Riven (1997)

I am not a hardcore Myst fan, but I do appreciate the game and what it did. I downloaded Myst as soon as it popped on GoG. But Riven is, without a doubt, the best puzzle game out there. Not "adventure" game as there are other games out there that top this, but Riven is one of the most impressive visually and puzzle wise even after all of these years. I recommend this game to anyone.

You liked Myst? Good, buy this! You like atmosphere and puzzles? Good, buy this! Myst was an innovative, fresh and unique adventure when it came out, and the sequel needed to live up to its name. Riven is all that Myst was (and still is) and more - the story of Myst continues and a whole new world is at your viewing pleasure. Not to spoil anything; let's just say the story is brilliantly crafted just like in the first installment, and can leave you with alternate endings and there are many secrets to be discovered. Riven is a change from Myst, not in the way it's played - you're still an unnamed protagonist (well, you yourself) exploring a meticulously crafted and fantastic world by clicking on animated screenshots and solving puzzles. The change itself is in the complexity and sheer trickiness of the puzzles. While Myst had a relatively separated area and rules for each set of puzzles, Riven is designed differently. If you do not understand the concepts of Riven, the lore and the connections between the puzzles themselves, you're in for a rough time. Even practiced adventure players will (I guarantee it) get hopelessly stuck at least once during their exploration efforts. While Myst is constructed as separate (but wonderfully made) parts, Riven goes even further and manages to unify each and every segment, puzzle piece and location with such ease it makes you go 'Aha!' when you finally figure it out. I'll say it again, this is not a review in the usual sense - to experience Riven is just that - experience. Riven (along with the whole Myst series) is one of the pinnacles of expression in the video-game medium, and as such needs to be - experienced. Just be wary - pen and paper are not recommended but *needed*. And your brain will turn into mush at least twice.

Years after discovering the wonders of the Myst ages, the Miller brothers surprised the world with a change few could have expected. Myst was a collection of puzzles cleverly designed, with logic as the main component. In order to solve one of them, you were expected to find the solution and determine how to get it in the related mechanism. It was all mechanic and their reason of existence was not always perfect. Myst was created from the puzzles, and it showed. But Riven had a different focus, or obsession, behind it. Instead of designing a world in which to fit the puzzles they had created, it looks like they developed both things at the same time. The puzzles' solutions are no longer written in walls or books, but in Riven's inhabitants lifes. You are no longer expected to find the solution. Instead, most problems are understood, lived through the eyes of the people that created them. That, by itself, is brilliant. Characters in the game are defined by the logic they use when creating security devices or obfuscating information, which is something rarely seen even in modern games. But Riven went several steps further: people are also characterised through their inability to understand the tricks of others. Their obsessions, wishes or limitations render them unable to place themselves in the mind of each other, which, in turn, gives you a deeper knowledge of the conflicts each one of them lives with. So important is understanding the motivations and mentality of everyone in the game that a link is formed with all of them. For me, it went to the extent that, when I first understood Gehn's reasons for his obsession, I was moved to tears. Another important aspect of Riven is the society it depicts. A group of almost illiterate people who live with the presence of a God among them. Every step in their lifes is shaped to conform the a deity's wishes. You can see it at the very beginning of the game, but are unable to understand it until you know what the temple is. But they also understand that the God is not almighty. This dilemma makes them turn to nature when looking for something to worship. Their complex system of believes is carefully designed, so polished that it feels almost like a sociological experiment. Riven is a world in which people have understood that they live enslaved by a mad God. It tells the story of their hopeless rebellion against their lifes and how love and fear shapes their decissions, for better or worse.

Riven is the sequel to Myst, and this version doesn't have that pesky "please insert Disc #2" stuff. Anyways, Riven, is set right after the events of Myst, and you must travel to the age of Riven to rescue Atrus's Wife Catherine from his father Gehn. This game looks just as beautiful as it did in the past, aged very well. (This game also works in Windows 7 64-bit, as I have it running flawlessly, just has one save issue bug that is easily fixed in 2 min.) Riven places you on this beautiful age, with blue sky's, oceans all around, beautiful sounds and visuals. Each scene is beautiful, even today. You play using your mouse via point and click like the original Myst game, and the puzzles are put into the world so well, you really think they are there, it is so life-like. Also, the puzzles are harder than Myst's puzzles, and a few of them will be hair pulling, but the payload at the end of the game is worth it. The story-line is well done too, it has all the history and whatnot in the game so well written and put, you feel attached to the people that live on Riven, and there are several endings as well, one main good ending, and the rest bad, which adds some end game climax too, if you choose the wrong path and end it not how your suppose to. I would recommend this game because of the beautiful visuals, great soundtrack and sounds in the age, the classic Myst point and click movement and the nostalgia that comes with it.