Riven: The Sequel to Myst

Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a video game that consists of 14 releases
Edit this Page
WRITE A REVIEW
blog Haven't posted in a while Shinji_Rarenai
trivia What is the name of the race of ... sp00nsie
blog One of My Favorite Video Games: "Riven: The Sequel to MYST" Shivy
blog Riven tomhan
blog Where I Read - Electronic Gaming Monthly #104 Count_Zero
trivia Is it possible to die in Riven? Qorl
trivia How many possible endings are there in the ... TheDrake
trivia In "Riven" how many wooden eyes can be ... TheDrake
The content below is entirely editable.
Edit Article

Riven is a direct sequel to the popular Myst and picks up immediately where the game left off. It is generally considered to be the best game in the series.

Overview 

Developed by Cyan (now Cyan Worlds) and originally published by Broderbund, Riven was released on five CDs in 1997. It was later released on a single DVD-ROM with enhanced visuals and eliminated the need to swap discs. Development of Riven lasted over three years, and was the result of a larger budget and much larger development team than the original. Among the newcomers to the Myst creators was former Industrial Light and Magic employee Richard Vander Wende, who helped lend a unique artistic style to Riven in order to separate it from its predecessor. 

Man, look at those mountains!
Man, look at those mountains!
The game earned high praise from fans and reviewers. Many fans consider Riven to be the best game in the series, and the most difficult, as well. With five islands full of interesting puzzles, intriguing story, and impressive visuals, it’s little wonder Riven was as much a success as the original Myst, selling 1.5 million copies in just its first year on the market.

Gameplay

Like Myst before it, Riven is a first-person, point-and-click adventure game set in gorgeous pre-rendered environments. The player explores the world of Riven by clicking on different areas of the screen in order to turn, walk, and interact with objects in the environment. Progress through the game could be considered non-linear, as there is no list of goals or objectives. Instead, players must explore the five islands of Riven to solve puzzles on their way to the story’s ultimate conclusion. Also like Myst, the game included a “Zip Mode”, for fast travel over previously explored areas.  

Story

The plot of Riven essentially takes place immediately after Myst ended – Atrus, the man you met in D’ni at the end of the first game and the owner of Myst Island – needs help, which is where the player – or the “Stranger” – comes in. Atrus’ wife, Catherine, is trapped on the deteriorating Age of Riven, and is being held captive there by Atrus’ father, Gehn. Details on Riven’s backstory, including the reason Gehn is trapped there, can be found in the first Myst novel, Myst: The Book of Atrus.
Riven's art style was universally praised.
Riven's art style was universally praised.
At the start of the game, Atrus gives you his journal, which he hopes will be enough to get you up to speed on what exactly is happening and what he needs you to do. He also gives you a trap book, which he’s afraid you’ll need in order to capture Gehn. Don’t use it yourself, or it’s game over. Atrus cannot accompany you to Riven himself, as he has to keep writing. He is desperately altering details of the Riven book in order to slow its deterioration. While this would perhaps imply that you only have a certain amount of time to rescue Catherine and get the heck out of Riven, this is only a plot element and has no effect on gameplay. Since Atrus cannot risk Gehn escaping from Riven, he unfortunately has to send the Stranger into the Age without a way out. The player thus has to find a way to signal Atrus once he has trapped Gehn and rescued Catherine, so that Atrus can come to the Age with a Linking Book to bring everyone back. Among various other elements uncovered throughout the game’s plot, the Stranger learns about the Star Fissure, a sort of portal found on the decaying Riven Age that leads – oddly enough – to the Stranger’s home of earth. This explains how the Myst book originally fell into the Stranger’s hands in the first place, and gives the Stranger a sense of hope: If he succeeds here, there’s a chance he can go home again.  

Ending

There are three key goals that the player/Stranger needs to complete in order to complete the game: Rescue Catherine, trap Gehn, and find a way to signal Atrus. Care must be taken to ensure that these don’t happen in an improper order. In other words, Atrus shouldn’t be signaled before Catherine is free, otherwise the entire journey was meaningless. There are a few “bad” endings to the game that result from situations such as the one above. However, in the “good”, canon ending, the Stranger is able to successfully trick Gehn into using the trap book, thus capturing him and allowing the Stranger to free Catherine. In order to signal Atrus, the Stranger reopens the Star Fissure. Immediately after this, the entire Age begins to fall apart. Atrus quickly links to Riven with a Myst linking book in hand. Atrus and Catherine thank the Stranger for all his help, and Atrus tells him that by jumping into the Star Fissure, he should be able to get back home. Atrus and Catherine link back to their home on Myst – making sure the linking book falls into the Fissure when they’re done – and the Stranger leaps into the Star Fissure, hoping to find his way home again. 
 

Digital Distribution

Riven: The Sequel to Myst has been re-released courtesy of  Good Old Games (or  GOG.com) for $5.99
- Only real feature is full compatability & support for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 for both 32 and 64-bit.     
- Also features a downloadable manual in PDF format. 
 

Ports

In addition to the PC and Mac, Riven has appeared on the Sega Saturn, the Sony PlayStation, and the Pocket PC. There is also a version of the game in development for the iPhone.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst 33 images
General Information Edit
Game Name Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Platform(s)
Publisher(s)
Developer(s)
Genres
Add a new genre
Adventure
Puzzle
Themes
Add a new theme
Fantasy
Steampunk
Original US Release Oct. 29, 1997
need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release know the real date?
Aliases Myst 2
Myst II
CERO
CERO: All Ages
ESRB
ESRB: K-A
Top Rated Lists
My Video Game Collection: Haiku Edition a list of 196 items by Eljay
Collection a list of 353 items by drewbert
All-Time Favorites a list of 35 items by drewbert
Related Games Edit
Related Pages Edit

Submissions can take several hours to be approved.

Save ChangesCancel