I believe this game should have been free. It isn't much more than a(n extended) Tutorial for Gwent. The storyline is okay, I guess, but I suspect you'd have to be a fan of Witcher Lore to really enjoy it. Walking around on the map is _very_ slow, but my real issue with the game is the game of GWENT itself: It's simply not very good. It's like a poor man's version of Hearthstone and I dread every time I have to play a complete three-turn 'duel' of it. It's rather dull and lacks the humor that makes Hearthstone fun. Thankfully most times you only have to play single-turn 'puzzles', but really, I had expected more. Graphically, it's quite well done, and for Witcher fans it's probably a 3-star game.
Even in 2021, 'Riven' still looks pretty good (apart from the low resolution). At the time it was originally released it must have been truly amazing. The video scenes aren't bad this time around, either. Compared to Myst, the world feels much more cohesive and fully realized. There's a lot to explore and moving around is less confusing because it features more rendered images, there are only two places where I repeatedly missed the right junction. Interestingly, it feels as if there are fewer puzzles in 'Riven' than in 'Myst'. Part of the reason is that the environment simply makes more sense and you usually get direct feedback, so you don't have to guess as often what a mechanism is supposed to do. The game still requires a lot of patience and there are two very convoluted overarching puzzles that must be solved before you finally get to read a couple of journals that explain what's going on. Neither game gets this part right: In Myst, all of the information is front-loaded, in Riven you stumble around for hours before you get to it. I don't get why Cyan didn't distribute the journal entries more evenly to keep the player engaged. Anyway, while I doubt anyone will be able to solve the game without resorting to hints at some point, a lot can be derived from your surroundings. As in Myst, sounds are as important as the visual clues. You'll also get to decipher a weird numbering system that is pretty cleverly designed, but very hard to figure out completely. As I later learned, the code sequences are randomized, so you may get lucky and get an easier one to solve. TL;DR: Imho, this game is very much worth your time even in 2021!
Back when Myst was all the hype I didn't really like it all. I also didn't make it very far. I think, I only managed to visit one of the other ages and got stuck there. This time around I did far better, although I'm not quite sure why. Experience with dozens of other adventures and puzzle games I've played in the meantime, perhaps. Surprisingly, I've been able to solve all puzzles, I just had to consult a walkthrough at one point because I had overlooked a door - I blame the pixelated graphics for that! The 'story', though, is just as bad as it was the first time. The amateurish video snippets are painful to watch. And the ending was very, very disappointing. The game is also much shorter than I thought. It only took me about 8 hours to complete. Still, I don't regret to give it another go. This time around I felt almost all of the puzzles actually made sense. Only two times I had to resort to a bit of try and error. You really need patience, though. Especially in the maze... (paying attention to the sounds makes it slightly less annoying). You're also expected to make notes. Mapping is thankfully not required since the Masterpiece addition comes with maps (although I did some mapping anyway). Oh and one final tip: Moving around feels quite erratic in this game. At times it can be really hard to tell where you have to click and where you end up after clicking. I've found it really helps to turn around in a circle after every move. This way you won't miss any pathways and get a much better idea where you currently are.
The game runs well under Windows 10 and all of the technical aspects, graphics, sound, and controls are vastly improved compared to its predecessor 'Shadow of the Comet'. I only just started the game, so I cannot yet say if the story also holds up as well. My first impression is very good, though.
The game works fine under Windows 10. It's just a bit tricky to get the subtitles in synch with the voice recordings. Controls are definitely a bit clunky, though. In fact I had to refer back to the game's manual to figure out how they're supposed to work. Graphics are quite dated and highly pixellated but still charming. Music and sound quality aren't great, however. Still. This was one of the first decent adventures based on Lovecraft's Mythos, so I'm glad it found its way back into my collection.
Most important thing first: The game works fine on my brand-new machine running Windows 10. What's a bit strange is that you cannot configure controls before starting the game. Once past the introductory scene in the prologue it works fine, though. I'd definitely recommend to set mouse sensitivity to 1 (lowest setting). Gameplay (outside of combat) works very well. It would have been nice, however, if the currently focused objects were high-lighted. As is, it takes some careful positioning to make sure you don't miss anything important. Visual effects and especially music and sounds are awesome considering the game was released in 2006. Definitely a highly recommended game for horror fans or fans of Lovecraft's Mythos in particular!
