynamics retained the rights to the game's intellectual property, and continued its story with four sequels. To date, five games comprise the series, all initially developed for
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s and later ported to
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Focusing on the
eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
ous character of Kain, a
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
, each title features
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
, exploration and puzzle-solving, with some
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
elements. The series takes place in the fictional land of Nosgoth—a
gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
setting Setting may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative technique to eng ...
—and revolves around Kain's quest to defy his
fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
and restore balance to the world. '' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' introduced another antihero
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
,
Raziel Raziel, ( ''Rāzīʾēl,'' "God is my Mystery") also known as Gallitsur ( Hebrew: גַּלִּיצוּר ''Gallīṣūr'') is an angel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the "Angel of Secrets" and the "An ...
; the adventures of both characters culminate in '' Legacy of Kain: Defiance''. Themes of
destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
,
free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
, morality, redemption and the
hero's journey In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. Earlie ...
recur in the storyline, which was inspired by
ancient literature Ancient literature comprises religious and scientific documents, tales, poetry and plays, royal edicts and declarations, and other forms of writing that were recorded on a variety of media, including stone, stone tablets, papyri, palm leaves, and ...
,
horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
,
Shakespeare's plays Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, Shakespearean ...
and
gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
. The ''Legacy of Kain'' games have enjoyed critical success, particularly receiving praise for high-quality voice acting, narrative, and visuals, and, as a whole, had sold over 3.5 million copies by 2007. The ''Legacy of Kain'' series had been available for external developers to license through the
Square Enix Collective Square Enix Collective is an indie games awareness initiative and division of Square Enix Europe. Created by Phil Elliot in 2014, it is a self-titled "service provider for Indie developers", which helps get a developer's game published while they ...
service until 2022. That year, Square Enix sold the rights of the series to the
Embracer Group Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company was established under the name Nordic Games Licensing in 2011 as part of Nordic Games Grou ...
, who have expressed interest in developing sequels, remakes and remasters of ''Legacy of Kain''.


Games

'' Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'' was created by
Silicon Knights Silicon Knights was a Canadian video game developer. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack, the company was headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario. They started developing for computers such as the Atari ST and IBM PC compatibles. After 1996, they mo ...
under the direction of
Denis Dyack Denis Dyack (born July 24, 1966) is a Canadian video game developer and the CEO of Apocalypse Studios. He is also the former president of Silicon Knights, and is a video game designer, writer, director and producer. Dyack directed '' Blood Omen: ...
, with assistance from publisher
Crystal Dynamics Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio developed the '' Gex'', ''Legacy of Kain'', and ''Tomb Raider'' series. Founded in 1992 by Madeline Canepa, Judy L ...
, and was released in 1996 on the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
. In 1997, it was ported to
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Dyack conceived the "
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
project" under the title ''The Pillars of Nosgoth'' in 1993, and Crystal Dynamics producer Lyle Hall chose this fantasy concept over two other proposals (one of which was ''
Too Human ''Too Human'' is an action role-playing game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released in August 2008 for the Xbox 360. The game's story is a science-fictional futuristic retelling of Norse mythology tha ...
''). Pursued in hopes of bringing a strong narrative and artistic cinema to consoles, it was built as "a game which adults would want to play", featuring an unconventional hero and gameplay that demanded thought as well as reflexes. Developed as a 2D action-adventure game with
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
elements, it debuted to positive critical and commercial reception. Selling points included its 50+ hour length and the wide array of items and abilities the player character commands. ''Blood Omen'' introduces Nosgoth, a fictional land designed with novel-like complexity, and gives the player control of Kain, a newly resurrected
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
seeking revenge against his murderers and a cure for his vampiric curse. '' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' was released in 1999 for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows, and was ported to the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
in 2000. It originated as an independent concept inspired by Biblical themes called ''Shifter'', devised by Crystal Dynamics' Amy Hennig and Seth Carus, but, at the request of company executives, was integrated into the ''Legacy of Kain'' universe in pre-production. Hennig, the game's director, likened the technological advance from ''Blood Omen'' to ''Soul Reaver'' to the evolution of ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' series from the
Super Nintendo The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
to the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
—bringing the franchise into 3D while maintaining a similar style. ''Soul Reaver'' was hailed as a technical achievement for its
plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * ''Planes' ...
-shifting gameplay mechanics and its data-streaming game engine, which eliminated the loading pauses that were prevalent in PlayStation-era games. It was a commercial and critical success, selling 1.5 million units worldwide, but the strong reactions of players to its
cliffhanger ending A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhange ...
impelled the developers to allay concerns that it was released unfinished. The game elaborates on one of the two endings to ''Blood Omen'', taking place in Nosgoth's dark future where Kain rules an empire of vampires, and introduces a new
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
, his lieutenant
Raziel Raziel, ( ''Rāzīʾēl,'' "God is my Mystery") also known as Gallitsur ( Hebrew: גַּלִּיצוּר ''Gallīṣūr'') is an angel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the "Angel of Secrets" and the "An ...
, who is executed by Kain and resurrected to exact revenge on his brethren and his master. ''
Soul Reaver 2 ''Soul Reaver 2'' is a 2001 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It is a sequel to '' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' and the third game in the '' Legacy of Kain'' series. Originally devel ...
'' had an accelerated development cycle and was released after two years, despite a switch to sixth generation consoles early in the project. It was initially targeted for release in late 2000 on the PlayStation and Dreamcast, but was reworked and released in 2001 as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, and was ported to Microsoft Windows later that year. The developers' goal was to retain the elements that made its predecessor successful, but they decided to eschew the "complete a
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...
, fight a
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
" flow of the previous game in favor of a more narrative-driven approach. The plot serves as a direct sequel to ''Soul Reaver'', picking up immediately after its ending. The player controls Raziel as he uncovers the mysteries surrounding Nosgoth's distant past and his own destiny. Meanwhile, Kain attempts to subvert
fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
and restore the world by manipulating history. While ''Soul Reaver'' was still in development, Crystal Dynamics initiated another project - a successor to ''Blood Omen'' - and when the ''Soul Reaver'' team had started work on their follow-up in late 1999, two ''Legacy of Kain'' games were in simultaneous development. ''
Blood Omen 2 ''Blood Omen 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows and GameCube. It is the fourth title in the '' Legacy of Kain'' series and is the sequ ...
s "creative seeds were sown" in 1999, and the finished product was released in 2002, six months after ''Soul Reaver 2'', for the PlayStation 2,
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, Microsoft Windows and
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. It was not produced with the involvement of the ''Soul Reaver'' crew, instead being created by a new team at Crystal Dynamics under the direction of
Glen Schofield Glen Schofield is an American video game artist, designer, director, and producer, he is currently the CEO of the Striking Distance Studios. He was formerly the vice president and general manager at Visceral Games, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games ...
. A key point of focus for the developers was the main character, Kain; Crystal Dynamics had "a huge investment in Kain as a character". Shifting the focus of gameplay towards action, gore and combat instead of puzzle-solving, it retains several of the qualities which made the previous games popular, but was criticized for lacking innovation. Despite middling critical reception, it was released on four platforms and sold well. The setting, an enormous
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
city, is a departure for the series. While the game was released after ''Soul Reaver 2'', the events of the game actually happen after ''Blood Omen'' but before the events of ''Soul Reaver'', in an alternate timeline created from the ''Soul Reaver 2'' events. In ''Blood Omen 2'' players control a younger Kain after an unsuccessful campaign to conquer Nosgoth, as he is opposed by traitorous vampires and a new enemy. '' Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', the most recent entry in the series, was released in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. First conceptualized as ''Soul Reaver 3'', it represented a combined effort from the ''Soul Reaver 2'' and ''Blood Omen 2'' teams to consolidate and re-balance the storytelling, puzzle-solving and combat aspects of its predecessors, fusing elements from the two sub-series into one game. They chose a new title under the ''Legacy of Kain'' banner to reflect this new focus. The player alternates between control of Raziel and the ''Soul Reaver 2'' incarnation of Kain in each of the game's chapters, under the premise that only one of the two will survive—emphasis was placed on cinematic presentation. The story concludes on a hopeful note, but without full resolution; during production, Hennig departed Crystal Dynamics to work for
Naughty Dog Naughty Dog, LLC (formerly JAM Software, Inc.) is an American first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001. Gav ...
, and ''Defiance'' did not meet Eidos' sales expectations. Following its release, Eidos placed the series on hold. Former Eidos North America CEO Bill Gardner and Eidos Life President
Ian Livingstone Sir Ian Livingstone (born 29 December 1949) is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of a series of role-playing gamebooks, ''Fighting Fantasy'', and the author of many books within that s ...
expressed interest in reviving the franchise, but Crystal Dynamics stated that they were not working on a continuation. ''
Nosgoth ''Nosgoth'' was a free-to-play multiplayer action game, developed by Psyonix and published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows through digital distribution. It was a spin-off from the ''Legacy of Kain'' series of action-adventure games, and too ...
'', a
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
game, was formally announced by Square Enix London Studios community manager George Kelion to be in development in June 2013, in response to a series of
internet leak An internet leak is the unauthorized release of information over the internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, a ...
s and resultant speculation. According to Kelion, it was to be set in the same universe as previous ''Legacy of Kain'' titles, but would not be "a traditional or even single-player LoK experience". The game was intended to be viewed as "very much on a separate branch to both the Soul Reaver and Blood Omen series", and Crystal Dynamics were not involved in its development. Kelion stated that ''Nosgoth'' would be more formally announced and revealed at a future date, sometime beyond the
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 (E3 2013) was the 19th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California with many press conferences taking place at nearby venues including the Nokia Theater, ...
. However, ''Nosgoth'' was never officially released, but began open beta in January 2015. The game officially shut down its servers on May 31, 2016.


Overview


Common elements

The ''Legacy of Kain'' games fall into the action-adventure genre, utilizing a balance of action, puzzle-solving and exploration. Starting from ''Soul Reaver'', the series also features platforming elements from a 3D,
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
. Whereas ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'' employ an open world system in the style of ''The Legend of Zelda'' or '' Super Mario 64'', the latter three games are divided into chapters, and are more linear in progression. As the player solves pivotal puzzles or defeats bosses, they receive new weapons and abilities, such as
telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
,
shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
, mind control and magical spells. The main character's health constantly declines in each game—Kain must consume blood to sustain his strength, whereas Raziel requires
souls In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
—prompting combat, which focuses on hack and slash techniques, and allows the player to kill and feed from enemies. ''Blood Omen 2'' and ''Defiance'' include
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
systems, and in the ''Soul Reaver'' games and ''Defiance'', the player must shift between the material and spectral planes of existence to progress – both realms have unique
physical law Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) ...
s, geometry and enemies. The Soul Reaver sword, a recurring ultimate weapon and soul-devouring blade inhabited by a ravenous entity, appears in all five titles. Dialogue in the series is florid and
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
in style, inspired by
period pieces Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concep ...
such as ''
Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...
'', ''
The Lion in Winter ''The Lion in Winter'' is a 1966 play by James Goldman, depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. It premiered on Broadway at the ...
'' and '' A Man for All Seasons'', and each game was scripted in the manner of a stage play, with monologues, asides and
cutscenes A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
interspersing gameplay. During ''Blood Omens production, Silicon Knights hired classically trained actors to deliver voice talent, a precedent which Crystal Dynamics continued in successive games.
Simon Templeman Simon Templeman (born January 28, 1954) is an English actor. He is known for his video game roles as Kain (Legacy of Kain), Kain in ''Legacy of Kain'', Gabriel Roman in ''Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'', Loghain in ''Dragon Age'' and Admiral Han'G ...
and Michael Bell voice protagonists Kain and Raziel respectively. Supporting cast members include
Paul Lukather Paul Lukather (August 24, 1926 – October 9, 2014) was a veteran actor known for his vast array of work across stage, television and voice-over work. Lukather graduated from Drake University and Yale University. He won the Barter Award, which wa ...
as Vorador,
Anna Gunn Anna Gunn (born August 11, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Skyler White on the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...
as
Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
, Richard Doyle as Moebius, and
René Auberjonois René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony A ...
as Janos Audron.
Tony Jay Tony Jay (2 February 1933 – 13 August 2006) was a British actor. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in radio, animation, film, and video games. Jay was particularly noted for his distinctive bari ...
played Mortanius in ''Blood Omen'', and returned as The Elder God in subsequent games; in ''Defiance'', Mortanius was recast as Alastair Duncan. Gordon Hunt and
Kris Zimmerman Kris Zimmerman Salter is an American voice and casting director in the animation and video game industry. Her major works include the ''Metal Gear Solid'' series. In the cartoons, she has directed episodes for ''Ben 10'', ''The Real Adventures o ...
provided voice direction from ''Soul Reaver'' and onward. The developers coordinated the actors by ensuring they were involved as collaborators, recording their dialogue together rather than in isolation, and thus established techniques which would later carry over to Naughty Dog's ''
Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across th ...
'' series.


Story

The health of the land of Nosgoth is inextricably tied to nine edifices known as the Pillars of Nosgoth. The Pillars are preserved by an
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
of sorcerers known as the
Circle of Nine ''Legacy of Kain'' is a series of dark fantasy action-adventure game, action-adventure video games primarily developed by Crystal Dynamics and formerly published by Eidos Interactive, then Square Enix Europe after 2009. The first title, ''Blood ...
, each of whom serves as the guardian of an individual Pillar. When a guardian dies, a new one is born to take their place. In the
prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
of ''Blood Omen'', Ariel, the guardian of balance, is killed, and the resulting chain of events leads to the spiritual corruption of the Pillars and their guardians. Thirty years later, Kain, a young nobleman, is murdered by brigands, and resurrected as a vampire by a
necromancer Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events ...
, Mortanius. Directed by Mortanius and the specter of Ariel, he tracks down and kills the guardians in hopes of attaining revenge and a cure to his vampirism, but slowly begins to embrace his new powers. While hunting Moebius, the guardian of time, he defies the advice of Vorador (a senior vampire), and travels back in time. Using the Soul Reaver, he prevents a tyrant king from coming to power, but the
temporal paradox A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or logical contradiction associated with the idea of time and time travel. The notion of time travel to the future complies with current understanding ...
which this causes results in a new timeline where Nosgoth's humans have hunted the vampires to extinction. Kain discovers that Mortanius — the guardian of death —orchestrated his murder to purge the Circle and kills all but one of the remaining guardians. Kain realizes that he himself is the final corrupt guardian, born as Ariel's successor, and is left to decide between sacrificing himself to restore the world (but destroying the vampire race), or ruling Nosgoth in its damnation.Kain: Thirty years hence, I am presented with a dilemma – let's call it a two-sided coin. If the coin falls one way, I sacrifice myself and thus restore the Pillars. But as the last surviving vampire in Nosgoth, this would mean the annihilation of our species. Moebius made sure of that. If the coin lands on the reverse, I refuse the sacrifice and thus doom the Pillars to an eternity of collapse. Either way, the game is rigged. ''Soul Reaver'' establishes that Kain, disgusted by the humans' machinations, chose the latter option and embraced vampirism as a blessing. He raised a cadre of vampire lieutenants to conquer Nosgoth's human kingdoms, establishing an all-powerful empire under his control while the land decays. 1500 years after the events of ''Blood Omen'', Raziel, his first-born follower, transgresses against Kain, and is consequently executed. A
demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge''. Al ...
-like entity known as The Elder God resurrects Raziel, who quickly confronts Kain. Kain strikes Raziel with the Reaver, but it shatters against him, and the captive spirit formerly within the blade binds itself to Raziel's arm. Raziel murders his lieutenant brethren, and discovers that Kain resurrected them all from the corpses of the
Sarafan A sarafan ( rus, сарафа́н, p=sərɐˈfan, from fa, سراپا ''sarāpā'', literally " romhead to feet") is a long, trapezoidal Russian jumper dress (pinafore dress) worn by girls and women and forming part of Russian traditional fo ...
, an ancient vampire-hunting spiritual brotherhood. Infuriated at this revelation, he pursues Kain to Moebius's long-abandoned time machine, and Kain lures him into the past. In ''Soul Reaver 2'', Raziel conspires with Moebius to destroy Kain, but—after realizing that Kain wishes to restore the Pillars,Raziel: We agree then that the Pillars are crucial, and must be restored? / Kain: Yes, Raziel – that's why we've come full-circle to this place. / Raziel: So after all this you make my case for me. To end this stalemate, you must die so that new Guardians can be born. / Kain: The Pillars don't belong to them, Raziel... they belong to us. / Raziel: Your arrogance is boundless, Kain. / Kain: There's a third option – a monumental secret, hidden in your very presence here. But it's a secret you have to discover for yourself. Unearth your destiny, Raziel. It's all laid out for you here. and learning that Moebius secretly serves The Elder God—his lust for vengeance is tempered by a higher quest for enlightenment and freedom from the ensnarement of predestination. On advice from Vorador, he seeks Janos Audron, an infamous, long-dead vampire who holds the key to his destiny. Raziel assists Kain in triggering another paradox which changes Kain's fate, prolonging his life, and travels Nosgoth's history. Beginning to unearth the secrets of his past, he briefly meets with Janos in the era of the Sarafan, but realizes that his own, human former self murdered the ancient vampire. He slaughters the Sarafan lieutenants, and murders his former self, becoming the catalyst of Kain's future empire and his own history. In a final epiphany, he discovers that he is the ravenous spirit destined to become imprisoned in the Reaver—that the cycle of his destiny will never end. At the last minute, Kain saves Raziel from this fate and takes the empty Reaver, but the paradox that this causes changes history for the worse. ''Soul Reaver 2'', ''Blood Omen 2'' and ''Defiance'' expand the backstory of the series. Initially, alongside the humans, two other major races existed in Nosgoth's distant past: the ancient vampires and the
Hylden ''Legacy of Kain'' is a series of dark fantasy action-adventure game, action-adventure video games primarily developed by Crystal Dynamics and formerly published by Eidos Interactive, then Square Enix Europe after 2009. The first title, ''Blood ...
. The Vampires exalted the spiritual and the wheel of fate, whereas the Hylden were technologically inclined beings. Though the vampires worshiped The Elder God, the Hylden rejected his doctrine, and the vampires declared war in response to this blasphemy. Using incredible magic, the vampires erected the Pillars, banishing the Hylden into another dimension, and forged the Reaver as a safeguard. The Hylden retaliated by afflicting the vampires with a blood curse, which transformed them into immortal, sterile predators of humankind. Divorced from the wheel of fate and their god, many vampires turned to suicide, and as their race died out, the humans of Nosgoth seized control of the Pillars. Over the centuries, the Hylden strained against the barriers of their prison, seeking to topple the Pillars. Kain's spiritual corruption hinders him from realizing his role as the balance guardian—he seeks to somehow resolve the dilemma he faced at the end of ''Blood Omen'' by both restoring the Pillars and returning them to vampire rule. Raziel's execution was necessitated—his unique, cyclic destiny affords him free will, enabling Kain to create paradoxes and defy history. ''Blood Omen 2'' pursues a younger Kain in the altered timeline created at the end of ''Soul Reaver 2'', depicting his war against the leader of the Hylden. Eventually, Kain kills The Hylden Lord, and departs, to eventually establish his empire from ''Soul Reaver''. ''Defiance'' covers earlier points in the same timeline, directly after ''Soul Reaver 2''. Kain and Raziel each discover evidence that the ancient vampires and Hylden had prophesied two champions—one representing each race—who would decide the fate of Nosgoth. Whereas Raziel is bent on resurrecting Janos to escape his destiny, Kain strives to stop him, and the two are drawn into battle. Raziel learns from Mortanius that Kain was raised using Janos' heart, and rips this from Kain's chest in their last battle, ostensibly killing his former master. Though disillusioned, Raziel resurrects Janos, who guides him to a final trial. Though he succeeds, receiving spiritual powers, Raziel witnesses the collapse of the Pillars. The resulting breach enables The Hylden Lord to possess Janos (facilitating his invasion in ''Blood Omen 2''), and Raziel is defeated in the ensuing battle, trapped by The Elder God. He concludes that the Elder, sustained by the souls of Nosgoth, is the ultimate cause of all the conflict and strife throughout history, and realizes that he, himself, was both the Vampiric and Hylden champions; Kain was neither. His free will, and his destiny to enter the Reaver (consuming himself), ensures that neither champion can win. Later, Kain miraculously awakes, despite the loss of his heart. He encounters Raziel, and they reconcile; Raziel enters the Reaver willingly, but first uses his spiritual powers to cleanse Kain of the corruption he had inherited at birth as a member of the Circle of Nine. Thus healed, Kain is able to perceive The Elder God for the first time. They skirmish briefly, and Kain wounds the Elder with the Reaver, but is unable to destroy him. As he looks out over Nosgoth, Kain contemplates Raziel's sacrifice, and the first bitter taste of hope it has given him.


Themes

Each of the ''Legacy of Kain'' games concerns distinct themes and dilemmas, but their overarching philosophical topic involves
fatalism Fatalism is a family of related philosophical doctrines that stress the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or destiny, and is commonly associated with the consequent attitude of resignation in the face of future events which are tho ...
and man's struggle for free will. ''Blood Omen'' was intended to ask "what is evil? Perhaps it is merely a perspective", and to "address morals, evil and good, propaganda and fate in ways that have never been explored in a computer game before". Other latent issues included trust, manipulation and betrayal, which carried over into Crystal Dynamics' sequels. In ''Soul Reaver'' and ''Soul Reaver 2'', Amy Hennig identified "the question of free will in a universe apparently ruled by fate" as the core of the story.
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
, in which "the material world is an illusion, a lie perpetrated by a false and malignant god whose aim is to keep the human soul in darkness and ignorance" and the hero's goal is "knowledge, enlightenment, and the exposure of the truth", helped to formulate Raziel's arc. Themes of despair, hope and illumination in the works of T. S. Eliot and
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
influenced the story. The developers also attempted to subvert the
monomyth In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. Earlie ...
and other tropes within literature and gaming. Silicon Knights conceptualized Kain, a vampire antihero inspired by
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
's ''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
'', as an atypical "gray" protagonist, neither good nor evil, despite being advised in 1993 that such a character would not appeal to gamers. Similarly, Hennig developed Raziel as a "self-righteous little twit" with villainy, seeking redemption and transcendence through knowledge, in contrast to an idealistic hero. Drawing from Joseph Campbell's ideas, she felt it would be interesting to see how players interpret morality in this context, and argued that "the only way a hero can ever succeed is by following his own path. As long as he's following a path laid out by someone else, ultimately he's going to fail". ''Defiance'' portrayed Kain and Raziel as Sophoclean
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
-like figures, "being railroaded by fate". Hennig said that "they are heroes because they refuse to submit, even when all the odds are stacked against them".


Development

During and after the completion of ''
Dark Legions ''Dark Legions'' is a 1994 action game, action strategy game for MS-DOS. It was video game developer, developed by Silicon Knights and video game publisher, published by Strategic Simulations (SSI). Key features Some key features of this game ...
'', Silicon Knights spent several months working on the design of ''Blood Omen'' without a particular
platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...
in mind. Major inspirations behind the project included ''
The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...
'', ''
Necroscope ''Necroscope'' is the title of a series of horror novels by British author Brian Lumley. The term ''necroscope'', as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike ...
'' and
Shakespeare's plays Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, Shakespearean ...
, while the concept of the Pillars of Nosgoth was derived from cover art for ''
The Pillars of the Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...
''. Crystal Dynamics agreed to publish the game in 1993, and although there was indecision as to whether it should be produced for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer or the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
, both parties settled on the PlayStation once
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
announced its impending launch. The game took over three years to develop, undergoing a substantial expansion mid-process which required Silicon Knights to increase its workforce—Crystal Dynamics sent several staff to assist them, including Amy Hennig and Seth Carus. Following " Herculean efforts", ''Blood Omen'' was released in late 1996. After its success, Silicon Knights contemplated creating a sequel in what they described as the ''Blood Omen'' series, but their relationship with Crystal Dynamics dissolved in 1997. Crystal Dynamics began developing ''Soul Reaver'' internally, and were acquired by Eidos Interactive during its production. In 1998, Silicon Knights filed a suit against Crystal Dynamics for rights to the ''Legacy of Kain'' IP, requesting an
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
to prevent Crystal Dynamics from marketing the sequel. The two studios settled their legal dispute privately, and Crystal Dynamics and Eidos retained rights to the ''Legacy of Kain'' franchise, provided that ''Soul Reaver'' acknowledge Silicon Knights as the series' original creator. ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'' was the original inspiration behind the concept, and sources such as
Rabbinic Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
lore, vampire mythology,
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
myth and
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
were also key influences. Visual cues were borrowed from films such as ''
The City of Lost Children ''The City of Lost Children'' (french: La Cité des enfants perdus) is a 1995 science fantasy film directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Jeunet and Gilles Adrien, and starring Ron Perlman. An international co-production of ...
'' and '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'', and H. P. Lovecraft's
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
. ''Soul Reaver'' was highly anticipated despite several delays, and was promoted on the covers of over ten game industry magazines, but schedule pressures forced Crystal Dynamics to cut content from the ending sequence. They intended to integrate the removed material into the sequel. ''Soul Reaver 2'' was inspired by
time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
and
Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig
– 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...
's research into Gnosticism. It was slated to include more of ''Blood Omens role-playing game aspects and a wider breadth of acquirable abilities, though the team was handicapped by the release of the PlayStation 2. The ''Soul Reaver 2'' project was produced for the PlayStation for a short time, but, after creating a proof-of-concept demo, the developers were given approval to scrap their work and switch to the newer console. With "remarkable dedication, and sickening hours", the game was developed in 17 months; as with ''Soul Reaver'', several features were cut in order to meet the release deadline. ''Blood Omen 2'' was concurrently developed by an independent Crystal Dynamics team with creative autonomy, extrapolating from the 19th century steampunk aesthetic of ''Soul Reaver'' to settle on a Victorian feel. Its crew was wary of relying too strongly on the original ''Blood Omen'' as an influence, and expanded on the franchise's backstory in hopes of starting a new series. However, inconsistencies raised by its plot left the ''Soul Reaver 2'' team to reconcile the storyline in the next game. ''Defiance'' represented "a whole new approach" to the franchise, with more focus on drama, an overhauled combat system, and scripted, cinematic camera angles. After fan speculation that it would become the last ''Legacy of Kain'' title, Crystal Dynamics unofficially confirmed on their forums that another game was being worked on, though no announcement followed, and, in 2005, their next project was revealed to be '' Tomb Raider: Legend''. In 2008, it emerged that a sixth game, ''Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy'', had briefly been in development at
Ritual Entertainment Ritual Entertainment was an American video game developer established in 1996 by Robert Atkins, Mark Dochtermann, Jim Dosé, Richard 'Levelord' Gray, Michael Hadwin, Harry Miller, and Tom Mustaine. Based in Dallas, Texas, Ritual Entertainment wa ...
in 2004 before being canceled. Later, in 2013, Square Enix confirmed allegations that
Climax Studios Climax Studios is a British video game developer based in Portsmouth that is best known for their work on the 2004 action role-playing game ''Sudeki'' and the 2007 and 2009 survival horror video games '' Silent Hill: Origins'' and '' Silent Hi ...
had worked on another new ''Legacy of Kain'' title, for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
—'' Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun''—until this project's cancellation in 2012. In October 2015, Crystal Dynamics' senior designer, Michael Brinker, stated that there was "a 50/50 chance" of a sixth ''Legacy of Kain'' single player game releasing during the
eighth generation of video game consoles The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017. The gen ...
. In November 2017, Square Enix Europe's director of indie publishing, Phil Elliott, confirmed that the company had no specific plans for ''Legacy of Kain'', but would consider licensing the property to external developers through its
Square Enix Collective Square Enix Collective is an indie games awareness initiative and division of Square Enix Europe. Created by Phil Elliot in 2014, it is a self-titled "service provider for Indie developers", which helps get a developer's game published while they ...
service. In April 2019, Elliott stated that no such projects were in production as no team had come forward with a credible proposal, but that the Collective program would remain open to future ''Legacy of Kain'' submissions. In 2022, the
Embracer Group Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company was established under the name Nordic Games Licensing in 2011 as part of Nordic Games Grou ...
acquired ''Legacy of Kain'' intellectual property alongside other assets of
Square Enix Europe Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was i ...
, including the development studio Crystal Dynamics for $300 million. The deal was closed in summer. Embracer Group (before the acquisition was complete) expressed interest in sequels, remakes and remasters in ''Legacy of Kain'' franchise among others. On November 2022, Embracer, after sending a survey in October to see if the fans are still interesed in the IP, said during an earnings call that they recived more than 100,000 responses and hear very clear to the fans and preparing something for the series according to CDE Enterteinment CEO Phil Rogers.


Other media

Music from both ''Soul Reaver'' and ''Soul Reaver 2'' was released on a promotional soundtrack in 2001. For ''Soul Reaver'', Amy Hennig selected
Kurt Harland Kurt Harland is an American singer, songwriter, and audio engineer and is the lead singer of Information Society. He also works on video game scores, including two of the soundtracks for the ''Legacy of Kain'' video game series ('' Legacy of Ka ...
of
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
band
Information Society An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid inf ...
to compose the score. According to Harland, a colleague introduced the ''Soul Reaver'' team to his work through "Ozar Midrashim", a track from Information Society's 1997 album '' Don't Be Afraid''. This track went on to feature in ''Soul Reaver'' as the opening theme. Harland worked with audio engineer Jim Hedges in the creation of an adaptive audio system for ''Soul Reaver'' which allowed the music to change based on in-game context. This approach became a mainstay of subsequent games in the series. Following the release of ''Soul Reaver'', action figures of the characters Kain and Raziel were created by Blue Box Interactive and the
National Entertainment Collectibles Association The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was foun ...
in partnership with Eidos. A single-issue promotional comic by
Top Cow Productions Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. History During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim L ...
was released in October 1999 to promote the release of ''Soul Reaver'', starring the vampire Raziel and serving as a prequel to the game's events. Top Cow collaborated with Crystal Dynamics to produce a second comic in early 2004, recapitulating the series' backstory, to coincide with the release of ''Defiance''. Both Kain and Raziel also feature as playable characters in
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
for 2010's ''
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light ''Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light'' is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix's Square Enix Europe, European subsidiary for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Android and iOS. It is part ...
''.


Reception

By 2007, the ''Legacy of Kain'' series had collectively sold over 3.5 million copies, but its commercial success has varied with each game. ''Blood Omen'' surpassed Crystal Dynamics' expectations, with reported sales figures ranging from 320,082 units to 2 million copies, whereas ''Soul Reaver'' sold over 1.5 million copies, and was included on Sony's "Greatest Hits" list. ''Soul Reaver 2'' and ''Blood Omen 2'' also performed well, selling in excess of 500,000 copies each and becoming Greatest Hits titles. ''Defiance'' sold between 500,000 and 1 million units, but failed to live up to Eidos's sales targets. ''Legacy of Kain'' has been cited as one of the most popular video game intellectual properties associated with vampires.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Douglass C. Perry regarded the series as "a strangely attractive, yet equally obscure one that ad himtorn between loving and hating it".
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's
Greg Kasavin Gregory A. Kasavin (; born August 21, 1977) is an American writer and designer for Supergiant Games, and the former site director and executive editor at the gaming website ''GameSpot'' for over 10 years. Early life and education Kasavin atten ...
was critical of ''Blood Omen 2'', but praised the ''Soul Reaver'' games as "great" for their "innovation and surprising drama", voice acting and technical feats. Matt Clemens of ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' said that the series had engaging narrative, impressive cinematic sequences and fluid combat, calling ''Soul Reaver'' an "absolute classic". The ''
Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...
'' described ''Legacy of Kains voice cast as "the greatest unrecognized brilliance in video game acting", and compared the dialogue of the series to plays by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar said that "known for nuanced storytelling, unconventional protagonists, amazing boss fights and rich Shakespearean baritones, the series raised the bar for writing and acting in games".
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
's Chuck Osborn complimented the games' storyline as "deep", but described their mythology as convoluted. Individually, each title has generally been received well by critics.
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, a video game review aggregator website, determined that the PlayStation version of ''Soul Reaver'' received a "critical acclaim" score of 91/100, ''Soul Reaver 2'' received "generally favorable" scores of 80/100 and 77/100 for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows, the Xbox version of ''Blood Omen 2'' received a "generally favorable" score of 76/100 while the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows versions received "mixed or average" scores of 71/100, 67/100 and 66/100, the PlayStation 2 version of ''Defiance'' received a "generally favorable" score of 75/100 while the Xbox and Microsoft Windows versions received "mixed or average" scores of 74/100 and 70/100. ''Soul Reaver'' was also Amy Hennig's self-proclaimed greatest achievement.Amy Hennig: "I'm actually really proud of that game still; I mean if somebody said...what is the best game you've designed, I'd probably say Soul Reaver. I felt like it was the purest expression of story and gameplay being the same thing
Amy Hennig: 'You shouldn't underestimate the value of not being technical'
Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
, retrieved on October 20, 2016
Later games in the series were criticized for repetitive gameplay elements and review scores of subsequent titles trended downward.


References


External links


Nosgothic Realm - A Legacy of Kain Fan Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legacy Of Kain Action-adventure games Apocalyptic video games Dark fantasy video games Embracer Group franchises Video games about demons Square Enix franchises Video games about time travel Video games about vampires Video game franchises introduced in 1996