Arcane Tomes: Janos Audron & The Heart of Darkness

 We've released a new video in the Arcane Tomes series, covering Janos Audron and the Heart of Darkness.

You can also find the following diagram charting the progression of the Heart of Darkness:

Arcane Tomes: The Soul Reaver

As part of the Arcane Tomes series we've been working on this video covering the Soul Reaver in all its glory for several months now and its become something of a monster, clocking in at nearly an hour and a quarter, and thoroughly detailing every aspect of the Soul Reaver blade 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc7XpX5QTpk&t=3106s&ab_channel=RainaAudron

This could have been several separate videos so feel free to browse through using the chapters below to explore. Enjoy and have a wonderful winterval.

1. Introduction 
2. Reaver, Soul Reaver and Wraith Blade
3. Plot 
4. Gameplay 
5. History and Timeline 
6. Reaver Enhancements and Elemental Reavers 
7. Elemental Associations 
8. Design and Appearance 
9. Behind The Scenes 
10. Credits 
11. Bloopers 

You can also find the timeline diagrams we've created for the Reaver here: 
Fourth Timeline:

 Third and earlier timelines:

Soul Reaver 20th Anniversary and the Sources Archive

A bit late to the party but Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver celebrates its 20th anniversary today on the 16th August, marking 20 years since the wraith Raziel and his soul stealing goodness first entered our lives. An instant classic, it remains the most successful and most critically acclaimed entry in the series.

Many have marked the occasion but for those who crave sources we've compiled a handy collection of sources and LoK materials for the curious:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rn3HwkyzgxDH6n1UtZJoHS5RdAMW5UHr?usp=sharing&fbclid=IwAR0nddIkqQvOpVw5Iah7TQ4yAUkJzl9SJSkjtIQWd0KCCFEDOZ0pTPigy4Y
Meanwhile Raina Audron has uploaded her entire LoK magazine collection:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JIzEZlM7Ssc78MevAiGmf5N3lQs1g0m4
Her retrospective can also be found here.

From the Pit: Lok Merchandise - Comic Collection

Here’s completed set of official Legacy of Kain comics. Most were promotional and released as one-off titles at the time of the release of the games - you can however find them online these days and physical copies of the major ones are relatively easy to come by on your local online auction site (although #2 and #4 are notably rarer and harder to find).

1)Left in the first pic (and middle in the second) is the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver comic by Top Cow. Produced as promotion for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, the comic tells a brief original story set shortly before the events of the game with the vampire Raziel being warned of his coming betrayal, execution and resurrection as a wraith by a ‘Construct of the Elder Gods’ - a warning which Raziel angrily denounces and ignores. The comic notably includes several premonitions of events that were planned but not included in the final game, such as the slaying of the Priestess and the opening of the sounding pipes at the pinnacle of the Silenced Cathedral.

2)Left in the second pic is a promotional ‘Preview Edition’ release of the Tomb Raider comic series -  released some time before the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver comic, it contained preview artwork in monochrome line drawing style for the Tomb Raider comic series and artwork in the same style for the Soul Reaver comic.  

3)Right in the first pic is the Legacy of Kain: Defiance comic by Top Cow, with alternate cover on the far right in the second pic. Produced as promotion for Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the comic tells a brief original story set shortly before the events of the game, with Kain recounting Nosgoth’s and his own history as he battles Sarafan troops and approaches the Sarafan Stronghold - the story effectively recaps the major events of the series so far. Notably the comic has two alternate covers depending upon where the comic was originally bought - with the Gamestop cover shown in the first pic and the Electronics Boutique cover in the second.

4)The third and fourth pics show the German language official guide Das Offizielle Lösungsbuch - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and its exclusive comic ‘Vorgeschichte’. Produced as part of the German official guide to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , the comic tells a brief original story set shortly into the events of the game with the wraith Raziel recounting how he was betrayed, executed, resurrected and set on the path of vengeance against Kain. The comic is entirely in German, although translations can readily be found online. The comic notably includes several mistaken references and details, presumably relating to the interpretation, unclear language and developmental changes from the very early promotional materials for Soul Reaver.

This post originally appeared here