Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered

Soul Reaver Legacy of Kain é uma pérola escondida em meio a muitos jogos de PlayStation 1. Certamente alguns tiveram contato ou talvez já ouviram falar sobre, porém ele deveria ser muito mais lembrado do que é, tendo em vista tudo o que entregou há mais de 25 anos atrás. Este é um daqueles jogos que eu definiria como um clássico esquecido com uma narrativa extremamente bem escrita e uma gameplay ousada pra época dele que, apesar de não ser perfeita, possui uma mecânica sensacional e diferenciada do que existia até aquele momento. [h1] Uma narrativa fora da curva [/h1] Nosgoth é uma Terra decadente e apenas um reflexo do que já foi no passado. Governada por Kain a punho de ferro e por seus subordinados, sem piedade e tolerância a nenhum tipo de desobediência, não existe liberdade; tudo passa pelo controle do imperador. As consequências geradas pelos atos dele levaram um local que já foi vivo e próspero a apenas ruínas, que se transformaram em sombras daquilo que restou pelo caminho ao longo de séculos. A trama de Legacy of Kain é uma das mais interessantes que já presenciei dentro de um jogo, o enredo aborda com grande maestria a busca por resposta, questionamentos sobre o que está ocorrendo a nossa volta, o livre-arbítrio, passando também pela manipulação imposta por figuras enigmáticas que encontramos pelo caminho. Os eventos contribuem diretamente pra a construção de um protagonista excelente, Raziel. Através das descobertas dele, toda a trama vai se moldando e evoluindo. [h1] Um protagonista subestimado [/h1] Raziel é um dos protagonistas mais bem escritos entre os jogos que já joguei, indo de encontro ao que ressaltei sobre a trama como um todo. Um dos principais motivos dela ser tão boa é por causa dele, com sua personalidade enigmática em busca de respostas. Dúvidas e incertezas surgindo e uma evolução impressionante. O que a princípio pode parecer bem simples vai se desenvolvendo através de múltiplas camadas: o ódio em contraste com o desejo de justiça. Ele necessita de respostas e, a cada avanço, ele vai encontrando pistas pelo caminho. Ele não é moralmente correto, pelo contrário, ele passa muito longe do estereótipo comum de protagonista bonzinho. Ele faz o que acha que tem que fazer, derramando sangue pelo caminho, indo no sentido oposto do seu desejo de justiça; os fins justificam os meios se enquadram perfeitamente nesse caso. Uma construção fora da mesmice, transitando entre anti-herói, que vai passar por tudo o que tiver pela frente sem medir as consequências, em contraste ao lado heroico lutando pela busca de respostas. [h1] Ambientação excepcional [/h1] A ambientação segue o estilo dark Fantasy mesclado com o gótico, e o que deixa tudo mais fantástico é a estética dos gráficos de PS1. Jogando e avançando pelos cenários, era como se eu tivesse voltado no tempo. Foi tão legal desbravar o mundo de Nosgoth; além do sentimento nostálgico, os cenários envelheceram como vinho. E, diferente de muitos jogos da época, ele não tem loading. Lembram daqueles momentos em que encontrávamos uma porta e, quando abríamos ela, nos deparávamos com um loading pros cenários carregarem? Aqui as coisas são bem diferentes: o mundo é interligado. E não para por aí, esse jogo possui uma das mecânicas mais legais dos vídeos games: existem dois planos, o material e o espectral, que podem ser alternados em tempo real. Ambos possuem características próprias, inimigos únicos, certos locais só são acessíveis em um e não no outro, e vice-versa. Tudo flui naturalmente. [h1] Um teatro em forma de jogo [/h1] A interpretação teatral é um dos pontos mais marcantes, o jogo possui uma dublagem icônica. Desde a primeira cena ela já impressiona; tanto a interpretação quanto as vozes combinam perfeitamente. Pra um jogo de PS1 é muito fora da curva. Os diálogos são imersivos, eles prendiam toda minha atenção. Eu olhava pra tela, observava atentamente. Mesmo tantos anos depois o jogo se mantém excelente, arrisco dizer que é tranquilamente um dos melhores daquela época nesse aspecto. E o detalhe bônus: ele possui dublagem em português. Legacy of Kain foi um dos primeiros jogos a receber dublagem pt-br, ela é muito boa por sinal. [h1] Gameplay [/h1] Ela é bem simples, e esse é um dos pontos em que fica claro os sinais do tempo, embora pra época ela fosse bem impressionante por causa das mecânicas implementadas. Como ressaltei acima, é possível alternar entre dois planos (material e espectral), cada um deles possui características únicas. Boa parte do jogo se passa no plano material, no qual enfrentamos a maioria dos inimigos e chefes. Ao longo dos cenários encontramos algumas armas; Raziel possui ataques básicos e ataques fortes e, ao derrotar os inimigos, a alma deles pode ser absorvida. Essa, inclusive, é a maneira de recuperar a barra de hp. Vale ressaltar que nesse jogo o nosso personagem nunca morre; quando a barra de hp dele é zerada, o mundo automaticamente se torna espectral. Pra retornarmos ao mundo material, basta absorver almas de inimigos e alternar manualmente em alguns pontos que ficam pelo cenário, isso vale também para lutas de chefes. Ao decorrer do jogo Raziel consegue novas habilidades e uma arma fixa praticamente dispensando as armas comuns. [h1] Legacy of Kain é apenas uma parte do todo [/h1] A jornada se aproximava do final, Raziel já tinha passado por muitas situações e descobertas para chegar até um determinado ponto: o momento em que tudo seria resolvido e, finalmente, ele alcançaria seu objetivo. Mas aí entra em ação o roteiro e seguimos para Legacy of Kain 2... [h1] A sequência [/h1] O ano era 2001 e chegamos ao PlayStation 2. Legacy of kain 2 continua exatamente do ponto em que o primeiro termina. O mundo do jogo mudou, assim como a exploração; Raziel viaja no tempo de volta ao passado e se depara com Nosgoth bem diferente e maior, com outros cenários que não foram explorados no primeiro jogo. E o grande destaque é a narrativa que, já era muito boa no anterior, se tornou ainda melhor. Ele passa a lidar com novas descobertas que o fazem repensar tudo o que considerava correto até então. Se tornando cada vez mais questionador e reflexivo; o jogo passa a focar em aspectos filosóficos. Se Raziel não media as consequências no jogo anterior, agora ele é o oposto disso: ele se torna reflexivo e passa a ouvir com calma até quem ele jamais ouviria. Essencialmente, ele passa a questionar a sua própria natureza e o passado como um todo. [h1] O nível dos diálogos é ainda mais elevado [/h1] Se no primeiro já era excelente, agora se torna primoroso. Legacy of Kain 2 é muito mais focado na narrativa, e isso fica claro na qualidade implementada nas interações. Elas são complexas e abordam vários temas que requerem que se preste muita atenção na tela. O nível das conversas entre os personagens beira a perfeição, é quase como se eu estivesse escutando uma conversa entre pessoas reais. O Raziel se torna um personagem muito mais rico em conteúdo e em personalidade. Desde o início eu gosto muito dele, mas aqui eu gosto ainda mais. O estilo na forma como conversa, o olhar fixo nas interações e todas as expressões tornam tudo muito melhor. Isso vale também pros demais personagens, todos ganham muito em construção. [b] A história a partir de então vai se desenvolver narrando as consequências dos paradoxos temporais causados pela viagem no tempo... [/b] [h1] Conclusão [/h1] Dois grandes jogos subestimados e esquecidos pelo tempo, que entregaram uma narrativa muito acima da média. Passando por diversos temas, desde os mais simples até os mais complexos, há uma enorme carga filosófica presente que torna a história fantástica. O trabalho feito aqui não se vê todos os dias; Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 e 2 merecem ser jogados, e eu recomendo muito a todos. Ainda que seja uma joia escondida, a franquia não deixa de brilhar como um dos melhores exemplos da capacidade dessa mídia de entregar experiências marcantes.

Начну с того, что во времена моей молодости эта игра была одной из самых любимых мною игр и когда я увидела анонс версии "ремастеред", то, конечно же, сразу обрадовалась уникальной возможности перепройти свою некогда любимейшую игру в новой улучшенной графике. Это как я себе это представляла. Но запустив ее на компьютере, я была очень разочарована и почувствовала себя просто обманутой. Во времена релиза игра имела известные недостатки с камерой и ожидалось, что издатель поправит эти старые проблемы, но нет - ВСЁ осталось не только по-прежнему, а наоборот стало еще хуже. Вариант с частично свободной камерой местами жутко глючит и откровенно раздражает. "Ну ладно,- согласилась внутри меня давняя фанатка серии,- так даже более ностальгично". И я продолжила играть дальше. И тут меня ожидал еще более неприятный сюрприз... Я не упомянула вначале, что обновленная графика - это оказывается минимально сглаженные текстуры (именно что МИНИМАЛЬНО ), которые к тому же постоянно по ходу игры стремятся переключиться к старым, грубым, первоначальным текстурам, потому что... ДЛЯ непонятно каких целей оставлена функция переключения к старым текстурам и она забиндена на кнопку на геймпаде !!! Зачем ?!!! Кому понадобился такой дизайн?!!! Хотели похвастаться "улучшением"?!!! Так его практически нет. Уже после первых двух часов игры у меня начали просто болеть глаза от этой "новой"- старой графики. Русская озвучка мне тоже совсем не понравилась. Голоса абсолютно не подходят тембру оригинальной озвучки, а сама запись сделана отвратительно-непрофессионально, где присутствуют эхо и шумы, как будто запись делалась в какой-то аудитории, а не в звукозаписывающей студии. Лучше уж читать текст и слушать оригинал, чем такое. Ко всему прочему, зачем-то прикручена функция сохранения, которая банально не работает. Совсем. Из трех разных сохранений после смерти на боссе игра самостоятельно перезаписала ВСЕ три сохранения с одинаковым возрождением на начальной точке !!! Зачем тогда добавлена возможность сохраняться в любой момент игры, если это не работает ? Я люблю серию игр Soul Reaver, но лучше бы она осталась такой, какой я ее помнила в моей памяти, чем повторно платить за то, что выкатили под видом версии "Remastered". Крайне не рекомендую покупать этот халтурный продукт, даже по скидке. То "улучшение" которое вы получите абсолютно не стоит тех денег, которые за него просят.

Played about 90 minutes. The story seemed interesting, but the gameplay is boring and clunky, the player movement is just bad, and the camera movement is headache-inducing. That isn’t interesting enough to suffer through the gameplay just to see the story. Not worth it.

Legacy of Kain is the giant whose shoulder's that subsequent games stand on. Released first in 1999, it's a nearly 30 year old game. Even though the platforming is a bit challenging at times, the game really is a perfect blend of combat, puzzles and platforming, not to mention the amazing story and atmosphere! It's such a fascinating and captivating dark-fantasy gothic world brought to life by Amy Hennig. Where Raziel was cast down the abyss for his transgression against his father Kain, only to wake up centuries later and to find his brothers mutated by Kain's corrupted soul into monstrous abominations. And by the stars, the voice acting is absolutely stellar, and woven in by hyperliterate, erudite language. Michael Bell, Simon Templeman and Tony Jay to mention just a few. It's a timeless classic. And I finally now understand my best friend's obsession and love for this game.

This review may contain spoilers and might go all over the place, beware! I won't review Soul Reaver in detail, I've already done it before. It's a flawed masterpiece, one of the goats and 100% worth checking it out. The same can't be said about the sequel unfortunately, which I'll mostly focus on here and explore why it's a downgrade on almost every aspect. Soul Reaver is in my top 10 games of all time, played it since it came out and I revisit it every few years. Soul Reaver 2 however I've only played for maybe first half an hour or so and just dropped it. At the time, it was probably that so many other games were coming out and my interest in series has been lost. With this remaster came the achievements, and me being the achievement hunter, I've decided to finally play it from start to finish. Oh boy, where do I begin... Some points may be nitpicky to some. - Right from the main menu, it's already generic and cliche. You have Ariel saying "KaIn rEfUsEd tHe SaCrIfiCe" and music starts playing (at least it's cool music), while playing 3D showcase of Sarafan temple. Compare that to the masterpiece from first game, you have statues of 8 figuers, at first being normal, but changing their faces to vampiric, almost demonic looking creatures. No music, no sounds, nothing. Immediately interesting and striking. - Intro cinematic. In my opinion, first game has THE BEST cinematic EVER made in a video game EVER. Nothing can touch that perfection. Second game is cinematic version of Kain boss fight from the first game, which is really well made and I can't complain, it's a continuation of story. - 2 things what this game does 10/10: Story and dialogue/voice acting. Absolute peak and perfection. That's sadly only it. Right from the start, movement and camera are clunky. I can't really explain, but you will feel it instantly when you go from 1st to 2nd game, much worse in my opinion. - The absolute worst part however is the combat. Absolutely abysmal and horrible combat. Enemies hit you so much faster than you. They constantly block your attacks, so the only effective way is to circle around them and spam light attack, that way you can actually consistently hit something. It was so horrible that I skipped every encounter that's possible to skip (you'll have some forced encounters). - Some parts of the soundtrack are ok, some are just generic and boring. Nothing compared to first game. - Puzzles are for the most part ok, some are frustrating though. The entire focus now is on Soul Reaver blade, and how you need to switch between Air, Fire, Dark and Light reavers to open different doors, mechanisms etc. They don't feel any different in combat. - The biggest offender for me is that it's super super linear. You literally go from one end to the other, and then you backtrack and do that 3 times (you are timetraveling and visiting 3 different timelines of the same places). I don't have any issue with linear games, but after coming from the "semi open" world first game, this falls flat. You can see how development was rushed because of this. - I will admit, some of the weapon kills are cool, and it's nice that you can actually finish enemies with bare hands this time, without needing to rely on weapons or Reaver. - The demons enemies are absolute garbage (especially fire and black demons) and they can f*** off. - Not nearly close the use of spectral realm for puzzle solving as in the first game, which sucks. - There are no boss fights at all (unless you count the gauntlet at the very end of the game where you fight your brothers and you in human forms. But those are glorified regular enemies in my opinion. - Visually (old graphics, not remaster) game is better looking than the first, on objective and technical standpoint, yes. But my God, that's what kills it, nothing compares to first game's dark and gothic atmosphere. Art style is worse in my opinion because of it. - Save system. In the first game, you could save at any point in time and all your progress would be saved. Yeah, it was annoying that you would always be at the start when you load, but you had teleports to move around fast. Here however, there are "save stations" scattered through out the game. Most of them are spread out up to hour of gameplay, so for example, you could be doing the annoying Janos's home puzzle, almost finish it, something pops up irl, you need to alt + f4, well too bad, when you load, you are back to that save station and you need run back 10 miles and do the whole puzzle again! It's so annoying. - Overall, game feels like you go from cutscene to cutscene, everything else is filler and just there to push the story forward, if you get what I mean. For example, first game has super interesting and unique bosses scattered throught out the game, you feel like you have a purpose. Here you're just doing things and running from everything until you get to next cutscene, which pushes the story forward. Zero hidden zones, runes, upgrades like in the first game. Nothing to explore. That's pretty much it, maybe I forgot thing or two, but these are some of the major points why this game actually sucks. Play the first game, it's a rough gem, but totally worth it. As for this one... watch a compilation of story cutscenes on Youtube, but avoid it, because you will probably be dissapointed. I know I was.

The story is one of the most intricate, well played out narratives I've experienced in my 30 some odd years of gaming. I have to admit however that the gameplay is extremely outdated and it initially put me off the series until I watched a game movie on youtube for both, reigniting my desire to play them to completion and experience the events myself. I can only imagine how players of Blood Omen must have felt regarding the narrative's development and use of in-game events from the former game to enrich the storytelling and worldbuilding in these. Kain's monologue at the Pillars in SR2, specifically this line: "But suppose you throw a coin enough times, suppose one day, it lands on its edge" had me in awe with the sheer weight it was delivered by the voice actor. The writing in general in this game was stellar and all the voice actors/actresses did a remarkable job. Only now do I understand why this game is regarded a "cult classic" of sorts. But as a remaster. it does seem to capture the original game's strengths and weaknesses well. However, I really do wish they had worked on updating the gameplay to be a bit more accessible and fun for a modern audience. I think it takes a bit of patience to play the game to make it to its brilliant cutscenes and story beats. The camera fights against you, the controls feel floaty and imprecise for platforming in certain sections (Air Forge for example in SR2), the combat is boring and definitely worse in SR2. In SR1, You have the option of using the reaver indefinitely once obtained, making worrying about health a non issue (I know this is partly due to story related reasons), but in SR2, the added health drain mechanic once the reaver's gauge is filled feels not worth the exchange except in scenarios with certain enemy types. These games I think deserve a remake that enhances the gameplay aspects while leaving the story/narrative parts largely untouched but I doubt that will ever happen. Overall, this is a recommend but with a bit of a caveat. That is, if the outdated gameplay is/can be a major turn off. If you're finicky about that, I would just suggest watching a game movie like I did and experience the story that way. The reality is that these games are a product of their time and there's a lot of things that most modern players (me included) would find inconvenient and even annoying. Although to be fair, playing the game after seeing that movie and experiencing the story again gave me new realizations regarding the plot lines and connections between events and characters. This really speaks to the strength of the narrative and worldbuilding these games offer. Another advantage is that they are relatively short as well, but there's a lot of backtracking in the Metroidvania-esque way if you're collecting upgrades and such. It's a recommend, but one which I urge potential buyers to weigh if the inconveniences and outdated gameplay is worth the buy in.

One Day in 1999, My uncle came down to visit the family. In this particular visit he came with a silver metallic briefcase and said, "Hey you guys like video games? Check this out. You heard of Playstation? I got a few games for it." He opens up his briefcase and in a neat and organized manner, he had a nice collection of PS1 games I've never heard of or seen before. I was nine, at this point I had my N64 so aside from PC, video games run on a CD-ROM was completely new to me. "Pick anything. These two are my favorite." He shows me Twisted Metal and Ape escape. I looked at them and thought they were cool, but I wanted to try something I picked first. So after some sifting I finally picked out this game called Soul Reaver. "Oh that game is pretty trippy. I haven't gotten too far in it but you should try it you might like it." And man did I ever. Now it was short lived because platforming games was not my forte and I was very impatient at the time but my first impressions of this game were everything. The intro cinematic was the best cinematic I've ever seen and it still holds up today. The voice acting, the performance of everyone here is top tier. The furthest I got when I was a kid was probably some time after getting the Soul Reaver. After that I stopped because I played another game that kept my attention span longer but I always came back to try to progress a little further. There was always something in this game I found I loved/scared/creepy/interesting. The story and deep lore this game is something to remember. I always find myself repeating some line from the games. If you never played Soul Reaver before, the first one will be the best one, especially with the graphical overhaul. Not gonna lie though, combat in this game kinda sucks. But for the time in 1999, it was pretty decent. I could easily overlook that for the story and platforming. The puzzles are interesting but after figuring out the puzzle loops, you'll find them to be a little repetitive. I still enjoyed doing some of them and after looking back at it nine year old me wouldn't be patient enough for it lol. I never got to try the second one until I got my hands on this game and now that I did.... I'm glad I never did. Don't get me wrong, I loved the story and lore behind this one and I got to enjoy the game especially how it travels through time to bring it all together. But the combat system, on a PS2, is total ass. Wtf happened here? I feel like it was a step down from what SR1 had! It's so bad you run the risk of being stun locked! You're better off NOT locking on to them so you have a fighting chance! And even though I loved the story I can see why the ratings in the past for this game would mention it "felt like they were watching a soap opera." I still love these games and the franchise altogether. If the gameplay hours weren't obvious enough you could tell even after attaining all the achievements I still played for the love of the game. The game comes with some bonus content that were thought to be lost due to time but it's all here and it was total treat to see it in one whole package! I absolutely recommend this game to anyone who appreciates a good story and lore but not so much the combat. I wanted to make sure I have everything covered here before I sink myself into playing LoK Defiance I played this game mostly on my Steam Deck!

While I haven't had much exposure to Legacy of Kain as a series, due to the series coming to an end when I was only seven months old, an oppressive gothic fantasy world like this has been calling my name for a long time. I'm a sucker for those type of settings, where the world itself is crying out, ripe with strife and destruction. I had very few expectations going in, but I still kept an open mind. Even though I am ultimately mixed due to problems with the remaster, I could recommend this duology to anyone trying to capitalize on old nostalgia, or those who wish to dive into a truly captivating dark fantasy story. To fully enjoy yourself, don't go in expecting a modern game with all its convenience and crutches, just a really fancy looking PS1 title. Special thanks to my uncle for giving me a old PS1 copy of Tomb Raider 2, with the demo for Soul Reaver attached to it. You're the only reason I'm here now. Even though I am generally recommending this collection, I'll split my review between the two games. That way, any strengths or weaknesses that only appear in one title are properly highlighted and documented. I'll explain my praises and gripes for the base systems in SR1's review [b]Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver[/b] One of the selling points to this remaster is the improved graphics. Normally I don't think graphics are worth noting as much, since a game's other parts like gameplay or story matter more to me. This extra applies here, as I have a soft spot for how SR1 looked on PS1 (or here, just hit F1 to go to OG graphics). However, I would be lying if I said that this remaster doesn't make the game look quite nice at moments! Even though the environments themselves can feel blocky, narrow and claustrophobic at times, the visuals work overtime with setting the gritty tone. It's about the same quality as the Tomb Raider remasters, so thats a good point of reference if you're familiar. It must be noted that while this remaster does provide a nice coat of paint onto the games, it is not without flaws. Frequently, the player can see z-fighting or holes in geometry without any effort. That alone makes the remaster feel cheap, since they are EVERYWHERE. Could they not give the remasters some extra time in the oven? As Soul Reaver holds the title of an action-adventure game, it would be fair to judge the gameplay based on the varying degrees of success each side of the game has. And I'd say the better half is the adventure side. Not to say its perfect, of course. It can be VERY easy to get lost, and the ways to progress/beat bosses can be very obscure. Not to mention that platforming starts off very basic, only having crouch jumps and glides to work with until later. But learning to identify different monuments to find your way around feels like you're really going on a real journey, learning the world as you go. I much rather prefer a game like this, where the devs trust me to know how to explore rather than everything being slathered in yellow paint and arrows. And having the game ripe with many beneficial collectibles (health buffs, glyphs) incentivizes player exploration. I also LOVE the fast-travel system, which requires the player to find a gate and then physically walk through it to teleport, only knowing where you are going based on the location's sigil. It beats the hell out of menu fast travel. In terms of puzzles, they're whatever, and its very clear they were designed with the limitations of the PS1 in mind (mostly blocks). But I digress, they help break up the monotony so you aren't just mindlessly running around. Adding necessity for constant swaps between spectral and physical world is something I enjoyed as well. The game embraced its features well As much praise as the adventure part of SR got, I must deduct some points from the action side. It has some good ideas behind it, but the combat ultimately feels too basic, especially in the first hour. There is no combo system, meaning the majority of combat encounters are just mashing attack. Or sometimes, the lock-on system seems adamant at making you swing wildly at nothing. I like the idea of needing special methods to kill vampires, such as throwing them into water or impaling them, but if you're in an area with no/distant environmental hazards, good luck confirming kills. It also feels pointless to fight, not really needing to unless you're replenishing your HP, clearing out a puzzle area, or fighting a boss. The glyphs are fun combat tools, but they are all optional (although strong) Story is the real winner here. It's actually really well written, even in a time where games in this vein had less fleshed out stories. Raziel is our protag, a wraith that had suffered at the hands of the titular Kain (and his Legacy). He's not in this game for any noble goal, and yet he's still the most admirable person you can find. A main character monster driven to murder any and all in his way for the sake of revenge is a perfect companion to this style of dark horror setting. I quite enjoyed my time with it, especially the eloquence exercised by the entire cast. They have such a way with words! Although be warned, the game ends on a CLIFFHANGER (insane to do, but at least this duology is sold together so you can jump right in after). I struggled with it at first, due to some issues with broken puzzles or just general lack of quality of life of the remaster, not the base game. I almost gave up, honestly. But I'm glad I stuck through it all. After braving the worst this remaster had to offer, I enjoyed my time with it [b]Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2[/b] A quick note, since Soul Reaver 2 is a PS2 game, the graphics and visuals all got a boost regardless of the remaster. It was actually quick nice, seeing graphics from that era. The remaster here looks like simple touch-ups and polish, rather than rebuilding the PS1 world from the ground-up. Better animations was also a consequence of the new console generation. The sound effects and such have wayyyy more oomph to them too, they hit me right The story is also way further in the spotlight, with lengthy cutscenes right off the get-go following the ending of SR1 and setting up the plot of SR2. I actually think the story is the best aspect of these remasters (since its been untouched by the remasters), and I'll always be a sucker for some good gothic/dark fantasy storytelling. And the eloquence/poetic dialogue was really cranked up to 11 for this one. Kudos to the voice actors and actresses, who really knock it out of the park here. Gameplay on both ends has gotten both good and bad changes. The action gameplay especially. In terms of upsides, the devs added blocking and heavy attacking, which are nice additions. However, they ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up the movement somehow. Clicking a movement key while locked-on causes Raziel to keep stepping in that direction for a second, only interruptible with a dodge. It feels bad to fight while locked-on due to this. Since I am unfamiliar with the original games, I'm unsure if its an original PS2 problem or a remaster problem. Combat is still pointless too so woops (not even bosses this time). The adventure content isn't safe either; SR2 is way more linear/easy in world design, and exploring seems to be pretty pointless with no collectibles. Puzzles are vastly improved, at least! Leagues more interesting and interactive. In my opinion, the gameplay of SR2 was a step backwards, even with the stuff I liked Other changes to core systems include stuff like saving, which is now locked to certain spots only. It would suck if you couldn't save anywhere to prevent random crashes from losing your progress... I'm conflicted. Even with all the issues I have with the game, I can't say I hated my time with it. I liked it lots I think! I think many of the problems lie in the remaster itself, rather than the game. I think if you enjoyed SR1, you'll probably like SR2 too, but SR1 might be the better game