‘Riven,’ the Standalone Sequel to ‘Myst,’ Releases Today on Meta Quest 2 and 3

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Jun 25, 2024

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“Thank god you’ve returned. I need your help.” In 1997, those words introduced players to Riven, the sequel to the best-selling puzzle game Myst.

Now, nearly three decades later, Riven comes to Meta Quest 2 and 3. Bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than its predecessor, Riven has long been heralded as developer Cyan’s true masterpiece, a tour de force of world-building backed by truly ingenious puzzles. Now, for the first time ever, Cyan has managed to rebuild Riven in full 3D, enabling players to experience Gehn’s iconic Fifth Age as a living and breathing world.

Ahead of today’s release, we sat down with Cyan’s Development Director Hannah Gamiel and CEO Rand Miller to discuss some of the changes made to help modernize Riven, lessons learned across four VR releases, and more. Read on for the full interview, or head over to the Meta Quest Store and pick up Riven, available now.

What are some of the changes you’ve made to Riven to bring it into the modern era?

Rand Miller: This was a challenging balancing act for us. We really wanted to remake Riven in a way that was a tribute to the original version and yet felt special and fresh to both fans of the game and new players. With that said, the most obvious nod to the modern era was VR, rebuilding the cherished worlds of Riven but with a sense of presence and immersion that we could have only dreamed of in 1997.

Beyond that, there are literally hundreds of changes that both make the Ages of Riven more accessible, and add even more cohesion to the environmental storytelling that Riven is known for. A few examples: We’ve made a certain puzzle that uses marbles a little less granular, replaced a simple pipe-crawl with a much more majestic and rewarding environment, and even added a puzzle to one of the islands that (surprisingly) never had any friction at all.

Since this is the first time Riven’s been brought into full-3D, were there any areas or puzzles that gave you particular trouble? Anything that didn’t work as well when the player isn’t as constrained?

RM: There were so many examples of things that needed to be rethought for both real-time 3D and VR specifically. One of the first that comes to mind is a particular locked gate that required the player to "slide under" in the original Riven by simply clicking under it. Obviously that isn't necessarily as satisfying in 3D, and it’s downright intrusive in VR, so—well…ahem…it evolved.

Another example is a larger puzzle involving animal symbols. Since the player could move to any position in 3D space, it opened up that puzzle implementation to be much more positional. It's tricky to give specifics without spoiling the fun.

This is Cyan’s fourth VR game—were there any lessons you learned from Obduction, Myst, or Firmament that proved particularly helpful in bringing Riven to VR?

RM: The amazing aspect of this is how much we learn from each project, including Riven. You might think that because we did our first VR project Obduction so long ago, we might have learned everything we needed to know. The fact is that we did learn so much with Obduction, and we applied that to Myst, and then we learned so much more with Myst and applied that to Firmament, and then we learned even more with Firmament…you get the picture.

Each new project gives us so much more insight, because each project has its own specific challenges. Someday we'll be experts! ;)

Do you have a favorite location in the remake?

RM: The Sunner lagoon is someplace I'd like to vacation. There's a spot—on the other side of the large rock in the shadow of a tree—that I would like to have a beach chair and a tropical drink. In VR, I can almost feel the breeze on my face.

Hannah Gamiel: The Jungle Basin, for me. Going into this project, we were terrified of the technical hurdles we’d have to overcome to make this area run at 72hz on Meta Quest 2 especially.

(Spoilers ahead…beware!) It has lots of moving water. Dynamic holes open and close in that very water, and you’re able to ride a submarine in and out of it, and it’s surrounded by complex vistas of village huts and forests that you see both up close and at a distance and from top to bottom…all together in one scene. Our team is seriously incredible for being able to pull off what we did in that area and make it look amazing on Meta Quest at the same time.

What’s next for Cyan post-launch? Anything exciting in the works?

HG: We’ve got some great projects spinning up that we’re very excited to start talking about eventually. It’s been inspiring to re-explore our tried-and-true universes while working on Riven, that’s for sure…

We’re also excited to announce that Myst (which Riven is technically the sequel to) will have a Meta Quest 3-enhanced update coming soon. It’s not required for folks to have played Myst before grabbing Riven, as Riven is a standalone game in itself. But if you wish to explore more of the universe they’re both set in, now is definitely a good time to pick up Myst in anticipation of this big update!

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

HG: We’re really hoping that Meta Quest 2 and 3 users are going to be wowed by Riven. We’re constantly trying to push the boundaries of what those devices are capable of graphics-wise, and we’re incredibly proud of what we accomplished. Riven really does feel like the kind of game that has something for just about anyone on Meta Quest. We’re excited to hear what everyone thinks about it!

RIven is available now on Meta Quest 2 and 3 for $34.99 USD.