Hey guys,

I'm on a Dreamcast binge and really wanted to play Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. This is completely based off of how cool the game seemed from the demo I had as a kid. It sounds like it's a series with a compelling story, though, and I don't know if I miss anything by not playing Blood Omen. Can someone who played Blood Omen and Soul Reaver give me their opinion on it? Will I miss out on story beats by skipping it? Is the gameplay of Blood Omen compelling enough to play through for the first time now, or should I just read the wiki? Thanks!

It doesn't hold up that well, you should just skip to Soul Reaver.

Ok, so this year I played through the entire series for the first time ever, so there's no nostalgia in my opinions.

Blood Omen is really good. There's some jank, but it's still pretty damn fun. In terms of story, it is actually pretty important. There are lots of characters introduced in Blood Omen that reoccur numerous times throughout the series. Also, the writing and voice acting for Kain throughout the series is excellent, so try to get as much of that as you can. Ultimately though, the events of Blood Omen 1 define the entire series, so it would be useful witnessing it first hand.

Gameplay wise, Blood Omen is the most different of all the games. It's sort of an isometric hack and slash game. It's still really fun though, and once you get some of the later armours and weapons, which are all very different in function, it can be pretty fun combining them to suit your current needs along with all your item and magic options.

Soul Reaver is weird, as I think it is the most dated, but it seems to be the most fondly remembered. Combat is very simplistic, puzzles are almost all based on pushing around boxes, and the story is the least compelling of the lot. It is still really good, and I still recommend you play it, but it is quite dated.

Overall, I'd say it's worth playing each entry in the franchise if you decide to go on after Soul Reaver. I had a pretty great time with them all, and the story is very much worth it. Just be aware that getting Soul Reaver 1 and 2 to run on a computer can be tricky, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance less so. The version of Blood Omen floating around out there works without a hitch though.

I would also recommend skipping to Soul Reaver instead, I think it holds up better and I've always thought it was the better game to begin with.

It should be noted that I have no particular affinity for the series as a whole, though, so that probably colors my perception.

The Blood Omen (and Soul Reaver) series were good at the time for story as I remember the controls always being a pain, but they were still fun. Much like Metal Gear Solid, though, they have a ton of dialogue so be ready for that.

I don't know if the game play will hold up, but I remember most of the series having pretty decent stories so it's probably still fine.

@brackstone: Thanks for the explanation, I think I'll at least give Blood Omen a shot, it sounds worthwhile. I appreciate you sharing your opinion!

The original blood omen doesn't hold up that well for me. Of the stoylines' two branches, Soul reaver is by far the most compelling, mostly because Raziel is everybody's puppet. Soul reaver 2 is the best game ever made. It is, however, a 12 year old game( 15 if you think about how much of the design was carried over from the first game) and the design definately feels that way ( Mirror Puzzles! Controlled via the analogue sticks! It's 2002!)

Blood Omen is basically the second-best Zelda-game the PS1 had. The best being Alundra of course.

Blood Omen's pretty neat. It feels dated and the load times are long, but the atmosphere sucks you in.

I played it after the Raziel series of games so it was jarring, but I'm glad I did. I think it's worth playing first because it just sets up a ton of the world.

Vae Victus!