Info about Riven:

Official game description:
  
_“I know what he’s doing… He’s watching you.”_  
Travel to _Riven_, a beautiful and mysterious world on the verge of collapse. Explore this mysterious place, solve its puzzles, reveal its mysteries, make a daring rescue, and escape.
VISIT A MYSTERIOUS WORLD
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_“I am Gehn. I assume you’ve heard of me.”_  
_Riven_ takes you on a journey through dense jungles, awe-inspiring caverns, and monolithic structures. Explore a world bent to the whims of a man who sees himself as a god and where every corner will immerse you in an otherworldly adventure.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A SURREAL LANDSCAPE
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_“There’s a great deal of history that you should know…”_  
_Riven_ rewards careful observation. Challenge _Riven’s_ cunning puzzles, deftly woven throughout its narrative. The environment of _Riven_ will reveal the story of this world as you make meaning from seemingly disparate bits of information and learn everything you need to know about this world.
UNRAVEL RIVEN’S SECRETS
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_“...it may be time to give this inexplicable mystery a second look.”_  
Who are the mysterious island dwellers you encounter during your exploration? What purpose does the giant golden dome serve? Why is this world on the verge of collapse? Play _Riven_ and discover the answers to these mysteries- and more.
ABOUT THIS REMAKE
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Created by the legendary indie developer Cyan Worlds and based on the smash-hit original released in 1997, _Riven_ has been lovingly revisited by its key original visionaries to expand the epic narrative of the _Myst_ universe.  
Experience _Riven_ like never before - with free movement through a real-time 3D environment. This brand-new, re-imagined, and expanded version of _Riven_ offers a deeper story, new captivating visuals, and a journey that stays true to the original release while also expanding on _Riven’s_ breathtaking world.

Release date: 25 Jun, 2024

Categories: Puzzle Solving, Exploration, Environmental Storytelling, Single-player Story, Deductive Reasoning Puzzle, Note-taking Gameplay


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Improved, expanded, logical puzzle design (weight 0.98): 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 (weight 0.91): 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 (weight 0.89): 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 (weight 0.56): 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 (weight 0.56): 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.
- Passionate, high-quality remake (weight 0.44): The remake demonstrates a clear passion and attention to detail from the developers, resulting in a high-quality update that respects the original game while adding new content and features. The changes are intelligently designed and well-integrated, creating a fresh and engaging experience for both longtime fans and newcomers. The remake is considered a loving tribute to a classic game.
- Evokes nostalgia, enjoyable for all (weight 0.23): The game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for those who played the original, bringing back fond memories and allowing them to relive a cherished experience. The game is also enjoyable for new players, offering a unique and challenging puzzle adventure. The game is praised for its ability to capture the magic of the original while also modernizing it for a new audience.
- Cyan's expertise shines through (weight 0.06): The game showcases Cyan's expertise in creating intelligent puzzle games with awe-inspiring environments. The developer is praised for their commitment to VR, their ability to create internally coherent world-building, and their profound artistry around environmental design, storytelling, and puzzle construction. The game is a testament to Cyan's skill and passion for the adventure genre.
- Well-designed, varied islands (weight 0.04): The game features well-designed islands with distinctive lighting and materials, creating a vacation-like atmosphere. The island level design is comparable to Dark Souls, with varied and interconnected environments. The reviewer appreciated the sense of freedom in exploring the islands and the unique environment of each location.

Common complaints:
- Obscure puzzles, poor guidance (weight 0.59): 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 (weight 0.5): 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 (weight 0.28): 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 (weight 0.06): 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 (weight 0.04): 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.
- Very difficult game (weight 0.04): The game is very difficult, which may be a negative for some players. However, this point is too general and lacks specific details about the puzzles or gameplay mechanics that contribute to the difficulty. Therefore, the importance score is reduced.
- Unskippable cutscenes/credits (weight 0.03): The game features unskippable cutscenes and credits, which can be frustrating when restarting the game or trying for different endings. The inability to skip these sequences disrupts the gameplay flow and adds to the overall tedium.
- Stiff character movement (weight 0.03): The character's movement feels stiff and unnatural, lacking fluidity. Additionally, reviewers noted issues with character behaviors, mouth movements not matching spoken words, and props not following character animations well. These issues contribute to a lack of polish and immersion.
- Hidden interactive points (weight 0.03): Interactive points are often hidden in obscure corners and are difficult to identify due to blending in with the environment. The narrow range of angles required to see interactable objects and the lack of an interactable highlight contribute to pixel hunting and frustration.

Gameplay feedback:
- Emphasizes exploration and observation (weight 0.31): 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 (weight 0.21): 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 (weight 0.2): 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 (weight 0.17): 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 (weight 0.02): 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.
- Rescue quest, book travel (weight 0.01): The game involves a quest to rescue a character, often Catherine, by solving puzzles and exploring the game world. The player character has the ability to travel through space using books, and needs to rescue Kaitlin by solving puzzles.
- Specific item usage required (weight 0.01): The game includes specific items, such as a magnifying glass with invisible painting, that are required to see otherwise invisible things, which may cause players to get stuck if they don't find it.

Performance notes:
- Inconsistent performance across systems (weight 0.27): 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 (weight 0.03): 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 (weight 0.03): 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 (weight 0.02): 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 (weight 0.01): Stuttering is present in both the standard and VR versions of the game. The developers are reportedly working on this issue.
- Slow loading times reported (weight 0.01): Some players experience long loading times, even with the game installed on an SSD. This can affect the flow of gameplay, especially when transitioning between areas.
- Animation and clipping issues (weight 0.01): Some players have reported animation and clipping issues.
- LOD artifacts and choppiness (weight 0.01): Some players have reported LOD artifacts and choppiness.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended; must-play for all (weight 0.96): 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 (weight 0.23): 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 (weight 0.13): 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 (weight 0.08): 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 (weight 0.07): 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.
- VR experience highly recommended (weight 0.05): The VR experience is highly recommended for its immersive nature, with some considering it a benchmark VR title. Reviewers suggest that VR adds significant value to the game, enhancing the sense of presence and immersion in the game world.
- Near-perfect scores; game-of-year contender (weight 0.03): Many reviewers give the game perfect or near-perfect scores, indicating extremely high satisfaction. Some anticipate that the game will be a contender for game of the year awards and a top-selling title.
- Desire for more remakes (weight 0.02): Many reviewers express a strong desire for remakes of other games in the Myst series, particularly Myst III: Exile. This indicates a high level of appreciation for the series and a hope that the developers will continue to revisit and update these classic titles.
- Ongoing updates improve experience (weight 0.02): Some reviewers mention that the developers have been actively addressing concerns through updates and patches, improving texturing, lip sync, and other issues. They express hope for continued improvements and recommend the game more strongly with these updates.

Other player notes:
- Puzzles significantly redesigned/changed (weight 0.02): 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 (weight 0.01): 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 (weight 0.01): Some areas feel smaller, while others have been expanded or removed altogether. The distance between areas may seem shortened compared to the original.

Emotions:
No emotions}