Riven - Original vs Remake (1997 vs 2024) in Comparison

In this video, I compare the original "Riven - The Sequel to Myst" from 1997 with the remake from 2024. The remake was created using the Unreal Engine and looks excellent for the most part. In contrast to the last Myst remake, more attention has been paid here to ensuring that the lighting mood matches the original. There are a few parts that I think look better in the original, such as the intro and the temple in my video,
but the free movement, the animated water and the mostly very sharp textures are all to be praised. What do you think?

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#riven #rivenremake #remake

[renamon]

I like the live action scenes in the og

[SeraphsWitness]

I understand the need to upgrade, but the FMV sequences were a huge part of the charm of the originals. Wish they had just tried to remaster the footage instead.

[Caspersight]

I love the graphical update but I will miss the Original FMV. The CG characters remind you that your playing a game.

[ErichIzdepski]

This shows how amazing the original was.

[jabadabadu]

There is something special about these point and click games from the 90's.

[Yoctopory]

Huge Riven fan here since the day it originally came out. I honestly had a lot of confidence that Cyan would find a way to create nice looking cutscenes in the remake. I'm quite disappointed with the puppet-like figures that are way too deep down in the uncanny valley. The original life action recordings just added so much to the level of immersion. It's one of the reasons why in the original I didn't feel like playing a game, I felt like I was there.

[wut]

Riven is my favourite game of all time, so I obviously had high hopes for this remake. I think it's important to think of the remake as a separate experience to the original, rather than a replacement. My reaction to my first hour of play of the remake was shock at just how much they've changed. I know the original inside out, so at first it's quite jarring when entire areas and mechanics have been removed, added or relocated. Once I settled into it I really started to enjoy not knowing what was around the next corner - much like I felt playing Riven for the first time!

The 3D characters were never going to be as immersive as the FMV performances, but I understand the technical requirements for using them. I do hope, however, that some patches are released to improve the character animations and lighting. They're not up to the standard of the rest of the game, and I must admit I cringed when Atrus flashed me a toothy grimace during the intro that I'm sure was meant to be more of a knowing smile.

All in all, I think Cyan have done a phenonmenal job on this remake, and I can't wait to play more!

[matthewwilliams]

I must admit I still kinda prefer the originals pre-renders and the lighting situation and colours more, then I’ve always thought that even low res pre-renders can’t be surpassed anyways. but both look beautiful 🤩

[AtrusDesign]

Like other people wrote, original static images are gorgeous even today and with a giant atmosphere, fmv actors are WAY better than 3D ones, but at Cyan they were really faithful to the original mood in this remake, free motion and VR can give an extra level of immersion. So from what I have seen until now I love both.

[micahbush]

The graphics of the new version are nice, but 3D character models aren't really Cyan's strong point. I also feel like the original intro was better at establishing a sense of secrecy and desperation.

[brianwolters]

I believe I echo many in here...I wish the FMV characters were remastered and kept. That is what set the tone for me in all of the Myst games.

[thehuggz-ik]

Just finished playing the new game yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't expect quite so much to be different. Obviously with the port to a 3D engine we necessarily lose the live acting, which is probably the biggest bummer. The modeling and mocap wasn't horrible, but it did break suspension of disbelief. As far as the world and puzzle changes, it honestly felt like Ghen had been left to his own devices on Riven for another 20-30 years. A lot of the changes that were made felt like natural progressions and enhancements from the way things were previously. I think the over all changes to the the 2 big puzzle arcs (tay gateway and golden dome), were good and necessary changes. Many of the bits that I nostalgically missed I realized I didn't ACTUALLY miss them. The extra clarity and simplification of some of the elements were largely improvements that made exploration and discovery less obscure. Retroactively fitting lore clarifications into the journal texts was nice. As a teenager I played Riven into the ground, so I was glad they took the time to put new twists on puzzles while not completely invalidating a significant chunk my childhood 😂 Ultimately, I was able to be taken back and engage in rediscovery of a world I thought I knew well.

[rrael]

This game is fixated in my childhood. My dad and I both played it, both struggled at it. I think it made me smarter, because the lateral thinking involved was truly magical. That was an era where you didn't (or couldn't) look up solutions to everything. You played the game, solved the puzzles. Slowly, over time, and with great effort. It was like the Dark Souls of puzzle games at the time lol. My dad had a heart attack and then a stroke many years later. He could never play something like Riven with me again, so I'll have to cherish those memories forever.

[BooshyBrows]

I think this sums up the issue with a lot of modern media.. we used to achieve so much more with so much less

[TheKrensada]

I gotta say I prefer the oriignal for cutscenes. The new 3D model characters look jerky, and glitchy. hopefully with some patches they'll iron that out. other than that. The remake looks very beautiful, and surreal. As it should.

[AccountName-gvie]

Remke looks great, but I think the lightning in the original is more intentional used to create atmosphere.

[myel]

The material work in the remake is really impressive. The way light plays off of small details on surfaces is incredibly convincing. That gold paint on the building exterior really stands out, certainly the best of its sort I've seen in any videogame.

But yeah, the NPCs definitely feel a little out of place. On the one hand, you can't just throw 2D FMV capture into a 3D scene, but it's also clear they don't have the resources to really match it in terms of animation. It's serviceable, in my opinion, but it certainly dates what is otherwise a near flawless presentation.

Appreciate the video! Looking forward to trying the remake out myself in the future.

[odin]

If they could remaster the video, and combine THAT with the smooth movement through the world.... THAT would be amazing.

[bloodrunsclear]

I do wish they'd kept the FMVs. The rest of it IS gorgeous though!

[templar]

The remake environments and immersion look great. I really hope we get way more exposure to the sunners and wahrks. I think it would also help develop the game's Orwellian tones by having some easter eggs where you see someone up on a bridge or over a hill, spying on you for a second. Not a cutscene...just a quick blink-and-you-miss-it moment. It also looks like there are going to be triggered earthquakes or structure collapses as you progress, which will really add to the idea of Riven as a doomed, unstable age.
Those cutscenes are triggering my uncanny valley response. I know Rand Miller isn't a professional actor, but in the original you can see lots of subtle emotions (tiredness, uncertainty, even fear) playing across his face. In the remake, he just looks in a state of perpetual mild shock.
I preferred the original of not seeing the linking panel to Riven until Atrus flips the book around and you have a mildly disconcerting moment to wonder why the image is so distorted before it's time to go, rather than having it sitting on the table until you're ready.
Seriously, why would they reshoot Cho's video and not record new audio? In the original, he was a fully embodied Rivenese man, probably just as confused and taken aback as I was at materializing into a cage on a new world. Now, he looks like a vampire on marionette strings.