Riven (1997)

The less said the better. This is the inspiration for many of the great puzzle games today. If you haven't played it yet, now is the time.

As a sequel to MYST, it's what you expect- a number of puzzles spread across a few big set pieces with an interesting story and a superb atmosphere. The graphics are a bit dated, but hold up well. It's part of the nostalgia factor. The story builds on MYST very well, but is weighed down a bit by how much is implied. It's great if you catch the nuances, unclear if you miss something. I found the puzzles less enjoyable, but more grand in scope, compare to MYST. Where MYST felt like a variety of smaller puzzles, RIVEN feels like a handful of major puzzles in larger set pieces. I found them to be interesting ideas, but often less memorable than MYST. It felt like less variety. The repetitiveness was more noticeable as well. My biggest gripe is how many set pieces never felt significant or used. Many areas never factored into the game in any significant away. This feels liek a missed opportunities both for the story and for the puzzles. The sound- music, effects, and the use of silence- is spot on. I would like to see more current games use sound this well. Overall, a solid sequel bolstered by fun world building and a definite sense of accomplishment when solving some of the more challenging puzzles. Even with its weak points, it's hard not to recommend at least a few playthroughts, especially given the many different possible endings.

Playing in 2025, this game blew me away. I went in spoiler free and absorbed the world as much as I could. I had to think hard, take notes, experiment, and as a result gained immense joy putting all the pieces together. It was very tempting to look up answers at particular points but I'm so glad that I did not. There is no rush to finish this game. The world, hints, and puzzles are elegantly thought out. While trying to solve some puzzles I was yelling in my head that something has to be unfair, there is no way I'm not getting this right. However, after finally solving the puzzle correctly I was able to reflect and admit that the puzzle was fair. It was just extremely smart/clever. I promise, every puzzle is solveable WITH appropriate hints and clues. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open. This game is Myst on steroids. If you like Myst you will love Riven.

This was harder than I remember it being from the first time I played it; had to resort to a walkthru to get past a puzzle because the area to get the clues from was not showing any colored lights where they were supposed to be. Unsure why this was the case, unless it was a "reset" from a driver update. Had no issues with 1,3,4; and yes I checked the forums for possible leads. Hoping it gets a makeover like realMyst soon.

If there is one problem I have with Riven, it's its movement scheme. The world is pre-rendered, so you don't have free movement, and this feels clunky. Sometimes you can miss things because you can't turn the camera where you want, or you don't notice that a path exists that woud be easy to spot if you could just turn. Worse, often I would click on something to interact with it, and either because I misclicked or because it wasn't interactable, I'd inadvertently move to a new location, which is frustrating. I haven't played the remake yet, but this would seem a big reason to get it instead. If there is a second problem, it's the puzzles. They are HARD. Admittedly, this can be part of the appeal. Too many modern games hold your hand too much, and that's not an issue here. When you solve something, you can rightly feel smart and proud. But you'll almost certainly need a guide. At least the game is fair; I don't think you can make it unwinnable, so you're free to try your ideas. In principle, everything can be solved. The difficulty is that at the beginning and for some time after, you get no guidance as to short or medium term goals. For the first hour of my playthrough, I was able to make progress not because I knew what I was doing, but because I was clicking on what was interactible and seeing what happened. When I relented and looked up a walkthrough, it was in no small part because I wanted an idea of what I should be trying to accomplish. Despite these issues, I enjoyed myself with Riven, playing it for the first time in 2024. The story is slow to start but quite deep. The world is richly realised and imaginative. It takes the small hints of worldbuilding from Myst and adds layers and complexity to them all. And there's some impressive acting, especially from the main antagonist. I'm glad I took the chance and pushed through the early issues.