Riven (1997)

Like its predecessor, Riven is mostly a 'beautiful void'. Atrus has sent you to Riven to rescue his wife, Catherine. The catch: Riven is also the prison to which is father, Gehn, was exiled years ago. Oh, and there's no way back until we can summon Atrus. Riven is undoubtedly one of the more vexing games of the franchise. It's also absolutely /soaked/ in Myst lore. You'll learn about the D'Ni numbering system, the names of beasts and technology, and even learn about how Ages actually *work*. That said -- far too much of this game relies on that knowledge. If you can't get your head around Riven's D'Ni influences, you're going to be clicking without understanding. All of the relevant story is given in an info-dump right at the beginning, and then you're tossed into Riven with little context or clues as to what's going on. Which is kind of the point, I guess: the Stranger doesn't know this world, so the player doesn't either. You're both figuring things out as you go. Riven is a huge, beautiful, puzzle-and-story-rich game, but it's definitely not the one I would choose to introduce new players to the franchise.

Riven is nothing more than amazing. Just recently I caught myself musing about the lack of aesthetics in games. It seems a little weird that we have so many games like Crysis; visual spectacles that invests billions of polygons in rendering somewhat unimaginative and ugly environments. Where are the games about beautiful worlds that you explore at a calm pace? The answer is Riven. After playing through the game I find myself wanting to pack my bags and go jumping into the one way linking book to get there. The world is beautifully rendered, even passable by modern standards and stretches huge expanses which takes hours to explore even if you ignore the puzzles. When I first booted it up I found myself doing just that. Wandering through the surreal landscape admiring the view. Eventually I turned to the puzzles and much to my delight, they were mostly logical yet seamlessly integrated into the world. There were only a few spots were I flicked to a walkthrough from frustration and even then it was rarely the puzzles fault; I had somehow missed a lever or button. Riven is what Myst wanted to be. It took the story and concept and expanded it exponentially, creating a rich, surreal environment that is full of life and dare I say it, believable. The puzzles seem natural and don't break the flow of exploration. My only problem is that GOG doesn't stock Myst 3 yet.....

This game features the most Immersible environment and storyline that i have seen in a game. On top of this the world is photo-real, and remarkably detailed. The puzzles are weaved into the world, not out of place and obvious, like in Myst. You deserve to play this amazingly crafted masterpiece.

Finally I can play Riven again without switching between discs. The game is very large (especially for it's time) so they had to put it on 5 discs and it always got annoying switching discs between areas. This has always been one of my favorite games and now it runs faster and the graphics seem even slightly better :) Where Myst was lacking Riven more than made up for it. The puzzles are still challenging and get your mind working, but they are intuitive and not too difficult. This is one game where thinking ahead and writing down notes might actually help. If you love adventures or mysteries, you'll love this game! Still one of my favorites. Even if you're just a fan of the old point and click games this is a must have! The atmosphere alone is a good enough reason to get this game. Sometimes eerie, but mostly peaceful this is a gaming experience you don't want to miss. Now if GOG only added Cyberia 1 & 2, I would be a customer for life! :)

The thing about the Myst series is that while you are trying to figure out the puzzles and collect clues, the environment and artwork is so beautifully well done that you can look around and just enjoy being there even if you are stuck on a puzzle for a while. I have still yet to see games as beautifully well done since the Myst series and the music is just as awesome as the artwork. I Love the Myst games, they're a little fantasy, a little puzzle game, a little bit adventure and all with a great story line and great art. I even have the real book written by the Rand brothers and it's awesome too. They just don't seem to be making them like this any more but I am still looking!