After the events of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Raziel finds a method to travel back in time and meets a member of the Circle of the Nine known as Mobius the timestreamer. Mobius encourages Raziel to carry on with his mission of vengeance and eliminate Kain, the vampire lord. Raziel gives in against his better judgment and agrees to search for the information and tools that will enable him to finally accomplish his objective.
The action-adventure game Soul Reaver 2 is played from the third-person perspective and features puzzle-solving as well as some platforming gameplay, just like the first game in the series. The player controls Raziel and has the ability to move him in any direction, as well as climb, fight, swim, jump, and use special skills. The game environment is seen from behind Raziel’s shoulder. The unique abilities that Raziel possessed in the last game have been carried over into this one. These abilities include the ability to cling to the sides of cliffs, scale walls, and glide downwards with his tattered wings. Raziel is able to freely navigate between the material world and the spectral realm, just like he was able to do so in the game that came before this one. He does this by taking advantage of distortions that exist between the mirrored realms. As in the past, in order for him to maintain his existence in this world, he needs to consume the spirits of his adversaries.
Instead of gaining skills through consuming great souls, Raziel now needs to activate specific elemental temples in order to fill his Soul Reaver sword with power. Once it is activated, the Soul Reaver can be charged with a variety of “elemental typefaces,” each of which corresponds to a specific attribute. In addition to the Soul Reaver and his bare hands, Raziel has access to a wide variety of additional weapons, such as daggers, swords, axes, and spears. He can also use his claws.
In contrast to its predecessor, Soul Reaver 2 is played in a linear fashion and follows predetermined paths while traveling through a variety of environments. Once he has left specific areas behind, Raziel is unable to return to those locations. The game includes a variety of puzzles, most of which require the manipulation of various devices or the use of blocks. One of the recurring motifs is referred to as “light riddles,” and it requires Raziel to reflect light utilizing mirrored items in order to bring it into contact with switches or other objects that need to be activated.
