Riven (1997) on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

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Released in 1997 as the original sequel to Myst, one of the best-selling puzzle adventure games of all time. Prepare to enter a world "torn asunder" by timeless, unresolved conflicts -- a world of incomparable beauty, intrigue, and betrayal.

Riven (1997) is a adventure, puzzle and point & click game developed and published by Cyan Worlds Inc.
Released on August 04th 2010 is available on Windows and MacOS in 8 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Polish and Russian.

It has received 1,323 reviews of which 1,180 were positive and 143 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.

The Steam community has classified Riven (1997) into these genres:

Adventure Puzzle Point & Click Exploration Classic Story Rich Difficult First-Person Casual Atmospheric Beautiful 1990's FMV Steampunk Singleplayer Mystery Surreal Great Soundtrack Sci-fi Nostalgia

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Riven (1997) through various videos and screenshots.

Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot
Riven (1997) screenshot

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows
  • OS *: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 / 11, 64-bit
  • Processor: 1.8 GHz
  • Memory: 512 MB RAM
  • Storage: 7.5 GB
  • Video: DirectX® 9.0c compatible or better
  • Sound: DirectX® 9.0 compatible
  • DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c or greater
MacOS
  • OS: macOS 10.9.5 or greater
  • Processor: 1.8 GHz
  • Memory: 512MB RAM
  • Graphics: 32MB video card
  • Storage: 7.5 GB

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

March 2025
Several acclaimed indie games of the past decade like Outer Wilds, Void Stranger, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Case of the Golden Idol have intrigued players with their progression philosophy of gathering information. It does have an Achilles heel though: a tug-of-war between worldbuilding and progress-gating puzzles. The world should be intriguing, but when most of your puzzles are so elusive that their solutions have to be etched in stone somewhere, like in Outer Wilds or Void Stranger, I question why the creators didn’t just write a nonlinear novel. Freeform storytelling has existed for a long time. I’m not going to discredit this approach without offering an alternative though. Let’s rewind the clock to 1993, before I and most of you reading left the womb. Myst, the best-selling PC game for nearly a decade, was about to be released. The grandfather of adventure puzzles, it threw you into a foreign universe with zero context. Exploring the iconic starting isle and tinkering with its machinery raised questions of all types. Why is there a hollow rocket next to a Greco-Roman temple library? What kind of discoveries did Atrus make? Why are his sons trapped inside books? All I will say is that the misplaced familiarity isn’t so confounding. The puzzles are different because of Atrus’ zeal to forge new worlds via linking books. A perfect excuse for designers Rand and Robyn Miller to stir their creative juices. After spending several hours with the game, the uncompromising dedication to environmental storytelling hit me. Everything is conveyed through visuals that the player must interpret before any semblance of a solution can be formulated. This approach cemented the Miller brothers as strong game makers and storytellers, so it’s not surprising that Riven carries the same strengths. While it does abandon the environmental variety of its predecessor, it more than makes up for it in nuance. No puzzles for their own sake, only a rich world dripping with detail and history. Every machine, symbol, rock, tool, and door was labored over and pre-rendered without compromise. It’s staggering how much crisper it looks than its predecessor despite coming out only four years later. If it wasn’t for the SD image output, this could easily pass for a modern-looking title. I’m so thankful for all this detail because minus a few diary entries and cutscenes, Riven is all show and no tell. You need to study the environment carefully and visit each island multiple times before you even think about finishing the game. This is precisely what exploring an alien civilization would be like and I would love to see this in other games. Exploring and problem-solving through visuals alone will not be for everyone. Even I had to use a guide at times, but I can’t fault obscurity when it results in a hypnotizing work of art. Besides, I made more than enough solo progress to feel satisfied once the credits rolled. Steel thy mind, click everywhere, and take plenty of notes. Assimilate yourself into the Fifth Age, and its enigmas will eventually crumble before you.
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July 2024
The finest puzzle game ever made. Decades pass, and this game still holds the crowning achievement of where everything came together, the graphics (for the time, and still looking good), the story, the music and ambiance...everything worked in a way that modern games struggle to emulate. This is a CHALLENGE of a game, to the point that certain gaming magazines of the early 00s dismissed this simply because, well, they couldn't solve it! Try your hand at Riven, where the journey is the destination itself. Every emotion under the sun will flow through you before the end... Even now the enigmatic game known as Riven can never truly be finished...it will linger in your mind and heart for years to come. Good clicking!
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July 2024
How in the absolute hell does the best game of all time when it comes to environmental storytelling and puzzles come from 1997? It makes absolutely no sense. Go play the remake. I'm astonished, I wish I had more to say, but it just does too much right. It's been 27 years! I wasn't even born, I have no nostalgia for it! Why is this allowed?
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June 2024
If you are like me and have a fondness, or even a preference, for the old-style, 'slideshow', point-and-click format for adventure games, you should absolutely pick up and play this one. It's dirt cheap, it was updated in 2018 to run great on modern OS's, and it's the finest game of this type ever made. The sheer detail and work that went into it are clear to see, and make it a joy for me to go through even if the actual gameplay and puzzling is a bit too esoteric for me to get through without help. The remake saddens me, because many people will now dismiss or ignore the original masterpiece. The remake made substantial changes and is NOT a simple updated version of this game - it is a distinctly different experience. As a result, if you think you'll be fine with the point-and-click interface, I think you should pick up this version as well and give it a shot, even if you have the remake as well.
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June 2024
It's Riven. What more is there to say? It's the best puzzle adventure game ever made. If this is a genre that you're even remotely interested in, you owe it to yourself to play Riven.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Riven (1997) is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.

Riven (1997) is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 5.89€ on Steam.

Riven (1997) received 1,180 positive votes out of a total of 1,323 achieving a rating of 8.47.
😎

Riven (1997) was developed and published by Cyan Worlds Inc.

Riven (1997) is playable and fully supported on Windows.

Riven (1997) is playable and fully supported on MacOS.

Riven (1997) is not playable on Linux.

Riven (1997) is a single-player game.

Riven (1997) does not currently offer any DLC.

Riven (1997) does not support mods via Steam Workshop.

Riven (1997) does not support Steam Remote Play.

Riven (1997) is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.

You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Riven (1997).

Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates
Steam data 05 June 2025 15:22
SteamSpy data 11 June 2025 02:05
Steam price 14 June 2025 12:45
Steam reviews 13 June 2025 07:52

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Riven (1997), we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

  • SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Riven (1997)
  • SteamCharts - Analysis of Riven (1997) concurrent players on Steam
  • ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Riven (1997) compatibility
Riven (1997)
5.89€
8.5
1,180
143
Game modes
Features
Online players
4
Developer
Cyan Worlds Inc
Publisher
Cyan Worlds Inc
Release 04 Aug 2010
Platforms
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