After 20-plus years, Crystal Dynamics has announced Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise, a prequel graphic novel to the Soul Reaver video games. Written by Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp, with interior art by Juan Samu, the graphic novel itself will be a collaboration between Crystal Dynamics and Bit Bot Media and will be the most recent comic adaptation of Soul Reaver since the promotional comics dating back to 1999.
“In college, I created a Soul Reaver poster for a class project, never imagining I would one day officially contribute to the franchise,” said writer Joshua Viola in an interview with IGN. “Even today, Raziel graces my tattoo sleeve—a testament to my deep connection with this universe. Fans can expect a project infused with that same passion. Working directly with creatives from Crystal Dynamics and reuniting with former collaborators makes this a truly special endeavor.”
The book will look at Raziel’s past as a Sarafan warrior and how the warrior fell under Kain’s spell and inevitably became both a vampire and Kain’s first lieutenant. The story will serve as a tie-in to the original games and will also introduce a new vampire character close to both vampires.
In October 2022, over 100,000 people completed a Legacy of Kain survey whose results showed great interest in the revitalization of the franchise. To Gauge just how much fan interest can translate into dollars after all of these years, The Dead Shall Rise will be crowdfunded on Kickstarter later this year, which you can follow the prelaunch backer kit page of right now.
Given that Embracer Group owns both Crystal Dynamics (who own Legacy of Kain) and Dark Horse Comics, I originally thought the two would have naturally partnered on this venture. However, I’ve learned only recently that the venture of adapting Soul Reaver into a graphic novel is being organized by the multifaceted musician known as Klayton, who together with Joshua Viola and James Rhodes of FiXT, created their own multimedia company called Bit Bot Media, who specialize in everything from films to movies, comics, toys, and apparel.
Now lost to the passage of time in many ways, The Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver series is a standout franchise from the late 90s/early 2000s that profoundly impacted the history of the gaming industry. Featuring a brilliant story about immortality, the cost of humanity, and defying fate, this platforming action hack-and-slash game was a hallmark of the black leather goth-loving vampire era (think Blade and BloodRayne), culminating in 2003’s Legacy of Kain: Defiance. One of the most popular games for the early PS1 era, the series stood as a testimony of the possibilities for mature content at the dawn of 3D video games.
More importantly, the Legacy of Kain series, in both its writing and direction, showcased the exceptional talent of video game legend Amy Hennig. Widely considered one of the most important figures in women in games development, Hennig’s pivotal role as creative director at Naughty Dog propelled its beloved Uncharted series to the forefront of gaming. Uncharted, renowned for its mechanics, cinematic storytelling, and gameplay, was highly lauded as a game changer for the PS3 era. It’s style would also inevitably influence a little-known game in the industry called… The Last of Us.
Hennig also served as the creative director of one of the greatest video games of all-time: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. If that wasn’t enough, currently Hennig is currently the co-president of the new media division at Skydance and is currently working on one the most highly anticipated comics to video games projects of all-time Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. Otherwise known as the Captain America and Black Panther video game.
All of this is to say: The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver has quite the… Legacy.
