spikespace
This is the first game that used the immersive-storytelling potential of video games to its full advantage. You wake up in a fantastical world where trees are elevators and book pages are wormholes, and a history of murder, betrayal and tyranny awaits your discovery. There is no linear path - like the real world, you forge your own journey across the Ages. You make your own choices and have to trust your instinct. A wonderful, ground-breaking work of genius.
2014
2019
2016
Not as strong as 'Myst'. The soundscape is cutting-edge, and allows for more sophisticated puzzles. The puzzle design is abstruse and the clues are disparate. Unlike the first game's five maps, 'Riven' is one big map, and so the gameplay is a bit less engaging as the scope of the puzzles is a bit overwhelming. The story isn't as involving or captivating as the first game either, and sometimes a bit confusing. Like fuck am I gonna read 30 pages of journals, not least with that shitty cursive handwriting.
2018
1997