When I tried RIVEN at the start of the month, I genuinely didn’t know what to expect. Like I said then, I was fairly unfamiliar with the Myst franchise, and the one time I tried it as a kid, not only was the setting not right, but neither was my feeble mind—unable to grasp such complex puzzles. Fortunately for me, everything old is perpetually new and not only was I able to experience Myst updated for modern sensibilities, but now I and many other gamers can experience RIVEN.
Thankfully, as I learned during my preview, RIVEN is as good a place to start as any when approaching the Myst franchise. My appetite for open-world puzzle-solving definitely whet at the start of the month, and after playing the game even more, I can say my hunger has certainly been satiated. RIVEN is an incredible experience for practiced puzzle solvers.
Set on the titular islands of Riven, the game picks up after the end of the events of Myst, with scholar Atrus giving the player a Book of Linking—which, in truth, is actually a one-man prison—in order to trap a man known as Ghen and free a woman named Catherine. Unfortunately, Atrus cannot divulge any more information, and neither can I, as revelations about Ghen, Catherine and the island of Riven itself all become clear as the player advances.
And while, yes, players could look up a Wiki for this faithful remake of a 27-year-old game, I would advise against it as the storytelling is so seamlessly interwoven into the puzzle-solving gameplay that it becomes incredibly satisfying to experience it as it unfolds. Both the narrative and the gameplay are so deeply connected to the world of RIVEN that it brings the whole world to life and makes it feel real and intense.
“…the sheer seamlessness of the entire game makes RIVEN a much more engaging experience.”
As I touched on briefly during my preview, much like its remastered predecessor, RIVEN is a faithful recreation of the original completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. The bones of the original are completely intact, but now the meat is fresher and stronger than ever. Players will explore the islands of Riven, frequently finding locked doors and needing to solve puzzles in order to open them. Much like the original and even its predecessor, locked doors can be miles away from their solutions, so exploration is a big part of the gameplay. Thankfully, the new world of RIVEN is so incredibly detailed and intricate that it begs to be explored.
Puzzles can range from the somewhat simple spinning of a room to move doors to the more complex deciphering of ancient symbols. It layers upon layers that consistently challenge the player to stay aware of their surroundings and remember small details from objects they found five rooms ago. It can feel a little abrasive to start; however, RIVEN does include a pretty helpful in-game screenshotting feature that allows players to also make notes on images to better keep track of puzzles and their potential solutions.
This does go some way to helping players since Cyan Worlds specifically said they wanted to shy away from more obvious helper functions. And while RIVEN does include some minor environmental clues in relation to certain puzzles, I still think some optional features to better indicate interactable objects would have been welcome. This is a modern remake and it should make room for modern game design improvements.
Furthermore, much like I said during my preview, the sheer seamlessness of the entire game makes RIVEN a much more engaging experience. As with the original and its predecessor, changing the game from moving between still images to moving through an open, connected world not only makes the game feel faster by eliminating the downtime during animations but also gives players the chance to find solutions a bit faster as they move through the world.
It really can’t be overstated just how good RIVEN looks in this modern update. Cyan Worlds really put the Unreal Engine 5 through its paces, highlighting every intricate detail on every surface and every texture. RIVEN crafts a world that is both ephemeral and completely believable—as if walking through a lucid dream. It really is incredible just how many moments look like they could be stills from the original game, such is the amount of detail in each moment and the commitment to maintaining the look of the original RIVEN.
In the audio department, RIVEN utilizes a subtle blend of gentle ambiance and environmental noise to not only make the world more believable and lived-in with its audio but also perfectly set the tone for the gameplay. I’ve said before that puzzle-based games need a certain kind of ambiance to keep the player’s mind in a space to be intellectual, and RIVEN manages this with aplomb.
RIVEN was certainly a challenge but one that consistently kept me pressing forward. Its incredible world, intricate puzzles and engaging story were definitely worth the effort required to experience it. If you missed the original in 1997, or even the updated Myst in 2021, if you’re a puzzle fan, this is definitely worth a look.
