Riven

(slight spoilers) Really fantastic stuff in this game, preserving everything that made the original special while enhancing it/adding to it. Some seriously brilliant game design decisions on display in this game, and stunning visuals. On the topic of character animations, I think people are a bit unfair towards them. First of all, the character animations in this game are a huge improvement over what was seen in Myst 2021, and are never *distracting* like the ones in that game were. Secondly not all the animations are of the same quality, it's more of a spectrum. Some are a bit wonky but still ok (Atrus falls into this category imo) Some look pretty good and well done (Gehn) and some look downright fantastic, I think of the imager recordings for Aitrus and Anna. Anna especially, that one looked borderline live action. As for issues with the game, it's not really the games fault but it is more tedious to get around in this version than the original. The Starry Expanse is obviously an attempt to mitigate this, and while it's super cool from a narrative context, I actually found it more tedious than just going by foot to where I wanted to be.

Right off the bat, the game nails the presentation! Graphics look just as good as the original pre-rendered screenshots. All the sounds, like the levers and door openings, it all sounds exactly as the original. Don't go into this expecting a 1 to 1 translation however. There have been changes to the puzzles, not just to accomodate the freeform movement, but also changes to the exploration flow of the game and new expansions of the gameworld. None of the changes are for the worst thankfully. The game updates just enough for new players and just enough to give a new experience to returning veterans, all while retaining the essence of what made the original so great

Riven was such an iconic game upon it's release. A direct sequel to (at the time) the best selling PC game of all time until 2002. It sold 4.5 million copies and has been heralded as one of the best games of it's genre. 27 years later and this is the way in which a remake should be done! There is something for fans old and new. Cyan have been careful not to change too much, showing loyalty to the worlds that had endeared so many, but at the same time tweaking some puzzles and including new ones, giving the older fans something new to enjoy and a different way of approaching the all too familiar puzzles. I welcome the changes and I think they have done it exactly right. If anything I think they could've expanded upon this further, but in all, areas that were once locked away become unlocked for this remake. You can see round corners that were once not accessible. The puzzles are more manageable and enjoyable to solve. You won't find yourself with the same headaches as you did with the original. There's the familiar soundtrack and the inclusion of new music to fit the scenery. The sounds affects are brilliantly integrated into the environments, to the point of which you can almost feel the breeze on you face of wish you could dip your feet in the ocean. The game is not without it's criticism. Graphically it is not as strong as the Myst 2021 remake. One one hand the ocean is as clear blue as you can possibly imagine with a shimmering sun that makes you feel as if you are in the Caribbean. On the other hand the clouds do not move, there's no changeable weather conditions which defy logic and natural physics (how can you have howling winds and large waves but no change in the weather or cloud formations?..) There is some issues around attention to detail, particularly in the boiler age and some pixilated blurry rock formations on the cliffs. Overall however, this is a tremendous remake. Exactly how it should be. The reply value is worth it too. Well done Cyan!

gorgeously rebuilt, looks ****** marvellous on a 4K screen. 3D moves let you see scenes from different angles, and we kept noticing details like the other islands in the idstance, the crevices in the sea... And the detail on the close-up parts and the lighting are stunning. Gameplay has modest improvements, and a small number of extra puzzles.

One of the best games ever is now even better.