I'm a few hours into Soul Reaver and I'm actually surprised at how forward-thinking this game is for one from 1999.
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It has dynamic music that changes based on what you're doing in a given zone. Combat music, pensive music, peaceful music, as well as variations on each for if you're in the material realm or spectral realm. Soul Reaver isn't the first game to do it--Rayman 2 beat it to the punch by less than a year--but it's a lot more varied than most. On top of that, the music is actually really good. In fact, at times it goes hard.
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Despite being a disc-based game in 1999, there has not been a single action-stopping loading screen emblematic of games of the period, despite the huge, non-linear world. An early example of asset streaming, done near-seamlessly. I say "near" because there are a few Metroid Prime Hallways, but also there's no Ocarina of Time transitions either--never does the game fade to black and then fade back in between zones.
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There's a limited number of verbs but that hasn't stopped me from being stumped by a few puzzles so far.
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Blood Omen was relatively low on backtracking, so I'm surprised to discover Soul Reaver almost has the cadence of a Metroidvania to it. You unlock new abilities, such as climbing pitted walls or phasing through bars, which let you explore areas you previously couldn't.
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The voice acting is great. Simon Templeman, Tony Jay, and Anna Gunn have all returned and are of course delivering great performances, but Raziel's voice actor is killing it too.
I can see why this game was such a big deal growing up and why Raziel was plastered all over magazines. I thought it was just because he looked cool. Crystal Dynamics was cooking.
