Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

Developer: Silicon Knights	Graphics:
Publisher: Crystal Dynamics	Sound:
Year: 1996	Difficulty:
Genre: Action	Replay value:
Number of players: 1	My overall rating:	8/10

Well, it was while making this page that I realized my screen was rotten. Do the above screenshots seem dark to you? You can set your screen brightness on them. That way, I provide a public service at the same time.

Since Blood Omen is a game which shines with it's story, I will try to summarize it quickly:

It takes place in a medieval fantasy world called Nosgoth. The natural balance is represented by nine pillars, themselves represented by nine wise men and women who meet from time to time to call the shots.
For some reason, one of them (Ariel, the guardian of the pillar of balance) is killed, causing a chain of events leading to the depravity of the other members of the circle and the corruption of the pillars, and therefore, of the world. My god . . . this is wicked!

The anti-hero of this story is called Kain, a nobleman from the region who gets murdered too (right after leaving an inn, by a gang of bandits, very sad . . .) except that he is revived by a necromancer.
He becomes a vampire and catches the chance that is offered to him to get revenge on his attackers. His revenge quickly consumed, he embarks on a quest to eliminate one by one the members of the circle to purify the pillars, and therefore the world.
Got all that? Poor Kain has nothing else to do, he is immortal.

Did I say anti-hero? Yeah, because this Kain guy is a bastard. If he takes on a wicked witches hunt and saves the world in the process, it is only to put it under his boot, kill evereyone and rule over the wasteland. It is refreshing to see a video game main character cynical, sadistic, who kills women in their bed, hmm . . . anyway!

Another originality: the quality of dubbing. I should even say the presence of dubbing, because it was not common at the time to hear spoken dialogue. The French dubbing is also very good, for once.
Add to this, many full motion videos of varying quality but which create a very immersive atmosphere.
We're getting into the game like a good movie. At times, we almost want to skip exploration stages to see where the script will take us.

Gameplay is not as sexy however, the game suffers from some clumsiness. Kain is slow to move and his sword lacks fluidity. I was shocked to see the enemy incapable of throwing projectiles otherwise than in the eight directions. Also, the way non playable characters move up and down on a programmed rail a few meters long is somewhat pathetic.

Still, I welcome the variety of spells and artifacts. You have a plethora of ways to kill, each more gory than the other. It's great fun!

Oh yes, shall I mention the sequels?
I liked Soul Reaver actually, but it had nothing to do with the original. As for Blood Omen 2, with its stories of aliens, it's not even worth talking about.

To me, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a curiosity because of it's universe and its dark characters, a peeble of originality in a sea of conformity, from which its sequels didn't escape.

Places to download:
Abandonware-France (PC)
Emuparadise

Other sites of interest:
Nosgothic Realm
Le Royaume de Nosgoth

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