Themes of destiny, free will, morality, redemption and the hero's journey recur in the storyline, which was inspired by ancient literature, horror fiction, Islamic art and culture, Shakespeare's plays, Jewish mysticism and gnosticism.

[3][4][5] Pursued in hopes of bringing a strong narrative and artistic cinema to consoles, it was built as "a game which adults would want to play", featuring an unconventional hero and gameplay that demanded thought as well as reflexes.

It originated as an independent concept inspired by Biblical themes called Shifter, devised by Crystal Dynamics' Amy Hennig and Seth Carus,[10][11] but, at the request of company executives, was integrated into the Legacy of Kain universe in pre-production.

[11][13][14] It was a commercial and critical success, selling 1.5 million units worldwide,[15] but the strong reactions of players to its cliffhanger ending impelled the developers to allay concerns that it was released unfinished.

[17] The developers' goal was to retain the elements that made its predecessor successful,[18] but they decided to eschew the "complete a level, fight a boss" flow of the previous game in favor of a more narrative-driven approach.

[20][26] The story concludes on a hopeful note, but without full resolution; during production, Hennig departed Crystal Dynamics to work for Naughty Dog,[27][28] and Defiance did not meet Eidos' sales expectations.

[33] Nosgoth, a multiplayer game, was formally announced by Square Enix London Studios community manager George Kelion to be in development in June 2013, in response to a series of internet leaks and resultant speculation.

Whereas Blood Omen and Soul Reaver employ an open world system in the style of The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario 64,[2] the latter three games are divided into chapters, and are more linear in progression.

The main character's health constantly declines in each game—Kain must consume blood to sustain his strength, whereas Raziel requires souls—prompting combat, which focuses on hack and slash techniques, and allows the player to kill and feed from enemies.

Dialogue in the series is florid and Elizabethan in style, inspired by period pieces such as Becket, The Lion in Winter and A Man for All Seasons,[11][42] and each game was scripted in the manner of a stage play, with monologues, asides and cutscenes interspersing gameplay.

[26] During Blood Omen's production, Silicon Knights hired classically trained actors to deliver voice talent, a precedent which Crystal Dynamics continued in successive games.

Supporting cast members include Paul Lukather as Vorador, Anna Gunn as Ariel, Richard Doyle as Moebius, and René Auberjonois as Janos Audron.

[50] Kain realizes that he himself is the final corrupt guardian, born as Ariel's successor, and is left to decide between sacrificing himself to restore the world (but destroying the vampire race), or ruling Nosgoth in its damnation.

Kain's spiritual corruption hinders him from realizing his role as the balance guardian—he seeks to somehow resolve the dilemma he faced at the end of Blood Omen by both restoring the Pillars and returning them to vampire rule.

The resulting breach enables The Hylden Lord to possess Janos (facilitating his invasion in Blood Omen 2), and Raziel is defeated in the ensuing battle, trapped by The Elder God.

[42] Gnosticism, in which "the material world is an illusion, a lie perpetrated by a false and malignant god whose aim is to keep the human soul in darkness and ignorance" and the hero's goal is "knowledge, enlightenment, and the exposure of the truth", helped to formulate Raziel's arc.

Silicon Knights conceptualized Kain, a vampire antihero inspired by Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, as an atypical "gray" protagonist, neither good nor evil, despite being advised in 1993 that such a character would not appeal to gamers.

[4][6] Crystal Dynamics agreed to publish the game in 1993, and although there was indecision as to whether it should be produced for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer or the Sega Saturn, both parties settled on the PlayStation once Sony announced its impending launch.

[6] The game took over three years to develop,[4][7] undergoing a substantial expansion mid-process which required Silicon Knights to increase its workforce—Crystal Dynamics sent several staff to assist them, including Amy Hennig and Seth Carus.

[92] The two studios settled their legal dispute privately, and Crystal Dynamics and Eidos retained rights to the Legacy of Kain franchise, provided that Soul Reaver acknowledge Silicon Knights as the series' original creator.

[11][20][22][42] Soul Reaver was highly anticipated despite several delays, and was promoted on the covers of over ten game industry magazines,[13] but schedule pressures forced Crystal Dynamics to cut content from the ending sequence.

[2][17] Blood Omen 2 was concurrently developed by an independent Crystal Dynamics team with creative autonomy,[20][22] extrapolating from the 19th century steampunk aesthetic of Soul Reaver to settle on a Victorian feel.

[11][94] Its crew was wary of relying too strongly on the original Blood Omen as an influence, and expanded on the franchise's backstory in hopes of starting a new series,[95] but inconsistencies raised by its plot left the Soul Reaver 2 team to reconcile the storyline in the next game.

[12] Following the release of Soul Reaver, action figures of the characters Kain and Raziel were created by Blue Box Interactive and the National Entertainment Collectibles Association in partnership with Eidos.

[104][105] By June 2024, a graphic novel titled Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise was revealed to be in the works as a collaboration between Crystal Dynamics and Bit Bot Media and is crowdfunded through Kickstarter.

[128] GameSpot's Greg Kasavin was critical of Blood Omen 2, but praised the Soul Reaver games as "great" for their "innovation and surprising drama", voice acting and technical feats.

[129] Matt Clemens of Computer and Video Games said that the series had engaging narrative, impressive cinematic sequences and fluid combat, calling Soul Reaver an "absolute classic".

[130] The Houston Press described Legacy of Kain's voice cast as "the greatest unrecognized brilliance in video game acting", and compared the dialogue of the series to plays by William Shakespeare.

[131][132] Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar said that "known for nuanced storytelling, unconventional protagonists, amazing boss fights and rich Shakespearean baritones, the series raised the bar for writing and acting in games".

[137] In May 2022, Embracer Group acquired the Legacy of Kain intellectual property alongside other assets of Square Enix Europe, including the development studio Crystal Dynamics for $300 million.