Right, so I'm going to do one for the seminal sequel to a great classic. Honestly, playing this, I've started to realize how they came into figuring out implementing action based gameplay and puzzle solving. Sometimes, in certain scenarios, it's both.
Soul Reaver 2 is a vastly improved game. Combat is more engaging with challenging fights, and use of weaponry. Puzzles are more clever, and properly uses good visual tips to solve them. This is me relearning again how game developers improve time and time. Of course, it's not largely different from the A.I. glow up to the original one. Still adds enough grandeur to it.
If you hate backtracking, they did little to fix that here. I still get confused once in a while, also it's jarring to go from a game that allows saving and using teleport rooms to just plain checkpoint systems. It's sort of open world, but very linear in a way. Also, little to no item collecting this time.
Past the climactic ending of Soul Reaver, we're now playing Raziel once again, while Kain lives on large, waiting to convince Raziel that they both have a shared destiny in stopping the extinction of their race. All the while, a crusade group called the Sarafin comes after them.
But a man named Moebius from Sarafin works for his old benefactor, trying to appease Raziel into joining his side. I mentioned deception, anguish, misgivings, vengeance, and now we got prophecies, time travelling and control over one's destiny. Raziel's journey is more of a weary one, as his drive for revenge wains, and he seeks more answers into who is supposed to become.
Pretty much seems like Raziel is a victim of a giant conspiracy and tapestry of faith written for him. While he also learns that he was a human noble with a higher purpose in life before Kain turned him away, and choices led him to where they are now.
Yeah, the writing is top-class, and instead of cutscenes feeling weirdly placed, the environments with the camera placements and animation seemingly feel more convincing. I mean, makes sense, this made the jump to the PS2. As a remaster, however, not really much difference besides the character models. You can switch up originals visuals with the new one to see in a button press.
With the combat and puzzles, on the other hand, this sequel really shaped up. It's no longer about trying to hit them right. Enemy encounters are a little stronger, more dangerous, they dodge attacks, and best part, instead of being utilitarian about killing enemies to collect souls, I have to use attack combos, blocking, and flank attacks after dodging to take them out. Then there's the Soul Reaver weapon, it's super powerful and yet costs health to cool down.
Hand combat is useful enough, until enemy weapons are grabbed. They don't die till they bleed to death or a kill animation is triggered by Raziel. There are multiple of them for different enemy types, which is really cool for exuding the fighting style more.
It still retains parts of the older game, yet more actively intense in enemy encounters, more careful observations and thinking skills needed while solving tombs, moving structural pieces, and such. Notice I said 'tombs', it's where Crystal Dynamics soon after works for the Tomb Raider games. Exploration is still tricky, it's more linear for sure, but I've gotten plenty lost and confused.
Most sequels nowadays would make it about a whole list of things, instead of primarily focusing on the plot, and expanding so much further. The respect this game has for its lore, and character writing, is never to be remiss about. You have to play the prior game as a prerequisite.
At first, it honestly seemed like Kain was a greedy, terrible mad man who wanted his species to survive and overcome while obtaining things near impossible. Though, as more the layers peeled, further it's revealed about why he got stuck to his ways, and some of the decisions that he has made. Yeah, it removes the mysticism for only a short time, before things get twisted further.
This is an old game, and I did ask myself I could have better things to do. But Raziel's inner monologues also help throughout the journey. Majority of the fighting and puzzle solving also has aspects of environmental storytelling, reciprocally to the game's major themes. It's humbling for me to realize all of this in a few hours playtime.
The Soul Reaver is also capable of inhibiting elemental powers, requiring to solve said puzzles too. The realm warping now is also less confusing, but can trick me into doing stupid things if I'm not careful. I had my handful of "gotcha" moments quite a bit.
Speaking of inconveniences, you'll have to play an hour or stretch before you reach a save point. Checkpoints are good if you die, but finding these save spots are very important before you quit the game. Wait, why isn't autosaving here, then? Come on now.
Weird things have also occurred, like Raziel's forehead goes missing, and I see through his textures. While climbing on objects, he gets stuck completely. Is this a problem with the original, or did the remaster meddle in things? I'm still not a fan of the camera, especially when I have to aim and shoot projectiles in limited viewpoint. The tricky controls are also something of getting used to.
Man, I even missed the old game's creepy menu. This one has the camera hovering over specific areas of the game. Probably was too intimidating of an atmosphere for regular players. But call me a fan now, I'm glad this remaster came out, and I got to experience history.
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