Riven (PS5/PSVR2) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: Riven returns with a superb remake that modernises its mysterious world while its multi-layered brain teasers remain as tricky as ever.

4

Take notes

Riven has always been better than Myst. Made in that era when sequels were expected to be bigger and better in some way, Riven took Myst’s island of esoteric puzzling and expanded it into a whole archipelago.

Much like the Myst Remake, this latest version of Riven successfully modernises the experience while retaining the tone and feel that made the original so compelling to begin with.

I would go so far as to say that Riven was in far more need of a remake than Myst was, simply because there was a lot more to it. The world of Riven was larger, the environmental storytelling was more complex, the puzzles were more demanding and required more note-taking and making actual deductions rather than simply experimenting until you cracked them.

What this Unreal-powered remake does is make Riven feel even grander. It’s absolutely beautiful, but it also allows Cyan to go back and make the game and its world feel far more coherent and alive, and not just because there are occasionally people to interact with this time.

Set after the events of Myst, the player is once again summoned by Atrus, who needs help to rescue his wife, Catherine, imprisoned by his manipulative father, Gehn, the self-declared ruler of the decaying world of Riven. To do this, you must travel to Riven, save Catherine, and use a special trap book to imprison Gehn, then find a way to signal to Atrus to bring you both home.

Much like Myst, the VR mode does a wonderful job of making Riven feel far more immediate and immersive, especially when you’re interacting with the myriad mechanisms found throughout the world or while traversing Riven’s dense, layered environs. It’s this combination of exploration and interaction that really shines when you can reach out to pull levers, turn valves, rotate clues, and paw through books. The VR controls are also fairly well implemented and feel adequately tactile most of the time, though I would have liked the haptics and adaptive triggers on the Sense controller to have been implemented a little more, especially considering the amount of time spent fiddling around with machines.

Though physically playing through Riven in VR is a pretty comfortable experience, thanks to a decent selection of accessibility options, and its fairly deliberate pace. How enjoyable it is for you, though, depends entirely on how you fare with Rivens complex puzzle chains, which can equally feel incredibly rewarding when all the parts start falling into place or absolutely exhausting if you miss something and end up running into a proverbial brick wall, especially since some of the puzzles are deliberately obtuse.

For some odd reason, Cyan didn’t feel the need to add a hint system to help new players that might not be used to Riven’s more taxing brainteasers (or need to take notes, something you can’t do while wearing a VR headset).

Wandering around when you don’t know what to do, playing in flatscreen, eventually becomes frustrating. Doing it in VR is weirdly exhausting and makes you want to chuck your headset out the window and swear off the tech for life.

That being said, Riven’s temples, jungles, and industrial areas have never looked better. The greater level of detail afforded by the Unreal engine makes Cyan’s original art direction absolutely shine, and fully immersing yourself in Riven’s varied and imaginative environments using VR is well worth the effort. At least until you inevitably get stuck.

Final Thoughts

Even after all these years, Riven remains a worthwhile adventure, especially for puzzle fans looking for a real challenge.

The Riven remake is mostly a triumph. Thanks mainly to its combination of complex brainteasers, compelling narrative, and varied, layered environments that continue to sing, thanks to Cyan managing to retain the spirit of the original while giving Riven a superb modern makeover that’s even more engaging in VR.

Though Riven remains frustrating and obtuse at times, even to veteran players who may have forgotten some solutions in the intervening decades since its release, successfully putting all the pieces together remains as satisfying as it was in 1997; as such, it’s easy to recommend for fans of the original.

It is still worth noting that those new to the crumbling archipelago of Riven may find it difficult to parse at times, especially since there still isn’t a proper hint system – my advice: get a notebook.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Riven (PS5/PSVR2) Review