Riven getting a remake

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Apparently. Fine with me, as I never played it. Myst was enjoyable, so I will check this one out if it comes to Mac and I ever find the time.

[Cougar]

Ugh, what an awful piece about the remake of the best game ever made... we get it, the games aren’t for you. No need to be so insufferable about it.

And the person who “takes over” the article halfway through isn’t much better. “Didn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor...” What game did they play?? As groundbreaking as Myst was for the time, it was still largely a bunch of arbitrary puzzles that didn’t really have good reasons for being in the environment. Riven came off the heels of the first novel, Book of Atrus, where the worldbuilding was deepened, and that transferred to the game beautifully. Every puzzle is deeply integrated into the environment, and the more you pay attention to the environmental storytelling, the more clues you will have to solve the puzzles. I still have yet to play a puzzle game that does just as good of a job at this.

Also, that article lacks context: The remake is partly the result of over a decade’s work from a fan team, Starry Expanse. I’d lost hope of it ever releasing, until last year they announced a “partnership” with Cyan. Now, Cyan has the resources to do it themselves, and have hired a member of that team and still consult with them.

Anyway, like the Myst remake, this will almost definitely come to the Mac. But if you haven’t played it before, I strongly recommend that you play the original. It’s on iOS and plays very well with a touchscreen, and due to the impeccable art direction and static images, the game still looks beautiful. I’m sure the remake will be amazing and immersive and I can’t wait to play it, but one of Riven’s greatest strengths is the FMV performance of the game’s villain. A CG version just isn’t going to be the same. That was one of the biggest weaknesses of the Myst remake. They’re using MetaHuman tech for Firmament, though, so hopefully that means the Riven characters will fare better.

[Frigidman]

Yeah, its sad that journalism is such crap these days.

And then another where the current generation 'dont get it' about how games used to be.

[Matt Diamond]

Riven was the high point - the music, visuals, sound design all fantastic and memorable. Puzzles were above average - I found the last one difficult even when I knew what to do. I think I needed a hint there, but for the most part I soldiered through (was having a friendly competition with a coworker).

I agree, the iPad version is very good.

This reminds me, I have some adventure games in my backlog that I haven't played, including Obduction and the Riven remake. I am not as patient as I used to be, and don't have as much uninterrupted time. So adventure games aren't as fun as when I was young. But I still have a soft spot for them.

[Frigidman]

Riven was the high point - the music, visuals, sound design all fantastic and memorable. Puzzles were above average - I found the last one difficult even when I knew what to do. I think I needed a hint there, but for the most part I soldiered through (was having a friendly competition with a coworker).

I agree, the iPad version is very good.

This reminds me, I have some adventure games in my backlog that I haven't played, including Obduction and the Riven remake. I am not as patient as I used to be, and don't have as much uninterrupted time. So adventure games aren't as fun as when I was young. But I still have a soft spot for them.

Obduction was more 'navigational' problems, than 'puzzles'. At least, it felt that way. When I came across puzzles, it was pretty much obvious for the most part (except one, which was really obtuse in design, and I still cant tell if it was just a bug in the game, or intentional). The hardest part was just getting around to where you wanted to go lol. Still decent. Not the caliber of Myst series ... but decent.

[Cougar]

I think Obduction did a good job with the puzzle integration, like Riven, especially in the main world (Much better than Myst and Myst III). For me, it was easier than Riven but harder than the other Myst games (excepting some areas in Uru). I was too dumb to figure out the number system.

My main problems were with the Kickstarter budget--you could tell they were pushing it, especially towards the end of the game. And the worldbuilding was just not as thorough or interesting. It didn’t have prior games or novels to lean on. That’s my main worry with Firmament, but at least they have a bit bigger budget this time.

I really hope after Firmament, though, they go back to Myst.

[Cougar]

Great article in Game Informer about the remake, with some new screenshots: https://gameinformer.mydigitalpublicatio...&ver=html5

The Steam page is also up: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1712350/Riven/

Sounds like they’re taking the right approach to expanding it. And, glad to hear that they’re realizing their Crown Jewels are Myst, and they want to return to it.

[Cougar]

Comes out on the 25th, way sooner than I expected, for Mac/PC/Occulus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN1TQm942_U

Mixed feelings. There’s no way I won’t be able to not play this on day one, but I wanted to wait for a VR/50-series GPU upgrade for the ultimate experience...

[Frigidman]

I played through the Riven remake, and I absolutely enjoyed it (even the ugly 3d models instead of videos was acceptable). Absolutely breathtaking and such a rush of memories and new ones formed since they changed up some stuff!

Was not a waste of money.

[Cougar]

I played through the Riven remake, and I absolutely enjoyed it (even the ugly 3d models instead of videos was acceptable). Absolutely breathtaking and such a rush of memories and new ones formed since they changed up some stuff!

Was not a waste of money.

Woah, you beat me. (Haven’t been doing much gaming lately, getting caught up in house painting/cleaning instead.)  

I am surprised by all the gameplay changes so far. Yes, they seem to make the game a bit easier, but they also make the world a lot more believable. And, it’s making the experience a lot more like playing the game for the first time. 

Biggest disappointment is indeed the characters. After seeing what MetaHuman can do, I had expected more (and the screenshot of Gehn that was featured in a magazine looked way better, irrc) but I hope it’s something that can iterate on over time. At least it’s way better than Myst 2020, and I hope they at least add the current Riven Atrus model to it.