Riven Review Summary

Improved, expanded, logical puzzle design: The remake features improved and expanded puzzles that are more logical, intuitive, and integrated into the game world. These changes offer a fresh and rewarding experience for both new and returning players, with many puzzles adapted for 3D movement and VR. The puzzles are designed to be challenging but fair, encouraging exploration and observation.

Stunning graphics and immersive audio: The game boasts stunning, photorealistic graphics and immersive sound design, enhanced by Unreal Engine 5 and VR integration. The visuals bring the intricate world to life with detailed textures, dynamic lighting, and subtle animations, creating a sense of awe and wonder. The sound design is equally impressive, with atmospheric music and ambient sounds that enhance the feeling of being in a real, alien world.

Enhanced immersion via free movement: The game's transition to a fully explorable 3D environment, especially in VR, significantly enhances immersion and spatial awareness. This allows players to freely roam the islands, discover new details, and experience the world from a fresh perspective. The freedom of movement makes navigation more intuitive and rewarding, contributing to a more engaging and captivating experience.

Rich lore, environmental storytelling: The game features a rich and engaging story, with deep lore rooted in the D'ni civilization. The narrative is delivered organically through exploration, journals, and environmental clues, allowing players to piece together the history and culture of the world at their own pace. The integration of lore from spin-off novels and the addition of new details further enhance the immersive experience.

Faithful recreation, expanded lore: The remake successfully captures the spirit and atmosphere of the original Riven, while also expanding the lore and adding new details. The game evokes a sense of mystery, wonder, and nostalgia, making it feel both familiar and new. The transition to fully 3D graphics and VR enhances the immersion and allows players to experience the world of Riven in a more tangible way.

Obscure puzzles, poor guidance: The game lacks clear direction and provides insufficient guidance, leading to player frustration and aimless wandering. Puzzles often rely on obscure clues and hidden objects, requiring extensive backtracking and pixel-hunting. Many reviewers had to resort to walkthroughs to progress, diminishing the sense of accomplishment.

Frequent crashes and glitches: The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, stuttering, and graphical glitches. These problems are exacerbated in VR mode, where performance is often poor and motion sickness is a common complaint. The issues significantly detract from the gameplay experience, with some reviewers deeming the game unplayable.

Tedious traversal and pacing: The game features slow animations, long loading times, and excessive backtracking, making traversal tedious and time-consuming. The 'fast travel' system is often ineffective, and the lack of a run toggle or animation skip further exacerbates the issue. This pacing problem detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.

Missing FMV sequences: The removal of FMV (Full Motion Video) sequences from the original game is a significant disappointment for many reviewers. These sequences were a key element of the original's atmosphere and charm, and their absence is felt in the remake. Some reviewers also noted that cutscene audio sounds like it was ripped from the original game, resulting in poor quality.

Minor graphical glitches: The game suffers from various graphical glitches, including shadow issues, clipping, and screen space reflection problems. While these issues are often minor, they can still detract from the overall visual experience. Some reviewers also noted problems with slow or incorrect rendering.

Emphasizes exploration and observation: The game emphasizes open-ended exploration and observation within interconnected islands or worlds. Players must explore, take notes, and understand the environment to solve puzzles, with minimal hand-holding or explicit direction. Backtracking is common, and progress relies on piecing together clues and information gathered throughout the game world.

Requires meticulous note-taking: The game requires meticulous note-taking, both in-game and externally, to record clues, symbols, and patterns. Players must analyze these notes and use lateral thinking to solve complex puzzles. The game provides tools such as screenshot features and in-game notebooks to aid in this process.

Puzzles altered from original: The remake features altered puzzles and world layouts compared to the original game. Some puzzles are streamlined or simplified, while others are more complex, with new areas and mechanics added. These changes aim to surprise returning players and modernize the experience, but familiarity with the original may still provide some advantage.

Learning fictional languages/numbers: The game requires players to learn and utilize fictional languages and number systems to solve puzzles. This involves deciphering symbols, understanding their logic, and applying them to in-game mechanisms. This mechanic is a staple of the series and adds a layer of complexity to the puzzle-solving experience.

Gated progression, hidden pathways: Progression is gated, requiring specific actions or discoveries to unlock new areas. Hidden pathways and secrets are scattered throughout the landscape and are necessary for progression. Players must treat the game world like a real place and consider what actions would be taken in reality to progress.

Inconsistent performance across systems: The game's performance varies significantly depending on hardware. Some players report smooth gameplay even on older or lower-end systems, while others with high-end PCs experience stutters, crashes, and optimization issues. VR performance is particularly inconsistent.

VR shadow and rendering problems: VR mode suffers from shadow glitches, flickering, and rendering issues that can cause discomfort or disorientation. Shadows often need to be set to the lowest settings to improve the experience.

World loading and clipping issues: Some players have reported seeing through the world, missing ambient occlusion, and other environment loading issues. These issues can break immersion.

Quest 3 VR performance varies: VR performance on Quest 3 varies depending on the connection method. Steam Link is recommended, while Link Cable or Air Link may result in poor performance. Launching the game directly from Steam VR can also help.

Stuttering in standard and VR: Stuttering is present in both the standard and VR versions of the game. The developers are reportedly working on this issue.

Highly recommended; must-play for all: The game is highly recommended for both newcomers and fans of the original. Reviewers praise the engaging puzzles, immersive world, and enhanced graphics, making it a worthwhile experience. Many consider it a must-play and a successful remake that honors the source material.

Fresh experience for all: The remake offers a fresh experience for both old and new players, with changes and additions that may appeal to newcomers while still engaging veterans. Some reviewers note that the added structure may make the game more accessible.

Play originals; avoid spoilers: Many reviewers suggest playing the original Myst or Riven before diving into the remake to better understand the story and appreciate the game's context. They also recommend playing without guides to maximize the sense of discovery and accomplishment.

Technical issues; design flaws: Some reviewers express negative sentiments, citing technical issues, design flaws, and excessive backtracking. Some recommend skipping the game or requesting a refund due to performance problems. These points may indicate review bombing.

Support Cyan; unique artistic vision: Reviewers express appreciation for Cyan Worlds' dedication to preserving and enhancing their legacy through the remake. They commend the studio's artistic vision and hope for more VR content and remakes of other Myst games. Supporting Cyan is encouraged.

Puzzles significantly redesigned/changed: Many puzzles have been redesigned or replaced, with changes to puzzle elements, object placement, and even the addition of entirely new puzzles. These changes may affect the world-building and overall experience compared to the original.

Mixed feelings on changes: The remake has a mix of good and bad changes compared to the original, and may not be seen as the definitive version in the future. Changes to the game may turn off some nostalgic players.

Area sizes altered from original: Some areas feel smaller, while others have been expanded or removed altogether. The distance between areas may seem shortened compared to the original.