Over 25 years after the first Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver launched, Crystal Dynamics has announced a remaster package collecting the first and second games in the series. The HD ports are the work of Aspyr, the studio responsible for the well-received remasters of the first three Tomb Raider games. The package was unveiled at Sony’s State of Play yesterday, but they’ve now been confirmed for PC.
Until recently the original versions of these games were available on Steam; they’ve since been removed, presumably to be replaced by their modernised versions. The trailer below shows what to expect: both games still look very much like late ’90s 3D action games, though they’ll enjoy sharper textures, smoother framerates, and upgraded models and visual effects.
Additions will include a photo mode, an “upgraded camera” and new control options. These games released for the original PlayStation at a time when analog sticks weren’t super popular, so the new controls and camera will be very welcome indeed, though I remember finding them quite playable with a mouse and keyboard. There’s also a new in-game map and compass. I’m not sure if this will prove controversial or not, but these games were basically big 3D labyrinths, to a greater extent than, say, the Tomb Raider series.
The remasters hit Steam and Epic Games Store on December 10, as well as all the consoles. If you never played the Soul Reaver games and want to know what the fuss is all about, this retrospective piece by Rick Lane is a thorough and enjoyable read.
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