Riven: The Sequel to Myst
"Riven: The Sequel to Myst" is an adventure game known for its immersive, detailed world and pretty visuals, but some players have reported bugs. The game describes itself as offering a highly detailed experience, now available in a portable version. Overall, Riven is a compelling and visually impressive adventure for those willing to navigate its occasional quirks.
Reviews
- The mobile version captures the nostalgic feel of the original game, allowing players to relive their childhood experiences.
- The graphics and sound quality are praised for being faithful to the original, providing an immersive experience.
- Many players appreciate the challenging puzzles and engaging story, making it a rewarding experience for fans of the genre.
- Numerous game-breaking bugs, particularly with the fire marble puzzle, prevent players from progressing, leading to frustration.
- The controls are often described as unresponsive or difficult to use on mobile devices, making navigation cumbersome.
- Many users report crashes and installation issues, rendering the game unplayable for a significant number of players.
- graphics15 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their excellence and detail, particularly in comparison to the original computer version. Some users highlight the stunning visuals and smooth movement, while others criticize the graphics for being grainy or poorly suited for higher resolution screens. Despite these criticisms, the game's graphics are generally considered a strong point, contributing to an immersive experience.
“The game itself is fantastic, the visuals are stunning and the puzzles challenging.”
“This Android phone version is an exact replica! There are absolutely no bugs, all controls work perfectly, the graphics and resolution are perfect and outstanding, and I had no problems completing each puzzle and linking to all ages.”
“Still, the old graphics and cinematics are stunning even today, and the strange and beautiful worlds of Riven are just as immersive on the small screen as they were on the computer!”
“The graphics look very poor on a QHD screen.”
“So complaining that old games aren't as graphically advanced as 2019 ones is pointless.”
“The controllers are hard; the graphics are okay.”
- stability10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous users reporting significant glitches that hinder gameplay, including freezing at the title screen and distortion during cinematics. While some players find it functional despite the bugs, many express frustration over the game's inability to be completed due to these issues. Overall, the game is described as "extremely buggy," impacting the overall experience.
“I kept getting glitches returning to Temple Island, the fire marble puzzle, and then linking to Prison Island.”
“Freezes at the title screen every time I open the game on my LG G7 One.”
“Extremely buggy to the point that it quits to the launcher, rendering the game unable to be finished.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is largely praised for its faithful recreation of the original PC experience, maintaining the same mechanics and nostalgic feel without the hassle of multiple discs. However, some users report significant bugs that severely hinder gameplay, leading to frustration and uninstallation. Overall, while the core gameplay remains true to its roots, technical issues detract from the experience for some players.
“Pretty awesome that a top-of-the-line computer game of years past that required changing through a number of discs during gameplay can now be played as a phone app!”
“All the graphics, sounds, music, and gameplay are just like the computer version.”
“The story and gameplay still stand up to the best available for mobile.”
“This bug is unconscionable for a paid app, as it severely hinders gameplay and essentially makes it impossible to finish the game.”
“Gameplay is the same as the old Myst on PC, and after playing the Realmyst on Android, I can no longer play with this kind of old school gameplay.”
“Uninstalled after a few minutes of suffering, and I advise everybody not to install it if you expect the same gameplay Realmyst offered.”
- story8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its depth and originality, with many users highlighting its masterful plot and immersive world that enhances the puzzle-solving experience. However, technical issues on newer devices have hindered some players' ability to fully engage with the storyline, impacting their overall enjoyment.
“Otherwise, the plot and world of this game are masterful!”
“The story and gameplay still stand up to the best available for mobile.”
“The world tells a story, and you must immerse yourself in Riven's culture to solve the more difficult puzzles.”
“Edited from 5 stars to 1, since upgrading to Android 10: crashes when trying to access the menu, so saving is impossible, except for a single autosave which fortunately keeps track of progress... but book/journal icons vanish, making it impossible to finish the storyline.”
“The story reaches an absorbing.”
“It's bigger than Myst, and continues the story.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, deeply enhancing the overall experience and immersion. Reviewers express a strong emotional connection to the music, highlighting its ability to captivate and complement the game's atmosphere.
“The soundtrack is still one of the greatest of all time.”
“I became utterly enthralled with the mystery, the music, the world, the numbering system... all of it.”
“I dearly hope we can have Myst 3 - Exile; the music alone was sublime.”
“The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and forgettable, which detracted from the overall experience.”
“The audio quality of the music is poor, and it feels like an afterthought in the game's design.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be extremely tedious and bland, with some expressing frustration over glitches that hinder progress, such as invisible marbles in a puzzle. This has led to lengthy and unenjoyable grinding sessions, detracting from the overall experience.
“Extremely tedious!”
“It's very hyped up online, but I found it very tedious and bland.”
“In the marble puzzle, due to a frustrating glitch, some of the marbles are not being shown, even though they are there (if you take a step back, you will see them), and it took me something like 3 hours of grinding to complete it despite knowing the answer.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While some users appreciate the atmospheric qualities of the mist franchise, others feel that the game in question falls short, lacking the immersive experience and intensity that define great atmospheric puzzle games.
“I am a massive fan of the Mist franchise; anyone who is into intensely atmospheric puzzle games should definitely play them.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game is praised as a solid port of a classic, some users express frustration with minor issues, such as the screen timing out during periods of inactivity, which can detract from the emotional immersion of the experience.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its quality but criticized for poor performance, indicating significant optimization issues.
“Great game, terrible performance.”
“The optimization is so poor that it ruins the overall experience.”
“I can't enjoy the game because of constant frame drops and lag.”