Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996)

 

Maybe not worth playing, but definitely watching.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a terrible game. There's no two ways about it. It controls poorly, has questionable hit detection, is never actually challenging (but occasionally frustrating), and has puzzles that would've been dated a full generation of games before it was released.

BUT, for all that, it's probably worth playing exactly once. Certainly worth at least watching the cutscenes. You can keep your Metal Gear Solids and your Baldur's Gates. This is the greatest video game story ever told.

Legacy of Kain is the vampire text for a certain generation. A decade before Twilight brought us sparkly bois, some ugly ass vampires walked around making soliloquys about free will, coins, and time travel.

Blood Omen is the first game in the series, introducing the world of Nosgoth (gothic horror Germany), Kain, most of the key characters, items, locations, and mechanics, and the broad themes of the plot.

Short version: Thousands of years ago, a set of pillars were erected in the center of Nosgoth by ancient vampires (who are basically blue angels), each one linked to a basic force (think themes like nature or conflict), as a means of exiling a demonic race known as the Hylden. Each one is linked to a guardian, originally vampire, but now humans. Over generations, the human guardians fail and become corrupted, until one of them, Mortanius, necromancer and Guardian of Death, is possessed by a Hylden. He kills Ariel (the Balance Guardian), driving her lover, Nupraptor (the Guardian of the Mind) insane. His insanity infects the linked guardians, and finishes the corruption of the pillars.

In fleeting moments of lucidity, Mortanius arranges Kain's assassination and resurrection as a vampire (by implanting him with the heart of Janos Audron, the greatest of the ancient vampires), thus starting a prophecy that a vampire would return to the the pillars and restore them.

The game largely follows Kain's revenge quest (given to him by the ghost of Ariel) to hunt down the guardians, then return to the pillars with a token from each and restore it. Along the way he'll find his signature weapon (and name sake of the sequel) The Soul Reaver, time travels and "accidentally" ("just as planned" by Moebius the Time Guardian. Much of the series will revolve around time traveling gambits.) starts a vampire genocide (including his semi-mentor and the first "modern" vampire, Vorador). In the end, he fights Mortanius, only for the demon lord to transform the necromancer's body mid battle. Kain wins, and he (and the player) are presented with a choice, and a twist.

Kain is the new balance guardian. He was born at the moment of Ariel's death, and corrupted by the same madness that infected the rest of the circle. Now, Nosgoth's destiny balances (LIKE A COIN) on the edge. If Kain sacrifices himself to the pillars, they'll be restored, and Nosgoth will enter an era of prosperity. If he does not, Nosgoth will be doomed.

The bad ending is the true one. Kain accepts Vorador's lesson that the vampires should rule Nosgoth as dark gods and starts a dark (literally, he blocks out the sun with a never ending cloud of smoke) empire that lasts for over a thousand years, subjugating all humanity. 

While I don't love the gameplay, there are a few neat touches. There's a basic moon timer, empowering Kain's wolf form and unlocking some secrets during the full moon, he has appropriate vampiric weaknesses to sun and water, and despite being substantially shorter than most Zelda games, they manage to squeeze in a couple dozen "full" power ups (transformations, weapons, magic spells, etc.) along with 100 minor ones (HP extensions, etc.) While many of them are very small, they are all actual power ups. An HP boost might give you a nearly meaningless amount, it is a boost, not a pizza slice. Likewise, there are dozens of minor dungeons. While most only contain a couple of basic puzzles, it's still a lot (especially for a first game in the series from a fairly minor company.) There are also sizeable "real" dungeons, but most are filler heavy. The game is fairly open, and some events can be done in different orders, besides all the general exploration. There are also a few clever mechanics, like the "pied piper" zombie summoners. Again, it's never actually good; you're fighting the interface every step of the way, and Kain is so overpowered by the end of the first hour, and the puzzles are so brainless, that the gameplay only exists only to fill time between cutscenes, but it's creative at least.

I'll probably hit the rest of the series at some point, but I finished with Blood Omen tonight and decided to put it up.