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Every now and then, we are treated to a game that can be considered unusual and that breaks the moulds the other games are made in. From the first encounter with Riven, I had that exact feeling, because this game is just unusual in almost every aspect.
The story is one huge mystery that will require a lot of reading and discovery if you want to fully comprehend it. The gameplay is minimalistic but very fun to play, and finally, the puzzles, as the game's main forte, are just amazing and surprisingly challenging.
With that being said, I can say that Riven was an experience for me—the adventure that made me think very hard on a couple of occasions, so hard that I had to sleep over just to solve a puzzle or two, which frustrated me on one hand and amazed me on the other. So, if you're ready for such an experience, then by all means, I double dare you to try it.
Story
The premise of the story is nothing too complex. You're captured inside an island that serves as some sort of prison and transformed into an archipelago composed of five islands. On your journey, you'll solve puzzles and mysteries to uncover the reason why you're here, who the people are who captured you, and, of course, you'll be searching for a way to escape the islands. Nothing too complicated, right?
Well, it is. This game is so mysterious, and its story is so complex that, I assure you, at the very beginning you will start to lose track and you won't know who is who and what is what.
To solve this problem, you'll need to do a lot of reading since the story is told through several journals you’ll discover throughout the game. These journals will reveal the history of the island, the lives of its inhabitants, and other intriguing details.
The biggest problem with those journals is their length—they are way too big. One of the journals I've found contains around twenty pages, and it's sometimes a bit tedious to read all of these since it is a video game we are talking about, not some interactive novel or a book. In my quest to comprehend the story as best as possible, I read most of those journals, but not all of them. I simply couldn't force myself to do it. They are completely optional, though, so you can skip reading them if you don't care about the story aspect of Riven.
Another part of the story I found wanting is the lack of any live interactions with other characters. You'll meet a couple of them through your journey but the interaction is sadly minimal. As I said, the majority of the story is told through reading and not through talking or cutscenes, which is, in my humble opinion, a huge miss.
I say this because the opening scene of the game will be the interaction with one of the characters and it is masterfully done. The voice acting is perfect, the graphic presentation and character design are beautiful, and it all seems like a big missed opportunity because, if the developers included more live interaction, the game would be way better as well as its storytelling.
Apart from those setbacks, the story in general is very interesting, provided you decide to read all the stuff to immerse yourself in it fully. Once you connect all the dots, the story becomes very intriguing, and revealing it completely becomes a task you're more than willing to see to the very end.
Gameplay
As I mentioned in the introduction of this review, the gameplay of Riven is minimalistic, with this game being no more than a walking simulator where you'll interact with objects, moving them around, pulling levers, and rotating cranks, among other things.
However, what sets Riven apart and makes it that good are perfectly designed puzzles that will challenge puzzle-solving abilities even of those who consider themselves genre veterans.
I cannot consider myself that for sure, but I like a good puzzle or two now and then to shake my brain. However, what I experienced in Riven when it came to puzzles took me completely by surprise. Riven's puzzles are so complex and hard that several of them made me turn off the game, sleep over, and come up with the solution the other day, when everything settled down, so to speak.
The review version of the game came with the official walkthrough, in which all the puzzles are explained in the way that guide creators gave four different levels of hints, with the fourth one being the solution to the puzzle. I shamefully must admit that, on several occasions, I looked up solutions to some puzzles because my brain simply failed me.
The puzzles serve as progress blockers, and in several cases, you won't be able to access some areas if you do not solve the puzzle that is blocking the path. However, some puzzles are solved throughout many levels, meaning that you'll have to do a puzzle on a completely different island to trigger something that will let you solve a puzzle on another one. This interconnectivity is a very commendable feature, for sure.
Sometimes you won't have to solve some puzzles at all because you'll be able to find some alternate ways to access some areas because the game is designed in such a way that everything is interconnected. You'll unlock shortcuts, open portals that connect islands, and more as you explore.
Speaking of the level design, I must say it is done perfectly. Apart from being beautiful, all levels are very well-designed and traversing them will never get boring. There's not any sort of fast travel system, and in order to do something on a different island, you'll have to backtrack all the way in a classic way, but it never bothered me a bit to do it because the travelling feels so smooth and enjoyable.
One more minor setback is the game's length. Riven can be finished very quickly, depending on your skills, of course. Each level features one main puzzle and a couple of optional ones. If you choose to solve only the main ones, you can dash through the game and finish it in less than four hours, which is a really short timeframe for such a game.
To summarise the gameplay section, understand that Riven is a puzzle game and everything else apart from good puzzles is just bonus content because that's just how those games are made. Do not look for anything much apart from good puzzles in Riven, but puzzles are so good that, truth be told, you won't need anything else anyway.
Graphics and Sounds
I've already mentioned on a couple of occasions that Riven is a really beautiful game. You'll see it right away as the first scene opens up. Beautiful islands with strange constructions, diverse flora and fauna, strange creatures, and clear blue skies—everything just looks amazing with the scenery that will take your breath away.
Given that the game takes place on islands and the islands are surrounded by water, it is just natural that the water presentation must be at the highest level possible. Well, in this matter, the developers and graphic designers were definitely up to the task because the water in Riven looks stunning with realistic wave simulation and a life-like look.
Apart from the water presentation, the sky is rendered beautifully as well, and when those two are put together, you get that trophic vibe that looks just breathtaking at times.
The character design is another praiseworthy aspect of Riven's graphical presentation. It is only a shame that you don't get to meet a lot of them and that their screen time is ridiculously small.
Even though the graphic settings are plentiful, with all the modern ones present as well, like supersampling, enhanced lighting, and others, the game is not overly demanding. Even the older rigs will still be able to run it with no problems. My mid-range PC managed to run Riven on maximum settings with FPS over 60. Regarding performance, Riven plays just perfectly without any sort of crashing, stuttering, or performance issues.
That's mostly thanks to simpler game design without too many things to render at the same time. The levels are generally not so detail-rich, but even with this minimalistic design, they manage to look amazing, and for this, the designers of the game deserve special praise.
The sounds are not so intrusive, and I'd rather say that you won't notice that the game has soundtracks or background sounds at all. All the time, while you play the game, the soothing music will play, making you more relaxed and focused on puzzle solving and boosting your brain activity. Other sounds are okay, and they serve their purpose well.
Conclusion
Riven is the pinnacle of puzzle-oriented games, and in this regard, you probably won't find any better or even on the same level—its puzzles are just something else. If you combine it with a mysterious story and charming aesthetics, you'll get a game that will occupy your attention for quite a while.
However, be prepared for very hard puzzles that will put your brain to the test, and, of course, be prepared for a lot of reading if you want to understand the game's story completely. With all that being said, Riven is a wonderful game, provided you can forgive those shortcomings. If you feel you can, then, by all means, do not miss this one.
The Good
Intriguing and mysterious story- Minimalistic but fun gameplay
- Perfectly designed, challenging puzzles
- Beautiful graphics and scenery
The Bad
Extensive reading is required to comprehend the story- Minimal interactions with other characters
