This game might not work in some operative systems. I had issues in Win8 and Win7 but it’s working fine in Win10.

No, you don’t have to play Myst before this one. The vast majority of what you see in Riven is new or was just mentioned in the previous game of the series.

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With that out of the way, you’re probably still wondering what this game exactly offers. Gameplay wise, it’s Myst. You point and click, solve puzzles, see small cutscenes, have people talk at you, and interact with them, leading you to the good ending, or one of the 9 or so branch offs.

Scenario wise, I loved it a LOT. More than Myst. Riven reminds me of my childhood (I grew up in a very green island in the middle of the Atlantic so there’s that). The cutscenes for the trams are amazing, if you can handle the low resolution. With headphones and in my dark room, I felt like I was really there, a pseudo rollercoaster over (and sometimes under) the sea. Spying the villagers from afar was a nice touch, a distancing from the emptiness of the Ages in the previous Myst.

The lore and background story is given mostly by notebooks and the like that you occasionally find. Even the small things in the scenarios tell you small stories of their own.

I didn’t like the way puzzles were structured. Riven is more of an open world, while Myst was quite linear. Some clues seemed so scattered around and senseless I had a hard time connecting the dots.

Also, beware unskippable cutscenes. Many of them. They are small and you repeat them often. Any cutscene where the animation is off-screen, welp you can’t skip it. Also, that long speech from Gehn. Ya, you can’t skip the longest part of it. Oh and the game pauses when you alt+tab, so you really have to watch it.

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Overall I liked it. The premise is simple but enjoyable. Having real people talk to you in this surreal but photorealistic place really helps with the immersion, as well as the simple soft soundtrack and the ambient sounds.

I wish I could visit Riven in it’s former glory.


PS: Fans were making a realRiven of sorts, it’s called The Starry Expanse Project. It still has a long way to go but it does look great.

This game might not work in some operative systems. I had issues in Win8 and Win7 but it’s working fine in Win10. No, you don’t have to play Myst before this one. The vast majority of what you see in Riven is new or was just mentioned in the previous game of the series. --- With that out of the way, you’re probably still wondering what this game exactly offers. Gameplay wise, it’s Myst. You point and click, solve puzzles, see small cutscenes, have people talk at you, and interact with them, leading you to the good ending, or one of the [spoiler]9[/spoiler] or so branch offs. Scenario wise, I loved it a LOT. More than Myst. Riven reminds me of my childhood (I grew up in a very green island in the middle of the Atlantic so there’s that). The cutscenes for the trams are amazing, if you can handle the low resolution. With headphones and in my dark room, I felt like I was really there, a pseudo rollercoaster over (and sometimes under) the sea. Spying the villagers from afar was a nice touch, a distancing from the emptiness of the Ages in the previous Myst. The lore and background story is given mostly by notebooks and the like that you occasionally find. Even the small things in the scenarios tell you small stories of their own. I didn’t like the way puzzles were structured. Riven is more of an open world, while Myst was quite linear. Some clues seemed so scattered around and senseless I had a hard time connecting the dots. Also, beware unskippable cutscenes. Many of them. They are small and you repeat them often. Any cutscene where the animation is off-screen, welp you can’t skip it. Also, that long speech [spoiler]from Gehn[/spoiler]. Ya, you can’t skip the longest part of it. Oh and the game pauses when you alt+tab, so you really have to watch it. --- Overall I liked it. The premise is simple but enjoyable. Having real people talk to you in this surreal but photorealistic place really helps with the immersion, as well as the simple soft soundtrack and the ambient sounds. I wish I could visit Riven [spoiler]in it’s former glory[/spoiler]. PS: Fans were making a realRiven of sorts, it’s called The Starry Expanse Project. It still has a long way to go but it does look great.