Riven: The Sequel to Myst
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æ–层 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
- 迷霧之島II - Chinese spelling (traditional)
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Credits (Windows version)
243 People (174 developers, 69 thanks) · View all
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[ 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)
Better than Myst (but still the same anyway)
The Good
The only thing good about this game is it's breathtaking scenery, I mean even with the limited capabilities of the Playstation, it still looks beautiful
The Bad
Unlike the PC version, the Playstation version suffers from some problems which will affect your enjoyment of the game, first of all the game play is slow (with the Playstation joypad that is, it'd be better by playing this game with a mouse) and the loading times between switching scenes gets annoying. Plus some of the puzzles are close to impossible (but then again it Riven had a difficulty level setting "impossible" would only be the easy mode!)
The Bottom Line
If you enjoyed Myst, then I'd guess you'd enjoy this (despite the puzzles in the game)
PlayStation · by Grant McLellan (584) · 2001
RIVEN / I'm sure, this is the place were I came from! RIVEN IS HOME!
The Good
With a walk-through in hand, Riven took only about 6 hours. Without it, I'd still be at it, doing a lot of wandering, mapping, and recording of my observations. And just like Myst, that's what Riven is all about: exploring a new world full of unique beings, organic machines, and family intrigue. There is no inventory, no need to combine mysterious potions, and no board game puzzles with little connection to Riven's world. Rather, it's a leisurely paced, all-encompassing, mentally challenging experience. If you enjoyed Myst, you'll thoroughly enjoy Riven.
The Bad
nothing!
The Bottom Line
Prepare to enter a world "torn asunder" by timeless, unresolved conflicts--a world of incomparable beauty, intrigue, and betrayal. Prepare to go to Riven. Journey through vast, awe-inspiring landscapes, where clouds sit nestled in a deep blue sky and the rolling sea waters shimmer from bright morning sunlight. But be forewarned: nothing is quite as it seems. Reclusive beings and mysterious creatures populate the land. Deep, dark secrets lay hidden at every turn. Your utmost powers of observation and reason are required to complete a most elusive task. You must let Riven become your world. Only then may the truth be discovered and a world saved. Riven stands as a story for all time, a story that evokes a sense of awe, wonder, and profound purpose. Prepare to go to Riven--a world unlike any you've ever known.
PlayStation · by Dani Mittler-Coe (2) · 2003
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
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
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Related Sites +
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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)."
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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.