Riven is the 2024 remake of Cyan’s puzzle adventure, sending the Stranger across five islands of the age of the same name to free Catherine and capture her captor. The islands are linked by mag lifts, a submarine, minecarts and the star-filled Fissure network, each route a journey in itself.
The D’ni number system, read from rotational notches, stands out as the game’s best puzzle, easier to remember than anything else and satisfying to decode. The totem-beast cipher, the calibration board and the imager codes round out a fair challenge that never demands a guide.
Each island looks very distinct, from the Tetris-grid lookout tower to the jungle village and the submerged prison areas. The mag-lift rides and the underwater submarine passages make the traversal itself a visual highlight, though movement speed is slow across the large spaces.
The handwriting in the journals is the biggest complaint, beautiful to look at but genuinely hard to read, with no legibility option anywhere. Controller sensitivity on fine-adjustment puzzles is another friction point, spiking whenever only a slight turn is needed.
Backtracking is heavy and punishing when something important is missed, with long return journeys and a submarine that can trap itself out of reach. The UE5 water ghosting and one nearly invisible white button add to the friction, but the well-hidden secrets reward thorough exploration.
The story presence is strong, with the captor’s morally shaded appeals and the poignant details in the environment giving the world real weight. The changed linking sound and the PS1 box-art recreation are small touches that land well.
Overall, the number-system discovery and the distinct island worlds make this a very good game. The illegible handwriting and the traversal-heavy pacing keep it below the heights of Myst.