I've been replaying Soul Reaver 1 recently. Okay, I've been playing it on PC despite owning the PSX original (got that Steam sale bundle the other day) but I'm posting here because it's more known as a PSX game. So the graphics are slightly better than on PSX, but I'm still amazed at how well the graphics held up -- no doubt due to the
amazing art direction. The architecture is just so awesome. And Raziel's animations are pretty damn fluid, it's quite impressive for the time. My favourite area is definitely the Drowned Abbey (Rahab's lair), but the Pillars area, the Razielim territory, the human citadel, everything is so unique and cool. Too bad the PC version (at least the Steam one) is such a buggy mess though. No native controller support (had to fiddle forever with JoyToKey to get it working) and tons of sound glitches.
I can't recommend the PC version but anyone who has yet to play this, get the PSN one ASAP. Gameplay wise it held up quite well. Camera is, well, PS1 era camera, above average at the time but it can be wonky by today's standards. But combat is fluid enough, the mechanics are still fresh and interesting (particularly the gliding, puzzles, and spectral/material realm dichotomy), platforming isn't too frustrating, and the puzzles are cool even if the usage of blocks get a bit old.
Replaying it just made me so mad that we aren't getting a new-gen Legacy of Kain... I can imagine a game like Soul Reaver with those cool mechanics like the spectral realm and the gliding and the puzzles, the same glorious level design and architecture, the same amazing storytelling and voice acting, but with a modern camera, modern controls with analog support and all the DS3/DS4 buttons and refined combat, and modern graphics. It would be the GOAT.