Lookin' good!
Written by Jason Venter
Published Apr. 24, 2024
If you played PC adventure games during a certain era, there's a good chance you played Myst and possibly its first sequel, Riven. Now, that same sequel is on the way in a new remade version from Cyan Worlds, and the developer has shared first footage along with information about the voice cast.
You can catch the Riven gameplay trailer for yourself by clicking the link. I've not played the game myself in any form. From what I can tell, the footage shows the player's first moments on the island, getting to know the game's mechanics before engaging in a little exploration with help from some mysterious mechanisms.
According to a press release issued earlier today to mark the occasion, the team has rebuilt the game's environments and puzzles from the ground up to offer more modern polish. Let's not forget that the original version came out in late 1997. I was still in high school at the time, and probably busy playing my Super Nintendo.
Besides offering a look at three minutes or so of gameplay, Cyan Worlds shared news about its voice talent. The cast will include Shannon Woodward (Westworld) and Ronan Farrow (From Up on Poppy Hill) as new characters who didn't appear in the original version. Lauren Gamiel is also on board as Catherine, with Cyan Worlds' CEO and co-founder, Rand Miller, set to return as Atrus.
“I love collaborative art in general and I love games. I particularly love narrative games and I think Myst and Riven were just so ahead of their time in terms of puzzles and games,” says Shannon Woodward. “The way they are so commonly integrated into stories now, it so clearly stems from this narrative puzzle game that I played when I was a kid, and I think it was so influential.”
Previous voice performances from John Keston (Gehn), Christine Steel (Nelah), Vicente Ramos (Gehn's guard), and Kate Vita (Keta) will also return. Sadly, Keston passed away in 2020, but the remake gives his voice a chance to live on in this expanded take on the game in which he previously played a memorable role.
The Riven development team is using Unreal Engine 5, with the hope of expanding the original Riven vision and providing compelling narrative experiences on “both flatscreen and VR platforms.” The series does seem like a natural fit for VR, and will launch simultaneously for a variety of devices later this year. Are you ready for more Riven?
