As a longtime fan of the Myst universe, I was excited to finally play the first remake of Riven in realtime and VR. Having completed it, I have been struggling to articulate my feelings on the game and separate genuine critiques from "change is bad" nostalgia. The world looks gorgeous. The environment art is fantastic and largely lives up to the expectations I had for it. Wandering around Riven was a joy (mostly). On the other hand, the character art is underwhelming. We were never going to get the original FMVs, but the character models and animations are not convincing in these realistic environments. The world and puzzle design is where it really lets me down. What was originally an interconnected, branching world from the start has been railroaded to a mostly linear progression. When the world does finally open up, one of the primary traversal mechanics is far more cumbersome than any of the removed paths. Additionally, the rearrangement of the world separated at least one interaction from its result, introducing a "lever changes something across the world" phenomenon these games had always avoided. On a small scale, some mechanics that were "puzzly" have been streamlined and simplified. Part of the magic of Myst and Riven is figuring out the little things. Looking bigger, changes to the major puzzles in the game felt arbitrary, while the new solutions are more telegraphed and less detailed. In one case, they introduced a mechanic I would have expected from one of the myriad Myst knockoffs. I mentioned wandering around was a joy, because Cyan went to great lengths to craft a stunning environment. Then they give you a tool for viewing the environment that takes all the joy and wonder out of wandering. It felt so at odds with the painstakingly detailed environments. All in all, I find Riven 2024 disappointing and even a little frustrating. The original Riven feels like a realized world. This feels like a game built for you to play through.
Might and Magic is a classic RPG series with a unique history and worlds that reached a pinnacle of greatness in Might and Magic VII. The gameplay and engine are almost identical to those in Might and Magic VI, but with the refinements of experience and time. The graphics are improved, the turn-based combat allows you to move now, the story branches based on your decisions...the list goes on. It maintains the belief of letting you go wherever you want, whenever you want. The only person deciding when you are ready for an area is yourself. The expanded skill system with Grandmaster levels for all skills and revamped spell system contribute to more guided character development without removing your freedom of choice. With huge maps, countless dungeons and side quests, abundance of creature types, and a main quest line to make your characters feel truly epic in the end, the game does not disappoint with content. Might and Magic VII is easily the best game in the series.
