Riven

I downloaded this because I played the original game in '97 and loved the mystique, world-building, art, and challenging puzzles of the first. I expected a carbon copy of that game, but as an open-world adventure instead of a frame-by-frame click-thru like the first one, and was happily surprised when I discovered this game has new and different things. Already the domes behave differently than they used to, new tools have appeared in different areas, and physics are getting weird. It's familiar, but deliciously unique.

If you’re just looking for puzzles, you’re in luck. If you’re looking for a game with good story, look somewhere else.

Riven is a pretty good puzzle game. It focuses on symbolism with pretty much all of it's puzzles. When I got stuck it was usually because I was over complicating something or missed something. So explore thoroughly and take notes, yes literally write/draw stuff down.

Visually stunning remake that has brought the original 1997 Riven to life in fully 3D-rendered environments, however the character design still feels really uncanny and they've reworked/simplified a lot of the puzzles. One of Riven's strongest attributes is that the puzzles don't really feel like puzzles, rather like obstacles that make sense in the world. More often than not, you will feel like you're interacting with the culture of Riven, the D'ni or the Black Moiety more than solving an arbitrary puzzle. The narrative is brilliant, and can get surprisingly dark at times (trapping yourself permanently inside the dark void of a linking book, or dooming an entire people due to your negligence). One thing I don't like about the remake is the introduction of the Star Fissure being enterable through the island domes. I liked the mystery behind the Star Fissure in the original Riven, and the introduction of it so early here makes the ending of the game less grand in my opinion. But I bet it looks really sick in VR. Another thing I don't like, are the Moiety Totems on Prison Island. In the original, the Moiety couldn't get there and free Catherine due to having to go through Age 23…

I tried so hard to get into this and Myst, but man. They are so hard to enjoy. All of the frustration of nonsensical early PC puzzle game solutions with nothing else to keep me hooked. The actual environment is gorgeous though. If you like games that refuse to even touch your hand, let alone hold it, you'll enjoy this. But if you, like me, have been spoiled by modern gaming improvements and do not long for the days when PC games would make you walk in circles for an hour before you realized you needed to click on a miniscule object you passed four hours ago before you can proceed, maybe pass on this one, even though it is a classic.

Superb reimagining of the original game. The free-roam aspect and visual improvements make this game delightful to play. So much of the original has been retained but there are some new features that make it even more nejoyable. A must for any Myst fan!