I remember when I was a 14-year-old teenager who had just gotten a new computer. One of the first games to boast about its new wonders was one called Myst. This one was packed with impressive 3D graphics and video clips, so I was well prepared. What I didn’t realize was how difficult it was for a 14-year-old kid who didn’t even understand why the sun came up in the morning. Four years later, the sequel, Riven, came out, but I was too busy improving my grades in high school and avoiding being a mediocre student, so I missed it. Now that we are in 2024 and I’ve got my hands on a Riven remake, I’ll try to assess whether the series is still as difficult as I remember it. Riven Remaster or (2024) as it is also called, was developed by Cyan, the original company, is impressive, and can be played on PC and Mac.
Riven (2024) is a remake (not a remaster, despite the title), so the game isn’t just a polished version of the original. If you know the puzzles from the first part by heart, that’s good news, because Riven (2024) is a completely new game. Even though the story is basically the same, the puzzles are all new. Riven’s plot is quite minimalistic, at least at first. It picks up where the Myst story left us, and the first person you meet is Atrus, who was also your guide in the first game. Gehn, his father, also appears and wants you to stop his son and rescue his wife Catherine, who has been lured to many islands in Riven by his other children, Sirrus and Achenar. After reading Atrus’ long diary, much of the plot is revealed to us, which is frankly complex and a little odd. I’m glad the story isn’t the main focus, because it threw me a little every time it was presented to me. Maybe it’s just me, but some things were pretty odd, especially because it tries to be very mysterious most of the time. There’s a balance between imprecision and comprehensibility in games like Riven, and in my opinion it doesn’t hit the nail on the head. However, I suppose if you know the story from start to finish and have read the book, also released in the 90s, it all makes more sense, but for someone who hasn’t played the series for nearly 25 years, it’s back to business as usual.
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Luckily, Riven isn’t characterized by its plot, it’s the gameplay experience that challenges your neurons and sometimes your patience, just like the original. After getting past the cryptic intro, you’re let loose on one of the many islands that make up the world of Riven (2024). It’s unchanging and desolate, which is also something cool about the game. You have to explore the island, which you later learn is called Temple Island. We found a lot of rusty machinery that you have to examine. Everything you find and manipulate along the way will have its own use at some point, but that might not be the right time. There are puzzles that you can’t solve until you’ve solved others and figured out which ones you need to solve later. Luckily, there are usually clues when one puzzle affects another. On Temple Island, for example, you can open a portal that can only be called “to another dimension” and there you can move various levers and play with puzzles, but something is missing before you can move on. After playing around with things, you return to another puzzle and realize that it makes more sense. In my case, I had to find a Mag-Lev, a vehicle that moves you between islands, to get to the jungle island. That’s the right solution to travel and figure out what’s going on. It’s a mix of excitement and a lot of frustration at the same time, but it still stays very true to the original. Those who are patient will be rewarded for better or for worse, but Riven (2024) is not for people who give up easily, as the puzzles need to be well chewed over and digested in order to be able to solve them.
The puzzles in Riven (2024) are complex and you have to get creative to solve them. The game quickly encourages you to take photos of things that you might need later to solve the puzzles, no matter where they are. For example, if you see a constellation somewhere on one of the islands, you can be almost certain that you will come across a puzzle that will allow you to use the star cluster. Everything in Riven (2024) has a logic and that goes for the puzzles too. If you understand this tactic, the puzzles will become easier for you. If not, Riven can be very frustrating. For the first few hours, I didn’t understand the logic and was aimless and didn’t know what to do. Suddenly I saw the light and started to understand and from that moment on I already understood how to solve everything. For this reason, Riven (2024) is not for everyone, but if logic is your strong suit and you have a little patience, there is nothing more satisfying than figuring out something you’ve worked on for hours.
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Another thing worth mentioning about Riven (2024) is the graphics department, as everything is extremely beautiful and almost photorealistic. There are many beautiful areas throughout the islands that use both color and light to create a magical environment that is quite special. In a matter of minutes you can go from a sun-drenched place to a cave full of glowing mushrooms to muddy paths full of butterflies flying around your head. It’s great. The soundtrack also helps, with minimalistic music that plays at the perfect moment, for example when entering key areas of the islands, but just wandering around you can hear the sounds of nature and this combination creates a sonically great environment. It’s so beautiful and gives it an air of mystery and adventure that I love.
After all that, would you play Riven (2024)? As I said, it’s not for everyone, but you have to take your hat off to a company that doesn’t skimp on the design of its game. You have to understand the logic to understand how it works and have enough patience to let the game unfold. If not, Riven is not for you. But if the opposite is true, this game is a fantastic adventure in which the puzzles and its world are the protagonists.
