Riven Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published July 18, 2024 · Updated July 23, 2024

Riven Review, Uncover a story of intrigue, betrayal, and a civilization teetering on the brink of collapse as you solve intricate puzzles to unlock the secrets of Riven. Built from the ground up and expanded from the award-winning original game released in 1997. Who are the mysterious island dwellers you encounter during your exploration? What purpose does the giant golden dome serve? Why is this world on the verge of collapse? Play Riven and discover the answers to these mysteries- and more.

Riven Review Pros:

Beautiful graphics.
22.89GB download size.
Steam achievements.
Full controller support.
Graphics settings – quality preset (balanced/visuals/performance/epic visuals).
VR support.
Advanced graphics – quality preset, View distance, shadows, anti-aliasing, textures, effects, foliage, post-processing, super sampling quality, super sampling method, resolution scale 3D, and frame rate limit.
Display settings – resolution, v-sync, and field of view slider.
Motion blur – on/off.
HDR support.
Controls settings – mouse cursor scale, Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, hand cursor, cursor options, and Haptic Feedback support.
Comfort settings – vehicle comfort, quick travel on ladders, and hide vehicle transitions.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Top-class voice work.
Puzzle gameplay.
A full 3D game world with 360 camera control.
First-person view.
Excellent soundtrack.
Handy screenshot button.
Jaw-dropping visuals and locations.
Best played with headphones as the music and sound effects are minimal but truly impactful.
Very atmospheric.
Save and load when you want.
What the game nails is what you need in order to play the game well, the screenshot tool is a huge win because you can and are encouraged to take shots so you can use them to help solve puzzles.
Your hand cursor fades on and off the screen which keeps the immersion high.
There is very little in the way of hand-holding or guidance so it’s a proper old-school puzzle adventure.
It’s such a fascinating island to explore.
Using a walk-through is a totally valid way to play it part of the game is just the doing of actions and exploration.
It’s not just puzzles, it’s the peering through windows and changing the perspective to see something that keeps it not only fresh but maintains its depth.
Some of the best puzzles and solutions. (yeah it stresses you out and drives you mad but man does it make you tip your hat to it all).

Riven Review Cons:

Cannot remap the controller.
The mouse cursor stays on the screen when using a controller.
You cannot see your body or legs.
No matter the setting I always had little performance hiccups and slowdown.
Uses a lot of small text for subtitles and menus, the controller picture showing the buttons is really small and not ideal as it clashes with the background.
The game doesn’t give you any controller button prompts or even tell you what to press, instead, it just says to press the menu button or press the satchel button.
It feels like it’s a VR game first and a normal game second.
Invisible walls on ledges to stop you falling off which is both good and bad.
You cannot click an image and just scroll through them.
Little in the way of hand-holding or guidance.
The general use of the menus like the journal and bag is slow and cumbersome.

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