Riven: The Sequel to Myst

aka: Myst 2, Riven: A Sequência de Myst, Riven: Il Seguito Di Myst, Riven: La Suite De Myst
Moby ID: 1262
Windows Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 9:00 PM )

Description official descriptions

After the Stranger has rescued Atrus, the master of "linking books", from the imprisonment caused by his sons, a new task awaits the hero. Atrus's wife, Catherine, has been taken by Gehn, his own father. Gehn has appointed himself as the one to rule the Age of Riven, and has driven his world to collapse. Now he holds Catherine hostage on Riven, hoping that his son will restore the book link to the Age and free him from there. The Stranger is requested by Atrus to travel to Riven and find a way to rescue Catherine.

Riven is a sequel to Myst, and is very similar to its predecessor in gameplay style, controls, and visual presentation. The game world is presented as a series of computer-generated still screens; the player explores it in a point-and-click fashion. Interaction with the environment is possible only when said environment is highlighted as a "hot spot", and is also performed by simple clicking. Like its predecessor, Riven is heavy on puzzles, which rarely include using inventory items, but usually involve understanding and manipulating the complex environments and machinery of the game world.

Spellings

  • リヴン  ザ シークェル トゥー ミスト - Japanese spelling
  • 神秘岛II - 星空断层 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 迷霧之島II - Chinese spelling (traditional)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Windows version)

243 People (174 developers, 69 thanks) · View all

Lead Programmers
Application Programmers
Programming Directors
Senior Production Manager
Production Manager
Assistant Production Manager
Executive Publisher
Lead Sound Designer
Additional Sound Designer
Sound Processing
Video Processing
QuickTime Programmer
Systems Programmers
Production Tools Programmers
Installer Programmers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 42 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 153 ratings with 10 reviews)

Perfect

The Good
Fantastic environments. Amazing graphics and sound. And the inventions. The different ways of travel like the mine cart. And the unique puzzles. Simply amazing.

The Bad
What's not to like about it? OK maybe some the puzzles were too irritating. And maybe it's too easy to get stuck. But that's it.

The Bottom Line
If you like myst you'll love this. Just because it's so fun. Plus the ways to get a new ending are genius.

Windows · by the_needle2.0 (2) · 2007

Myst times 5.....

The Good
Riven is the highly anticipated sequal to the award-winning game Myst.

In the game you are transported to the world of Riven to rescue Catherine, Atrus's wife from the first game. But as you land in the world, you find yourself trapped in a cage, with your book on the other side of the bars. A strangely dressed man appears, and is killed in front of your eyes, as an unseen assailant drags his lifeless body away. The bars of your cage open, and your quest starts...

Thus begins your stay in the IMMENSE world of Riven. And when I say immense, I mean IMMENSE. The game is huge. I wish I had a DVD-ROM in my computer, because the game comes on 5 - count 'em - 5 CD's. Riven's world consists of 5 islands, therefore you have 1 Island per CD. This is one of those few games (along with multimedia intensive games such as the Later parts of the Wing Commander series or Phantasmagoria) that seems like it would be better if it were on DVD. No disk swapping! :)

The graphics are in one word - breathtaking. If you thought the quality of graphics in Myst were incredible, it seems that Cyan outdid themselves this time. Beautiful locations take you throughout the world. And if you like rollercoasters, then you'll love the modes of transportation between the islands. The sensation of traveling between the islands is eerie. Cyan's work on this part alone is worth checking it out. Each locale, each picture has significance, just like in Myst.

The sound, again, is incredible. Each sound has a purpose (like Myst), and the background music (which I found out can actually be purchased as a soundtrack), is fantastic.

There is a lot more interaction with people in this game, unlike the original. The world is alive. You meet people, you talk with them (sorta) and you learn informaton. The is this one part where you see someone, but they end up runnign away from you. So what do you do? Obviously you follow them. But it's this type of interaction that makes the game feel, not like a game, but alive.

The Bad
The conrtol, the control, the control. The contol problems that plagued the original are apparent here as well. It's not quite as bad, but the problems are still there, especially with going up and down stairs.

The Bottom Line
If you absolutely hated Myst, then don't bother with Riven. It's more of the game, and you'll have absolutely no fun.

But if you enjoyed Myst (like I did), then by all means play Riven. You'll love it.

Windows · by Chris Martin (1155) · 2001

Let's get sucked up by a world so beautiful, it's creepy.

The Good
The graphics! Everything is much more detailed and realistic that Myst. You just want to be there and that's exactly how you should play (or experience) this game. It's still the pointing, clicking, exploring and puzzle solving. You need to look very carefully and learn to think in a special way to enjoy this and solve the mysteries of Riven. If you like thinking and exploring this is a gem for you, if not stop reading this. The game starts were Myst left of. Your friend Atrus sends you to the Riven age to rescue his beloved wife Catherine who is held captive on one of Riven's islands by Gehn, Atrus' evil father. You also need to trap Gehn with a prison book. However, if you make a mistake you may have a wrong ending. There are ten (!) different endings to Riven. The story from Myst continues and gets even more complex which is great. The sound is also great and plays a good part in gameplay.

The Bad
Pointing and clicking can sometimes be confusing and the disc-swapping really works badly on your nerves. If you want to buy this look for the DVD version first that doesn't have this problem. Some puzzles are too hard. Myst had this but here it's even worse.

The Bottom Line
A brilliant game that is very beautiful. If you enjoyed Myst or similar games you simply love this. Everything has been vastly improved from Myst. If you are more the action type and don't like thinking leave this !

Windows · by Rensch (203) · 2005

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Trivia

Saturn version

While the Mac, Windows and Playstation versions were released on five CDs, the Sega Saturn version was released on only four. The layout is as follows:

Disc 1: Intro, Temple Island

Disc 2: Jungle Island, Tay

Disc 3: Book Assembly Island, Survey Island

Disc 4: Prison Island, 233rd Age

The bad endings originally on Disc 5 are now on every disc.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for this game was composed and performed by Robyn Miller. Also, this soundtrack contains recently recovered d'ni archaeological information. Release date is 1998.

Tracklist: 1. Link 2. Atrus Theme 3. Gateroom 4. Jungle Totem 5. Survey Island Theme 6. Temple 7. Village Entrance Theme 8. Moeity Caves 9. Moeity Theme 10. Boat Ride 11. Moeity Prison 12. The Red Cave 13. Wahrk Room 14. Catherine's Prelude 15. Catherine's Theme 16. Catherine's Freedom 17. Gehn Speaks 18. Gehn's Theme 19. Fissure 20. Bonus Track

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #12 Top Vaporware Title in Computer Game History

Information also contributed by MAT and Techademus

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Myst
Released 1994 on Windows 3.x, Windows, 1995 on PlayStation...
Myst Trilogy
Released 2002 on Windows, Macintosh
Myst IV: Revelation
Released 2004 on Windows, Macintosh, Xbox
Myst III: Exile
Released 2001 on Windows, 2002 on Xbox, PlayStation 2
Myst: Masterpiece Edition
Released 1999 on Windows, 2000 on Macintosh
Myst V: End of Ages
Released 2005 on Windows, Macintosh
Myst: The Collection
Released 2006 on Windows, 2007 on Macintosh
Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
Released 2003 on Windows
Myst (Desktop Edition)
Released 1998 on Windows, Windows 3.x

Related Sites +

  • Acclaim website
    Official Acclaim site for Riven.
  • GameFAQs
    Walkthroughs and tips for Riven.
  • Riven EPK (archived)
    Electronic press kit for the game featuring in game footage, behind the scenes look and more.
  • Riven UHS Hints
    A collection of hints for the game provided by the Universal Hint System (UHS). UHS hints are structured in such a way as not to give away the answer immediately but, instead, to provide the player with increasingly more revealing hints before finally providing a complete solution.
  • Riven X (archived)
    An open source project that allows Macintosh users to run both the CD and DVD versions of Riven on their modern operating systems.
  • The Myst Guidebook
    The Riven subsection of the Guidebook fansite that provides information about the game and a brief background on the game's production in addition to game hints and a walkthrough.
  • The Starry Expanse Project
    A fan-organized project attempting re-create Riven as a realtime 3D game in a fashion similar to realMYST. The project is currently still active.
  • Zarf's Review
    An unscored review of the Macintosh version of Riven by IF-creator Andrew Plotkin (November, 1997)."

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1262
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

iPhone added by Techademus. SEGA Saturn added by Kohler 86. Windows Mobile added by Kabushi. Macintosh added by Xoleras. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan. iPad added by me3D31337.

Additional contributors: Swordmaster, Jeanne, Apogee IV, chirinea, Zeppin, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Nightson Blaze, Techademus, HelloMrKearns.

Game added April 2, 2000. Last modified March 20, 2024.