Two beloved Soul Reaver games from developer Crystal Dynamics may be getting the remastered treatment, according to what appears to be a leak from San Diego Comic-Con. Branding for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I & II Remastered — an unannounced project — was spotted at the booth of comic book publisher Dark Horse at SDCC 2024, strongly suggesting a revival of the long-dormant franchise.
If true, it appears the project will feature remastered versions of the 1999 game Legacy of Cain: Soul Hunterreleased for the original PlayStation and later ported to Sega Dreamcast and Windows PC; and sequel Soul Theft 2released for PlayStation 2 and Windows PC in 2001. Both games featured vampire-turned-ghost Raziel as a playable character in his quest to exact revenge on his master Kain, the star of the first game in the franchise, Legacy of Cain.
Legacy of Cain: Soul Hunter And Soul Theft 2 were developed by Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics and both were directed by Amy Hennig, who later worked at Naughty Dog, Electronic Arts and Skydance Interactive.
The seemingly unintentional revelation of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I & II Remastered came about at the Dark Horse booth, where the company displayed a few images of Raziel and Kain battling each other.
Image: Con Quests on YouTube
Polygon has reached out to Crystal Dynamics for comment and confirmation regarding the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I & II Remastered project and we will provide an update once the company responds.
A remaster of the Soul Reaver games certainly fits into the plans of Crystal Dynamics owner Embracer Group. In 2022, following the acquisition of Eidos, Crystal Dynamics and the Square Enix Montreal team (and its associated IPs Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain and Thief), Embracer said in a profit report that it saw “great potential not only in sequels, but also in remakes, remasters, spin-offs, and transmedia projects” based on those franchises.
Part of that plan came to fruition earlier this year, when Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr Tomb Raider I-III Remastereda generous overhaul of the first three games starring Lara Croft. The quality of that product seems to bode well for fans of the Soul Reaver games (and Deus Ex and Thief), but we’ll have to wait and see what Crystal Dynamics and friends have in store when and if Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I & II Remastered are officially unveiled.