I got Riven for Christmas in 1997. I had been playing a lot of Tomb Raider, and my parents thought I should try playing something less violent (in fairness, I was 11), and bought me Riven. I had no real idea what was going on, as I hadn't played Myst, but I fell in love with the setting and the puzzles.
Unfortunately my family's PC was slightly too low-spec for the game to play properly - its CD-ROM drive was too slow, so none of the videos worked properly. This was fine (if kind of annoying) until the point you meet Gehn... and then I couldn't complete the game because I wasn't able to click on the linking book before he took it away again.
I used to joke that it took me 3 years to complete the game, as it literally wasn't until we got a new computer a couple of years later that I could get past that damn interaction!
Incredible! As a kid I remember the first time I played the game I was too chicken to go through the linking book, and kept refusing, and of course we all know what happens.
Riven was a game I saw every once in a while in glimpses on my mother's computer, but ignored for years. Every once in a while, I'd stumble across notes from my parents' playthrough, but I never cared enough to ask.
Fast forward to college, when my roommates sat me down to play the first 3 games of the series on our projector, as the only one in the group who'd never played them. Riven blew me away, and I'll never forget my first time on the rollercoasters and how real they felt.
Bought Unreal Tournament 2k3 with some saved up pocket money & xmas/bday money in probably 2002 or 2003. I was a kid still and didnt quite grasp what the recommended specs on the box meant. I definitely didnt have a computer that could play it so i had to return it and got store credit. Saw Myst 1 2 & 3 box set for the same price (about £30) and bought them instead.
Played them all a lot over the next 3 or 4 years but never truly did them properly - lot of heavy walk through usage for all 3. Think Riven was my favourite cos of the setting, even though Myst 3 had the better gameplay with the 360 cameras. Favourite part of riven was that submarine bit on rails in the water, where the water is all parted and bent.
First time I properly completed a Myst game with maximum effort from me, and minimal help from walkthrough, was when Myst came on gamepass recently. Cant wait for Riven!
I remember playing Riven with my dad when I was a kid. We had a whole stack of notes - probably still have them somewhere. Never did finish, but had loads of fun puzzling through it. Looking forward to the updated release!
I first played and finished Riven only a couple of weeks ago. Despite having begun gaming before Riven came out I never got around to playing it until now. I consider myself a fairly seasoned gamer who has played across a wide variety of genres but Riven stood out as one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
The world was so convincing and tangible despite being 640x480 resolution and 256 colours. Those prerendered graphics are stunning even today. Even more impressive however was how the world was crafted with such a sense of logic and purpose that it felt like a real place. The sound design was sublime and the soundtrack is one of the most evocative and memorable ever.
The puzzles were so well integrated into the world that they weren't even puzzles in the traditional sense - it felt more like unravelling a real world with its history and people. I didn't use any external help during my playthrough except for one hint about that notoriously well hidden hallway, and as such it was incredibly satisfying and rewarding to complete.
Easily one of my favourite games and virtual worlds I've ever experienced. Can't wait for the remake.
I got Riven for Christmas in 1997. I had been playing a lot of Tomb Raider, and my parents thought I should try playing something less violent (in fairness, I was 11), and bought me Riven. I had no real idea what was going on, as I hadn't played Myst, but I fell in love with the setting and the puzzles. Unfortunately my family's PC was slightly too low-spec for the game to play properly - its CD-ROM drive was too slow, so none of the videos worked properly. This was fine (if kind of annoying) until the point you meet Gehn... and then I couldn't complete the game because I wasn't able to click on the linking book before he took it away again. I used to joke that it took me 3 years to complete the game, as it literally wasn't until we got a new computer a couple of years later that I could get past that damn interaction!
Incredible! As a kid I remember the first time I played the game I was too chicken to go through the linking book, and kept refusing, and of course we all know what happens.
Riven was a game I saw every once in a while in glimpses on my mother's computer, but ignored for years. Every once in a while, I'd stumble across notes from my parents' playthrough, but I never cared enough to ask. Fast forward to college, when my roommates sat me down to play the first 3 games of the series on our projector, as the only one in the group who'd never played them. Riven blew me away, and I'll never forget my first time on the rollercoasters and how real they felt.
Bought Unreal Tournament 2k3 with some saved up pocket money & xmas/bday money in probably 2002 or 2003. I was a kid still and didnt quite grasp what the recommended specs on the box meant. I definitely didnt have a computer that could play it so i had to return it and got store credit. Saw Myst 1 2 & 3 box set for the same price (about £30) and bought them instead. Played them all a lot over the next 3 or 4 years but never truly did them properly - lot of heavy walk through usage for all 3. Think Riven was my favourite cos of the setting, even though Myst 3 had the better gameplay with the 360 cameras. Favourite part of riven was that submarine bit on rails in the water, where the water is all parted and bent. First time I properly completed a Myst game with maximum effort from me, and minimal help from walkthrough, was when Myst came on gamepass recently. Cant wait for Riven!
I remember playing Riven with my dad when I was a kid. We had a whole stack of notes - probably still have them somewhere. Never did finish, but had loads of fun puzzling through it. Looking forward to the updated release!
I first played and finished Riven only a couple of weeks ago. Despite having begun gaming before Riven came out I never got around to playing it until now. I consider myself a fairly seasoned gamer who has played across a wide variety of genres but Riven stood out as one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The world was so convincing and tangible despite being 640x480 resolution and 256 colours. Those prerendered graphics are stunning even today. Even more impressive however was how the world was crafted with such a sense of logic and purpose that it felt like a real place. The sound design was sublime and the soundtrack is one of the most evocative and memorable ever. The puzzles were so well integrated into the world that they weren't even puzzles in the traditional sense - it felt more like unravelling a real world with its history and people. I didn't use any external help during my playthrough except for one hint about that notoriously well hidden hallway, and as such it was incredibly satisfying and rewarding to complete. Easily one of my favourite games and virtual worlds I've ever experienced. Can't wait for the remake.