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Instead of choosing death (his punishment was eternal life), Kain decided to rule the world of Nosgoth at the end of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. With the Soul Reaver in hand, he had become power hungry, completely forgetting what his original goal was — to avenge his own death by seeking out the people who murdered him.

His empire was built on the foundation of vampires and monstrous beings — human life had become non-existent. Kain saw to it that every human was punished in some way; they were turned into vampires, or given the ultimate punishment of death. Raziel helped his empire grow and eventually surpassed Kain in duty, rank, and leadership. Needless to say, the ruler was not happy.

Because he felt threatened by Raziel's power, Kain sentenced him to the void — a swirling pool of burning energy. Raziel was thrown over the side of a cliff and began his long descent into whatever hell he was being banished to; his flesh began to burn and his body began to deteriorate. He awoke to the sound of the Elder, a supernatural being who brought him back to life.

Raziel had been in the void for centuries and become nothing more than a deformed being— his wings had been destroyed, his mouth gone, and his body eaten by acid. The Elder explained that it was now Raziel's destiny to restore Nosgoth to its former state and destroy Kain once and for all. Instead of feasting on the blood of others, he was to collect the souls of lifeless vampires.

Thus sets the premise behind Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, the gothic third person follow-up to Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Though Raziel's ultimate goal is to destroy his nemesis Kain, getting there will be a long, difficult task. Nosgoth is filled with ravenous monsters and vampires, massive buildings and structures, puzzles, and other dangerous hazards.

Raziel can exist in two different worlds — the spectral and material realms. The material realm is the actual world, in which a human would exist; it is where puzzles are solved and combat is done with weaponry. The spectral realm is a twisted version of the material realm in that everything is much darker. Raziel has different powers for each — in the material realm he can use weapons and open doors and in the spectral realm, he can walk through walls (once the ability is learned).

After the Soul Reaver is obtained, players will then have to search out glyphs — magical spheres that give Raziel supernatural power. Each has a different function: the fire glyph emits fire attacks and the sunlight stone incinerates enemies with energy. Finding them is often a puzzle as some are in the spectral realm and some are in the material plane.

Soul Reaver uses a targeting system in which Raziel will circle his foe. Depending the realm he is in will determine what he can do. In the material realm, he can pick up spears off walls and skewer enemies. In the spectral realm, he'll have to find other means of obliterating foes. After destroying monsters, Raziel will have to eat their souls— this replenishes his health, which is constantly draining.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver features over 45 minutes of spoken dialog combined with over a hundred full-motion video sequences and in-game cinematic, to further the story. A hub system of movement (via warp gates) is used to eliminate loading time between areas. ~ Chris Couper, All Game Guide