Riven

If you want a one-line review: this is basically "Black Mesa" from the world of adventure remakes. Everything you remember and love is there, all the more frustrating parts are smoothed out. If you want more good news: - If you were dissapointed by slightly cartoony 3D models in the MYST remake, good news! The character models are much better looking in this one! Yes, it's not original's FMV, but that would look weird here if we're honest. - Yes, there are some slight changes to a few paths and (most notably) puzzles. In my opinion, they are mostly done to (a) make it a bit harder to get lost early on and get frustrated, and (b) in a few cases make the layout a bit more logical (e.g., the throne room on temple island is in a more reasonable place now, in my opinion). - THAT ONE PUZZLE EVERYONE HATED has been reworked marvelously! All the cool stuff about it is still there, it is still as complex as ever, but the annoying parts are largely smoothed out. It is much harder to get stuck on it from, say, having one small mistake on mapping the grid, grr. - Not to spoil anything, but there are also 2 noteable additions that fans of the original probably dreamt of for almost 30 years. You'll know when you get there ;) - Oh, and major QOL improvement - There is a camera now with note system! Don't have to rely on pen and paper! Some small drawbacks (or divisive things): - The puzzle with animal stones is completely different. The new one is really cool and probably makes more in-world sense, but it might be a more divisive change. I would also love to have seen the remade version of that puzzle. - Hopefully will be fixed - I had a few rendering glithces with the camera - sometimes the screenshots were distorted, so check your shots before moving on! - Would love to have a "skip" functionality for long rides - they get a bit old. - The journals are still written in cursive, which is frustrating to read from the computer screen (font accessibility setting would be nice)

This review is from the perspective of someone who played the original, too many times, and loved it. The remake is in many ways a dream come true. It allows much more freedom of exploration, adds new locations or expands the original ones -- and shuffles some around a bit. Some changes feel a bit more chaotic than others. I also get the feeling that design choices were made for accessibility in puzzle solving (and in spotting that something is a puzzle), but those took a bit away from the puzzle integration in the game's world which was masterfully done in the original. The game is still the original at its heart. It's not a lesser experience. Well, excluding the replacement of FMV actors with 3d models with animations that are a bit off, eyes that look a bit dead and glitched clothing physics. But it's also not much more. A Riven veteran will probably be familiar with the premise and at any time will be aware of what is needed to be done despite any changes. They will be able to finish the game relatively quickly. Unfortunately, the puzzles this time around won't feel as smart or original as they did back in 1997. Music is still excellent. It seems that they used the original tracks and added a few new ones. And that's ok in my book. Sound ambiance is very well done in general. And we also now get subtitles and multiple localizations! The visuals are awesome. The art direction is very close to the original and there's still much attention to detail. As of yet (day one release version), there are a few bugs with being stuck on level geometry, or floating at impossible space. The color subtitles also work in one location but not on another, leaving me guessing at some point. And the journals are unfortunately still as unreadable as they were in the original. The zoom function might have helped, but there's only two modes for it - either too zoomed in (with no camera panning option) or zoomed out -- and it only works in single pages not journals anyway.

I basically grew up with Myst and Riven. Over the years, my admiration for the original Riven has only grown. The universe is fantastic, the puzzles were perfectly integrated, and the environmental storytelling remains one of the best even today. This remake is everything I hoped for and more. I know the original by heart, but this version add changes and new details to a lot of new areas so even though it feels like the old Riven but upgraded, it is so much more. It's almost a new game entirely, and as an old fan it's a delight. The environmental storytelling has been expanded, a lot of things are now more consistent and developed. The Rivenese culture especially now feels a lot more present, and the decaying state of Riven is also convened in a more immersive way. I won't go into too much details, but expect every island and age to have more to offer. There are a bunch of new puzzles and the hardest ones have been made clearer (although be warned, you'll still have to take a lot of notes!). BUT they've also been expanded in other ways, so it ends up being a more "leveled" experience. This is still Riven though, nothing is obvious at first glance, and you won't get far without a notebook (and this remake has a screenshot + annotation system). The one thing that disappoint a little is that some of the 3D characters are a bit underwhelming in their lighting and animation, but for a small studio like Cyan, it's quite an challenging area. The focus has been made on the most important character moments, though Catherine's model and animation could still use some refining. There are also a couple of completely new characters and their writing and animation is pretty great. But you'll have to see it for yourself.

I completed the remake of Riven in two days, in about 11 hours total. I never wanted to stop exploring and discovering what was new and different in this version. The new content is very satisfying, and it all feels like it makes sense in the age of Riven. The new puzzles mixed with the a new "transport system" (trying to avoid spoilers) made me feel like I was playing Riven again for the first time. There are some cool surprises, too. I'm very glad Cyan kept the original score by Robyn Miller, like they did with the Myst remake. The graphics look fantastic as well. Cyan did an amazing job!

Thanks Cyan Worlds for this game and Polish subtittles !!!