Riven

she Myst on my Riven till i Exile

The gaming zeitgeist was forever changed in ’93 with the release of Myst, a puzzle game that challenged all contemporary ideas of videogame success. It lacked the high-octane energy of Doom or the brand recognition of NBA Jam, yet it sold over 500,000 copies in the first year. Due to their unprecedented success, all industry eyes turned towards the Miller brothers in anticipation of Myst’s inevitable sequel. Four years and one painful development cycle later, it released as “Riven”. If there was a single word to describe Riven, it would be “restraint”. This is reflected everywhere, from its delayed release to the reduced number of Ages and puzzles. While this sounds like design suicide at a time when Myst was the best-selling PC game, it showcases a level of bravery and mastery at Cyan that few studios could have matched. Gone are the sporadic mechanical devices that seemingly served no function other than to impede player progress, Riven’s puzzles feel diegetic, makin...

In VR this a sublime experience, the graphics are next level as is the atmosphere. I frequently was slackjawed in amazement. The VR mechanisms aren't bad but good enough.

Yes

full 3D movement is a game changer.

It appears to be a wonderful reimagining of the original Riven from what I got to experience, but I had to stop playing due to a strange issue that makes the mouse-controlled camera consistently feel like it's updating at something like half the actual framerate; haven't experienced this with any other games. It's alright when you're running at 100+ FPS, but at 60 FPS (including flat 60 FPS lock to rule out it being caused by frame time variance) it's headache inducing. It pains me not to recommend this with how much is done right, but I simply can't do otherwise for a game I couldn't finish because it made my head hurt. I've also ran into a rather amusing bug with part of the game world not loading at one point, but it was only a visual glitch.

Fantastic - thank you Cyan for remaking these games in full 3D. Finally there is QoL to focus on just the puzzles, less on the ability to see / understand what I'm looking at etc. Using a Controller: That said above, I encountered persistent stick drift throughout, causing me to always step backwards and to the right, making it both difficult to click on items with precision and also a little nauseating. I tried multiple Xbox controllers, including one that is brand new. I wish there was a "dead zone" setting in the controls, at the least.

Riven was incredibly special to me growing up, so playing this remake was like opening a door to a world I thought I’d only ever visit in my memories. From the first moment I linked in, I was floored — the graphics are gorgeous without losing the original’s atmosphere, and every detail feels alive. The puzzles have been updated in ways that feel completely natural, like they’ve always been that way, and exploring the islands in full 3D makes the world feel even more immersive. It’s rare for a remake to capture the heart of the original while making it fresh, but this does exactly that. Every creak of machinery, every rustle of wind through the trees, every distant sound of water brought back the same awe I felt the first time I played. It’s not just a game, it’s a place you live in for a while — and when you leave, you can’t stop thinking about it. If Riven meant something to you back in the day, this will be an emotional rekindling. If you’ve never played it, you...

A faithful, beautiful, well-crafted recreation of the iconic 90s game. Be prepared for some differences made to improve quality of life over the original, as well as some new surprises. As an Avid player of the Myst franchise, I am happy to have this new version of Riven to explore

Duuuude, walking around freely with WASD controls makes orientation in the game SO much easier! Also, I was starting it up first time expecting all the riddles to be the same as in the 1997 version. Yeah, nah, mate! I got stuck so often because of different riddles that I could relive the whole thrill of my first playthrough in the 90s, plus beautiful hi res graphics and even ok 3D character models (definitely a whole lot better than the Myst ones)! And since only the riddles have changed (and also randomised, which I love!!) but the story stayed the same, it still felt like Riven. And I also love that at least one riddle makes use of that newly found better in-game orientation. Both thumbs up all the way from me!