(dramatic music) - [Ragnar] Time is a curious thing. We are every single one of us, bound by the inexorable
march of the universe. We can delay our rendezvous
with fate by weeks, months, maybe years, but we
cannot avoid it entirely. The currents of time will sooner or later bring each of us to our appointed end. - [Kain] Fate promises more twists, before this drama unfolds, completely. - [Ragnar] But what if you
could defy the wheel of time and set the universe
in a path toward a new and unrealized destiny? Would you take that chance
even if it means sacrificing everything that makes you
human in the first place? And would you still defy fate, Knowing that you might not even be around to see your efforts come to full fruition? This isn't just some galaxy-brained
armchair philosophy thought exercise, this is
the story of a legendary gothic horror game that has nearly been lost to the mists of time. A game that is long
overdue for a resurrection from its shallow grave, so that we might examine
it under the pale light of the full moon. Just like its protagonist, this game has found itself submerged beneath the tides of history. And like its troubled
development cycle and release, it remains locked in battle against a grim and seemingly overwhelming fate. One final struggle before it fades into
obscurity and oblivion. It is in every definition of
the term (harrumph) a forgotten gem. From its sprawling and epic narrative, to its tight and engaging mechanics, it will fix itself in your
memory long after you play it. Both despite and indeed
*because* of its quirks and imperfections. - [Kain] Vae Victis! -[Ragnar] This is a story of dark
deeds, of morally deep dark gray protagonists,
and more than questionable anti-heroes trapped by
an unforgiving fate. And of how the act of
'defying your destiny', can place the entire
world on the knife's edge between deliverance and damnation. -[Kain] We are merely passengers
on the wheel of destiny, describing a perfect circle to this point. We've been brought here for a reason. I've seen the beginning of
the end of our story however, and the tale is crude and ill-conceived. We must rewrite the ending of it. You and I. - [Ragnar] Thus begins
the saga of Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen. (suspenseful music) Before we continue, I'd like to highlight the sponsor of this video today, which is Core, a brand new innovative high
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little surprisingly intricate uhh... trick or treat simulator with integrated house building
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out to me is "Lights Out". Which is more on the scary-shocky side. Pretty much a PT-like first-person haunted mansion experience that definitely took some loving inspiration from
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provided in the description, and get started straight away. (suspenseful music) Nowadays, whenever the Legacy
of Kain series is brought up, it's almost always in the
context of the two Soul Reaver games and
their sequel Defiance. This has always been one
of my favorite game series. So much so that way back in the long-ago mist-shrouded past of 2017,
I made a whole video essay about how much I love
the Soul Reaver games. These titles deserve a
tremendous amount of credit for how truly ahead of
their time they were. The style and presentation of the first Soul Reaver game in particular, did more than just set a template for the rest of the series. It was instrumental in
establishing the cinematic 3D platformer as a proper
game genre on its own. The Soul Reaver series is also where Amy Hennig and many of the
original Naughty Dog crew first cut their teeth and became bonafide Rockstar developers. All that said, the passage of time has not exactly been kind
to the Soul Reaver games and they are starting to show their age. Playing them in 2020, can be as much an exercise
in frustration as in fun. Especially if you're not already
familiar with the mechanics and stylistic quirks of
classic 3D platformers. Now it's not nearly as
teeth-grindingly frustrating as, say, the platform in the old
PS1 Tomb Raider games. Still though, if you replay
the Soul Reaver games today, your mileage will definitely vary. It's not at all controversial
to say that the story, writing, and presentation of the Soul Reaver games hold up much better than
their game plan mechanics. Indeed, with the benefit of
nearly 25 years of hindsight, one particular game in
the Legacy of Kain saga, redeems and vindicates
itself about the rest. The very first installment
or the very first release, and the lost black sheep
of the series, Blood Omen. - [Kain] I care not for the fate of this world. - [Ragnar] Long, long ago in 1992, a group of aspiring game developers, dubbed themselves the Silicon Knights. With some early successes
under their belt, thanks to a very well received trilogy of top-down strategy games, the team's ambitions turned to crafting an epic dark fantasy RPG, with a narrative worthy
of the most heart-rending Greek tragedy and the most
sinister Gothic horror tale. In a 1997 interview with PSX nation, project director Denis Dyack, laid out the four key
inspirations for the project. Which at the time the team
referred to internally as "The Pillars of Nosgoth." First, was The Wheel of Time, a series of dark fantasy novels
by the late Robert Jordan which at the time was
earning rave critical reviews and selling millions of copies. Inspirations number two and three, were Brian Lumley's sci-fi
horror series "Necroscope" and the cover art of Ken Follett's
historical fiction novel "The Pillars Of The Earth." The final inspiration was a film that every member
of the team was a fan of, whose characters and plot
embodied the same gritty and morally great ethos, they wanted to convey in their own work. The classic Clint Eastwood,
Western "Unforgiven." -[Munny] We all had it coming, kid. - [Ragnar] "Everyone had a good side "and everyone had a bad side "and every action had a
price," Dyack told PSX Nation. "I knew instantly after
seeing this movie that "our industry needed a game
that addresses these issues." From this eclectic
alchemy of inspirations, The Pillars of Nosgoth, eventually became the epic
dark fantasy action RPG "Blood Omen." Released first on the PlayStation in 1996, and a year later for PC in 1997. The grand ambition of Blood Omen's scope and storytelling still
shines through today, some quarter century
after the game's release. This game is positively dripping
with atmosphere and style, start to finish. - [Woman] Your strength has increased, for our blood enhances. - [Ragnar] The lush
instrumental arrangements for the soundtrack,
though limited in number, are all highly evocative pieces
of nineties computer music. (some great beats in the Blood Omen OST here) The dark fantasy art
style is ultra-expressive, making use of color and
contrast to incredible effect. Especially considering the
hardware limitations of the time. The writing and voice acting
are positively Shakespearian, featuring a well-rounded cast, who really know how to chew the scenery. -[Courtier] The King sees no one, he's in mourning for the princess. -[Kain] He'll be in mourning for his kingdom soon, and he'll for mourn for you even sooner if you don't get out of my way. - [Ragnar] Metal Gear Solid
may get all the credit for introducing Hollywood quality
voice acting to gaming, but the Blood Omen beat out
MGS by a full two years. I'd be derelict in my
duties as a video essayist, as not to stress that last part. Simon Templeman, the voice actor of our
vampire protagonist, Kain, puts on a truly bravura
performance in Blood Omen and every single Legacy of
Kain game that followed. -[Kain] How is it possible that I still lived? -[Ragnar] From the
art, to the environments, to the world building, to the voice acting and
narration most of all, every individual component of Blood Omen, works together to paint a truly spellbinding picture for the player. (Kain laughs sardonically) - It's also pitch perfect in tone. Striking a seemingly effortless balance between camp and self-seriousness, between cornball pop philosophy and deep existentialism and
with a heaping helping of biting dark humor added for good measure. - [Kain] Alas, poor Nupraptor, I knew him well. Well, not really... - [Ragnar] It is a mighty task indeed to balance these contrasting themes and then wrap them up in a
compelling play experience. But that's exactly what Blood Omen does. And it's why it still holds
up as a truly timeless nineties gaming gem. (suspenseful music) Blood Omen begins with a sequence of ominous and violent cinematic images. Mysteries that linger unexplained in order to
spark the player's curiosity. Corpses raised on a stake. One of the many games that era that shamelessly lift their openings from the legendary battle
scene in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film adaptation of Dracula. A grizzly-looking vampire
murders a circle of wizards. And a man's soul is seemingly
ripped from his body and imprisoned in a suit of armor. -[Mortanius] The pleasures of the
flesh, are no longer yours. -[Ragnar] A woman is murdered
in front of magical scales, causing a set of pillars
to darken and crumble. We then step into the shoes
of the protagonist Kain. A nobleman traveler stopped
at a countryside Tavern whose luck has run out. -[Kain] No mug of ale for a weary
traveler from distant Coorhagen? - [Ragnar] You get
everything but a warm welcome. And as soon as you hit the road, you're set up by a gang of bandits who are thirsty for blood. Kain will die here no
matter how well he'll fight. -[Assassin] End it, now! (clanging, scream of agony) - [Ragnar] But, there will
be no rest for the wicked. Kain is immediately resurrected amidst a burning hellscape, chained
between two pillars. He's approached by the
necromancer Mortanius, who offers him a truly Faustian bargain. - [Kain] I didn't care if
I was in heaven or hell. All I wanted was to kill my assassins. (screaming out in pain) Sometimes, you get what you wish for. The necromancer Mortanius
offered me a chance for vengeance and like a fool, I jumped at his offer
without considering the cost. Nothing is free, not even revenge. - [Ragnar] Kain is reborn
as an undead vampire, cursed with an eternal hunger
for the blood of the living. (Mortanius laughs diabolically) -[Mortanius] You will have the blood you hunger for. - [Ragnar] He's then loosed
upon the world of Nosgoth, to wreak vengeance upon his assassins, and the land itself. But very quickly, Kain discovers that this
is no standard revenge tale and all is not as it seems. He is a pawn in a larger power struggle between demi god-like forces, whose conflict has the potential to bring the whole of Nosgoth to either
redemption or damnation. It's a hell of a setup. And unlike so many other games, especially fantasy games
with epic pretentions, there's very little in
the way of narrative force feeding in Blood Omen. There's only about 20
minutes worth of cinematics in the game's entire 14-hour run time. And five of those minutes are
this intro sequence alone. This isn't that sort of game
where you have to slog through lengthy walls of dialogue, or read through dozens of
pages of lore to get the gist. All of the important
plot beats are delivered via the game's many expertly
voice acted characters. Either during the actual gameplay, or through the handful of short and very well animated
cinematic sequences. Well, for the time anyway... -[Vorador] Now be gone. -[Ragnar] It might not
sound all that remarkable today but for the nineties, this was a real feat
of gaming storytelling. And this 'Avant Garde
spirit to the narrative', is likewise reflected in Blood
Omen's gameplay and systems. There is a masterful attention to detail apparent in mechanics like
Blood Omen's day/night cycle, which, again, was pretty
groundbreaking for the time. And much more fun than in
Simon's Quest for that matter. The time of day effects
both Kain's combat power -- vampires are stronger at night after all -- and also the world state, with for instance,
different phases of the moon revealing secret areas at night time. There's also a rudimentary weather system that creates environmental
hazards for the player. - [Kain] When rainfall comes, vampires are wise to find
shelter from it's acidic touch. - [Ragnar] Standing in rain or water, both rapidly deplete Kain's
health bar in the early game. So he'll have to draw plenty
of blood from town's people and dungeon prisoners to make up for it. -[Prisoner] Please help me kind sir!! -[Ragnar] And there is a good deal of metroidvania style traversal to be done via the game's shape-shifting system. Which allows you to scale cliffs as a lumbering lycanthrope, turn into mist, capable of
passing jail bars and grates, and perform fast travel on
the wing as a vampire bat. Kain begins the game capable
of only a basic melee attack and is equipped with
just a simple iron sword set of iron armor. But your arsenal quickly
expands from there and nearly every spell, weapon
and item in your arsenal is integrated into the
gameplay in a satisfying and thoughtful way. The spiked mace you earn
in an early dungeon, is able to demolish certain
environmental obstacles and open up new paths, and it's also a great way to stun enemies for a quick and easy
trip to the blood bank. But it does very little damage
against non-human enemies, rendering it next to useless
in many areas of the game. In a later dungeon, you'll earn a kick-ass flaming sword that does loads of damage, incinerating even tough enemies
with only a few strokes. But the trade-off is
that your defeated foes are reduced to piles of ash. Making it impossible to drain
their blood and regain health. Every skill or weapon you find
over the course of Blood Omen has a similar kind of thoughtful, pro-versus-con trade-off to it. In both the tone and substance, Blood Omen is very much a
grimdark "Link to the Past". But it is also so much more than that. The post-SNES Zelda template
was indeed groundbreaking and hugely influential to action
adventure games generally. But it is also a
punishingly linear formula: you go into a dungeon, obtain a magic artifact whose use is mostly exclusive to that dungeon and then move on to the next
attraction in the theme park. Blood Omen, put its own
twist on this format with a far greater
emphasis on world-building. The player gets plenty of
direction to their next objective, including a glowing
marker on the world map. But each dungeon crawl is usually proceeded by segments where exploration, character building, and lore exposition takes center stage. And rather than limit the
utility of each new tool, or skill to the dungeon
in which it is found, plus some exceptions here and there, almost every single piece
of equipment you acquire has broad usefulness for
the rest of the game. For example, you'll
score the bone armor (heh), relatively early on in
the game in Coorhagen. And it's used as immediately
apparent in the dungeon where you find it. -[Kain] Lower forms of undead
fall swiftly to deception. With the bone armor, they are
not as eager to challenge me. -[Ragnar] Lesser undead
minions like skeletons and shades will no
longer be hostile to Kain while he's wearing the armor. While you will encounter
other suits of armor that offer better defense or
more powerful enchantments, the shrewd player will still
regularly swap to bone armor throughout the game for how
it helps Kain avoid fights. Allowing you to speed through
many a cave and dungeon without having to worry
about getting bogged down by lesser foes. Most of the other tools
in your arsenal are equally versatile. The transformation spells that can change your
appearance and mobility, and magic shield spell
that deflects projectiles, and mind control hexes
to enthrall your enemies, just to name a few. All of these elements
combine to impart Blood Omen with a truly epic scope and a sense of scale and gravitas worthy of the game's grand
narrative ambitions. The player truly feels the growth of the main character
as the plot progresses. Kain metamorphoses from a feckless human to a vulnerable fledgling undead, all the way up to a god-like demi human who holds the fate of
the world in his hands. (Kain laughs triumphantly) (Suspenseful music) - [Ragnar] Morally grey protagonists and settings are a dime-a-dozen
in media these days. A popular video game franchise today is far more likely to
be starring a grizzled antihero with an upstanding
do-gooder main character. But back when Blood Omen first released in the early- to mid-nineties, very few games had tried the whole 'you might actually be
the bad guy' trope. It might seem like a funny notion in our current anti-hero
choked media milieu, but Blood Omen's full-throated
embrace of its questionable protagonist was really quite unique and special at the time. Denis Dyack even claims that
the game's marketing team pushed back hard against the
'Kain-as-anti-hero' concept because they were afraid
players wouldn't identify with a villainous character
and it would hurt sales. As it's usually the case
in the corporate world, they were 100% correct
to ignore the marketing team. Blood Omen holds up so
well exactly because it embraces dark-gray protagonist, both narratively and mechanically. Blood Omen isn't interested
in being a story about clear cut heroes and villains
with one side to root for, and another to loathe. There is no such thing as altruism in the fallen world of Nosgoth. Every single character in
this tale has their own agenda and their own secrets
they're hiding from Kain, who is himself as
bloodthirsty and vindictive as they come. -[Kain] Vae Victis! -[Ragnar] This well-realized
cast of characters is one of the main ways the
game immerses you in its story and makes you feel personally
invested in Kain's journey. It also makes it that much
easier for the player to identify with their assigned role of anti-hero, as they follow along with Kain on his descend into darkness. This story begins with Kain
being murdered by bandits which actually ends up being
kind of a high point for him in terms of his overall "shit luck". Throughout the narrative,
Kain is abused, deceived manipulated, betrayed, and
treated as a disposable pawn in machinations far greater than himself. Yet, the player is
ultimately made to sympathize with a villainous Kain, to the point where the choice to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven, becomes just a little bit... understandable. -[Kain] At my whim, the world will be healed or damned... at my whim. -[Ragnar] Once the player arrives
at the legendary climax of the game, standing amidst the graves of
their dead and defeated foes, they're given one final revelation: Kain, who began the game as no
more than a sniveling lordling murdered on the ninth
streets of rural Hamlet, was resurrected as a vampire
in order to be the key part of a grand magical conspiracy to upset the balance of the universe, throwing Nosgoth into chaos and ruin. And up until this point, you've been an entirely
unwitting pawn in this scheme. Kain must now make a choice:
to sacrifice his own life and undo all the ruin that
has been visited upon Nosgoth, restoring.. balance? ..or to damn the world and rule as the vampire god
of a blasted and cursed land. This is presented to the player as a binary good-vs-evil,
heaven-vs-hell kind of choice. It's not subtle. And yet.... for the player who has followed along with Kain on this journey into darkness, this choice is really no choice at all. With the weight of every murder and betrayal weighing on them, the player is mercilessly
goaded into making the "bad" but more thematically resonant decision. Why bother sacrificing
yourself to fix the world that probably will just end
up going to shit anyway again? Why indeed when you could
embrace your vampiric curse? Damn the world and begin
your ascent to godhood by building a dark throne upon its ashes. This is the canon ending of Blood Omen; the inciting incident that gives rise
to the entire Legacy of Kain Mythos. The player spends the game
on a quest for revenge, writing in bloody script an
epic story that is equal parts Gothic Horror and Greek Tragedy. And when it comes to
pen the closing chapter, with a tragic anti-hero
selflessly sacrifices himself to save the world he once scorned, Kain exercises his free will and chooses to subvert this
trope and defy his fate. The end of the world was
merely the beginning, an omen of blood. This ending sets up what
will become the main thematic through-line of the
entire Legacy of Kain saga: using your free will to
subvert a cursed fate and fighting to break the wheel of time, rather than meekly succumbing to it. The Legacy of Kain series is
so beloved for its characters and storytelling in a large part, because of the groundwork
laid here by Blood Omen. Each subsequent game in the series is rooted in the lore of this game and feels like one small glimpse of a larger mythology that
is first set in motion by the fall of Kain. And it's why I think it's no contest that despite all of Soul Reaver's charms, Blood Omen is far and
away the most enjoyable, compelling, and thematically
consistent game in the series. - There is a magical
operation of maximum importance, the initiation of a new aeon. When it becomes necessary to utter a word, the whole planet must be bathed in blood. (upbeat music) -[Ragnar] Blood Omen is,
like many of the other games I've covered on my channel, yet another piece of
classic gaming history that is at risk of being lost in time. I suppose that's pretty on the nose for a game about the perils of
being chained to fate, right? Currently, the only
way to legally purchase and play Blood Omen is
on the PlayStation 3, via the PS Classics collection on PSN. The 1996 PlayStation
version of the game is fine, but it does have short loading screens during scene transitions that drive some players up the walls. Secondhand copies of the original PlayStation
game will run you at least $25 on eBay and quite a bit more for versions with the
original case and manual. But it is with the PC version that Blood Omen's situation becomes even more dire than that of
a Kuon or a Fatal Frame. You see, Blood Omen had a three and a half year
long development cycle. And while that doesn't sound
all that outrageous today, back then, this was
considered to be a very lengthy timeline for creating a game. So in order to keep the
project moving along, Silicon Knights partnered
with the publisher Crystal Dynamics early on
in the development process. Many Crystal Dynamics staff members, including Amy Hennig, were assigned to work on
Blood Omen and help it get across the finish line. The game was a huge success
commercially and critically, but there was a lot of, well, "bad blood" between Silicon
Knights and Crystal Dynamics over the ownership of the series and the rights to its characters. A lawsuit by Silicon Knights against Crystal Dynamics was dismissed and Crystal Dynamics
was ultimately granted ownership of the IP and publishing rights for the
entire Legacy of Kain series. Though their case never went to court, Silicon Knights still maintains
that they were the victims of a deep pocketed publisher's greed. The legal dispute of the publishing rights to the PC version is still unresolved. And so the game is currently
in copyright limbo. This is why it has never
appeared on Steam, GOG or any of the other digital distros. And as far as I could tell during my research for this video, Blood Omen is not technically
considered abandonware, even though it might be listed
as such on certain websites. Crystal Dynamics still owns both the IP and licenses for Legacy of Kain and has made every other
game of the series available on Steam and GOG. And so due to the unique legal
situation around Blood Omen, the only company who currently has publishing rights to the game is.. Sony. And we all know how much they care about preserving gaming history. With all that said, I'm not a cop. So if you're able to get a hands on an ISO or archive of the PC game, there is a phenomenal
fan-made open GL Wrapper that does a superb job of updating it for modern PC hardware. Widescreen resolutions,
multiple languages, controller support -- this one's got all the fixings! You'll find a link in the description. And hey, if you'd rather
not bother with all that, emulating the PlayStation version isn't a bad route to take either. Since running the game
via an emulator can nearly negate the load times. It is a worthy endeavor
indeed to defy one's destiny and to stop the wheel
of time in its tracks. It may be a hopeless fight,
as the most fateful battles too often are, but as Blood Omen shows, even the most hopeless struggle can echo down through the ages and reverberate in the
most unexpected ways. Because even when you're
trapped in a cursed fate, and destined to be lost
to the mists of time, you can still leave behind the most powerful and lasting of legacies. -[Raziel] You've said it yourself Kain: there are only two sides to your coin. -[Kain] Apparently so. But suppose you throw a coin enough times, suppose one day it lands on its edge. - [Ragnar] So, here we
are at the place this whole eternally recurring tale of looping timelines and interlocked
fates revolves around: The myth-enshrouded Pillars of Nosgoth. Thank you so much for watching
this video until the end. And if you've been around for a while, thanks for sticking with me. I appreciate it. This channel is in vital parts funded by the generous
support of my patrons, who pledge monthly donations
within their comfort levels that enable me to get by
and keep making videos. If you'd like to help out as well and make sure that we stay
about the relentless currents of YouTube time flow, then you can do so by
following this link here and hop over to my Patreon. You have my sincere gratitude and you'll even get
something for it in return. Suppose you throw a generous
coin my way enough times. Suppose one day you'll end up in a
timeline where your name is engraved upon the
very pillars themselves. So you can count yourself
among these names of immortalized patrons as well. Norbert Gerard Matynka. Boris Bügling. Malym. Billy Lott. Dana Rosa. David Zelenak. Thwagum. Refkins. Even Tekrø. Nineball9606. Andrew Hines. Pablo Arcelus. Federico Rocha. Alex Papow. Quentin Prod'homme. Chriszy. Chris-Chan. Pookaprincess. Kennan Ward. Swallowtailnights. Joey Monster. Giselle Almonte. Isabella Stoner. Lorenz E. Buben. Dylan Seabol. Wobbles and Bean, The Wonder Ducks. Dr. Hayley-Islbella Cawley. Caspar Rahm. Matt Gretton. Kevin H. Yang. Max Macula. Catherine Escobar. Laird Wackyla. SpaceAdmiralVivi. Roninkrom aka Daniel242172. Sophie Poulsen. Terri Collins. Jin Hansson. Shannon Blue. Raul Blanco. Mauricio Reyna. Tighe Mccandless. FaultyGear. Chuck Taylor. Nekot the Brave. Hunter Crawfowd and Margarete Strawn. Agustin Ortega. Jordan. Christine. Starina Abrahamsen, and Cordelia Crescendo. Until next time, ta ta!
