Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
| Developer: Silicon Knights | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Crystal Dynamics | Sound: |
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| Year: 1996 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Action | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
Blood Omen is a game that shines above all for its story, so I’ll try to give you a quick summary:
It takes place in a medieval fantasy world called Nosgoth. The natural harmony of the place is represented by nine pillars, watched over by nine sages who occasionally gather to decide on the weather.
For some murky reason, one of them (Ariel, guardian of the Pillar of Balance) was murdered. This event threw the little council into turmoil; suddenly lacking their stability minister, they all started to collectively lose it. The council members’ depravity corrupted the pillars, and by extension, the world itself. Troublesome, isn’t it?
The antihero of this story is named Kain, a noble from the region who was also sent off to the four-plank hotel (coming out of a tavern, thanks to a gang of bandits—a rather unsavory tale…). However, he was conveniently resurrected by a necromancer. He became a vampire and jumped at the chance he’d been given to take revenge on his assailants. With his vengeance quickly wrapped up, he embarked on a quest to eliminate the council members one by one, purifying the pillars, and thus, the world. Still with me? He’s got nothing better to do, poor guy, he’s immortal.
Did I say antihero? Yep, because our dear Kain is a real scumbag. If he’s hunting down evil sorcerers and saving the world along the way, it’s purely to keep it under his own boot. It’s refreshing to come across a video game protagonist who’s cynical, sadistic, and more than willing to off women in their beds…
Something else unique: the quality of the voice acting. I should even say the presence of voice acting, because it wasn’t common back then to hear spoken dialogue. The French version is actually up to snuff, for once.
Add to that numerous CGI scenes of varying quality that help create a believable atmosphere.
You dive into the game as if into a good movie. At times, you almost want to skip the exploration phases just to see where the story will take you.
On the gameplay side, however, the game suffers from a few clunky mechanics. Kain moves slowly, and his sword strikes lack fluidity. I was startled to see enemies only able to fire projectiles in eight directions. And the way characters pace back and forth along a few metres of programmed path is pretty depressing.
In the end, let’s at least applaud the variety of spells and artifacts. You wield a whole arsenal of killing implements, each bloodier than the last. It’s very entertaining!
Should I mention its sequels?
Soul Reaver: a departure from the original—somewhat hollow, yet packed with serious atmosphere and a killer soundtrack.
Blood Omen 2: a full-on disaster, a lame story with aliens that isn’t even worth delving into.
For me, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a memorable game for its ultra-dark world and characters—a bubble of originality in an ocean of conformity that, unfortunately, its sequels couldn’t avoid.
As a modern heir, I suggest Morbid: The Seven Acolytes (2020).
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