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Riven the sequel to myst12/18/2023 Unlike Myst, which had a nice balance of color, Riven is dominated by blue and gray. The “learning” aspect comes from reading books and observing the five islands of Riven. There are no twists, and you know everything you need to know from the first minute. The one fault with this game, as compared to Myst, is that from start to finish you know exactly what your mission is, and this mission never changes. While some have argued that this kills what made Myst so great, the character interactions are sparse enough that the feeling of isolation in your exploration still pervades. However, in Riven, there is more direct interaction with people. Like Myst, much of the plot is told, not through people, but through objects. And so, Atrus sends you to take care of business. There’s a rebel group of individuals, hidden from the world of Riven (in their own separate Age), who would like to see Gehn removed from power. To make matters worse, Atrus’ wife Catherine is being held captive by Gehn. Gehn taught Atrus how to do the whole “write books to create worlds” thing, but Gehn became a tight-fisted megalomaniac with a God complex bigger than the entirety of Riven. At Riven’s opening, which leaves in that same room in D’ni as when Myst ended, you learn even more. Be sure to dot your i’s and cross your t’s along the way.Īt the end of Myst, Atrus tells you that his vanquished foes are small potatoes compared to the big fish to fry: Atrus’ own father, Gehn. Even then, however, it was important to save often, since the multiple endings including some really bad endings if you committed a “sin of omission” along the way. Playing through the game again, a decade later, I am certainly able to navigate my way through the five islands without any major hitches. Riven is much bigger than Myst, and as far as puzzles are concerned, the puzzles in Riven “grew up.” Much like the graphics, this world’s innovative puzzles matured, perhaps to a point that was beyond me. They even added a couple of randomly generated numbers in this game so you couldn’t just memorize and move ahead, nor could you rely on simple walkthroughs to send you from start to finish. Unfortunately for me, I was only 13 and I had no idea what I was doing. ![]() A notepad by your side, along with a keen eye and an excellent memory, are your tools for conquering the game. The gameplay in Riven, like many point-and-click adventures, comes down to two things: exploration and puzzle-solving.
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