Out of the Myst, Riven Captures Imagination With a Braver, Newer World

How do you top the world’s best-selling computer game, Myst? By creating a more beautiful, more compelling, more epic adventure that both enthralls and boggles the mind. And that’s what Cyan has done with Riven, the eagerly awaited sequel to 1993’s Myst, which has sold more than 3 million copies.

Myst broke through to a huge audience because it appealed to adults with a graphic adventure that used the CD-ROM medium well and had an artistic, immersing feel. The copycats have had a field day since Myst, but no one--not Obsidian or Bad Mojo--could squelch the desire for another Cyan production.

This one is a doozy, taking you to the imaginative world of Riven, lorded over by the deluded Gehn. Your task is to free Catherine and send for Atrus, the son of Gehn who commissioned your help. The back story is as detailed as a good fantasy novel, and the Rivenese natives have their own language, numeral system and sociopolitical intrigue.

But as with most adventure games, you needn’t memorize plot points to succeed. It’s all in the visual clues you find while exploring. With Riven, there are audio clues as well. Most puzzles depend on the interlocking knowledge you gain of the local wildlife and a pattern of symbols you find along the way. You’ll need a big notebook to keep track of clues, as well as maps and grids.

Personally, I have little patience for getting stuck in puzzle games for days at a time. Riven was a joy, letting me wander through its lush, gorgeously designed islands without detainment for hours. The ambient sound is a treat, with a mix of New Age synths, world beat and the buzz of insects or loud rumbling of a huge metal door swinging open.

The look of Riven is one you’d expect from Cyan, with a primitive environment of iron grates, wooden ladders and stained glass religious scenes mixed with fantastical travel by touching pictures in books and riding an impossibly dry mining car under the ocean. In fact, the trams that take you from island to island provide a real thrill ride, lifting you over the water and dropping you into tunnels at high speed.

Though much of the movement is swift, you still have to swap the five CD-ROMs in roulette fashion from time to time. My other complaint is that you mainly play alone, with little interaction with other characters. Also, the story line over-relies on the device of diaries you find--Gehn’s diary, Catherine’s diary and so on. It seemed a bit tedious to me, though I’m certain avid Mysters will eat it up.

Those drawbacks pale in comparison to the grand design of the game, an organic environment with its own animals and native culture. Even the evil Gehn is uniquely quirky, smoking frog extract and projecting his godlike image to the native Rivenese.

The puzzles are enticing, relying on the clues you’ve found in your travels, rather than random guessing or algebra. Still, if you don’t have the patience to figure these out in months (yes, months) of game play, you’ll want the $19.95 hint book.

One final note of praise. I showed a non-gamer friend some of the finer points of Riven, and she was soon engulfed in the conundrum of the submarine controls. If the game could grab her visually and sonically, I’m certain it will appeal to almost anyone (with time on their hands).

Mark Glaser is a San Francisco-based freelance writer and critic. You can reach him at glaze@sprintmail.com.

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* Riven (Cyan/Red Orb): $54.95, PC/Mac hybrid, 100 MHz Pentium, 16 MB RAM, 75 MB hard disk space, or 90 MHz PowerPC Mac, 9 MB RAM, System 7.5, 65 MB hard disk space.