Betshet
@betshet.bsky.social
Game programmer & designer
Manga & art enthusiast
Banner and pfp by @taplaos.bsky.social
Manga & art enthusiast
Banner and pfp by @taplaos.bsky.social
There's one thing I forgot to mention in this review, and that's how alive Riven felt.
Myst was grand and imposing, but also really empty and desolate. Riven, in contrast, almost immediately assaults you with life, animals and culture.
It feels a lot more like a tangible place, which is neat.
Myst was grand and imposing, but also really empty and desolate. Riven, in contrast, almost immediately assaults you with life, animals and culture.
It feels a lot more like a tangible place, which is neat.
November 29, 2025 at 7:40 AM
There's one thing I forgot to mention in this review, and that's how alive Riven felt.
Myst was grand and imposing, but also really empty and desolate. Riven, in contrast, almost immediately assaults you with life, animals and culture.
It feels a lot more like a tangible place, which is neat.
Myst was grand and imposing, but also really empty and desolate. Riven, in contrast, almost immediately assaults you with life, animals and culture.
It feels a lot more like a tangible place, which is neat.
Playing both games back to back FEELS like a big step forward, and I can see the DNA of Riven in a lot of the puzzle games that have come out since (Blue prince, Outer Wilds, Submachine...)
I am a bit apprehensive about the rest of the Myst series though, I know they aren't as well received...
I am a bit apprehensive about the rest of the Myst series though, I know they aren't as well received...
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Playing both games back to back FEELS like a big step forward, and I can see the DNA of Riven in a lot of the puzzle games that have come out since (Blue prince, Outer Wilds, Submachine...)
I am a bit apprehensive about the rest of the Myst series though, I know they aren't as well received...
I am a bit apprehensive about the rest of the Myst series though, I know they aren't as well received...
I've already talked about the incredible final puzzle and my disappointment w/ how the remake changed it, but aside from that & a few flaws still present in the puzzle design, I can say that Riven is one of the best puzzle games I've played, and I recommand it to anyone with any interest.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I've already talked about the incredible final puzzle and my disappointment w/ how the remake changed it, but aside from that & a few flaws still present in the puzzle design, I can say that Riven is one of the best puzzle games I've played, and I recommand it to anyone with any interest.
Something I noticed in the remake : the character acting and modeling is honestly incredible. The faces show a lot of subtle emotions, and it feels SO fresh compared to the over-the-top "acting" of the two brothers in Myst.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Something I noticed in the remake : the character acting and modeling is honestly incredible. The faces show a lot of subtle emotions, and it feels SO fresh compared to the over-the-top "acting" of the two brothers in Myst.
The times I felt stuck were more because of me than any fault of the game, but there are still issues with hidden levers, passages, and leaps of logic (a LOT less than in Myst)
A flaw of the open world: sometimes you don't know if you can solve what's in front of you or if you should come back later
A flaw of the open world: sometimes you don't know if you can solve what's in front of you or if you should come back later
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
The times I felt stuck were more because of me than any fault of the game, but there are still issues with hidden levers, passages, and leaps of logic (a LOT less than in Myst)
A flaw of the open world: sometimes you don't know if you can solve what's in front of you or if you should come back later
A flaw of the open world: sometimes you don't know if you can solve what's in front of you or if you should come back later
Where Myst was about a small family drama, Riven ups the ante and opens the door to a lot of worldbuilding.
The environmental storytelling is still very strong, but what surprised me in both games, is how great the writing is.
Reading the lore books was such a pleasure, which I really didn't expect.
The environmental storytelling is still very strong, but what surprised me in both games, is how great the writing is.
Reading the lore books was such a pleasure, which I really didn't expect.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Where Myst was about a small family drama, Riven ups the ante and opens the door to a lot of worldbuilding.
The environmental storytelling is still very strong, but what surprised me in both games, is how great the writing is.
Reading the lore books was such a pleasure, which I really didn't expect.
The environmental storytelling is still very strong, but what surprised me in both games, is how great the writing is.
Reading the lore books was such a pleasure, which I really didn't expect.
The decision to switch from small and contained puzzle-worlds to a big open island was certainly risky, and it does cause some problems, but the feeling of freedom it provides makes it worth it.
Riven feels huge, both in terms of exploration, and in story and lore.
Riven feels huge, both in terms of exploration, and in story and lore.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
The decision to switch from small and contained puzzle-worlds to a big open island was certainly risky, and it does cause some problems, but the feeling of freedom it provides makes it worth it.
Riven feels huge, both in terms of exploration, and in story and lore.
Riven feels huge, both in terms of exploration, and in story and lore.
Riven, on the other hand, blew me away even by today's standards.
By 1997, devs were becoming more familiar with 3D. SM64 and Quake 2 were out, so the lack of free-roam was becoming outdated, but even then, the open nature of Riven's world feels breathtaking as soon as you open the game.
By 1997, devs were becoming more familiar with 3D. SM64 and Quake 2 were out, so the lack of free-roam was becoming outdated, but even then, the open nature of Riven's world feels breathtaking as soon as you open the game.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Riven, on the other hand, blew me away even by today's standards.
By 1997, devs were becoming more familiar with 3D. SM64 and Quake 2 were out, so the lack of free-roam was becoming outdated, but even then, the open nature of Riven's world feels breathtaking as soon as you open the game.
By 1997, devs were becoming more familiar with 3D. SM64 and Quake 2 were out, so the lack of free-roam was becoming outdated, but even then, the open nature of Riven's world feels breathtaking as soon as you open the game.
There's a lot of backtracking with slow-moving animations, a lot of hidden passages, clues and levers that are hard to see, a few leaps of logic... Myst suffers a lot from 30 years of evolution in puzzle design.
Also need to mention the horrendous acting for all 3 characters in the game.
Also need to mention the horrendous acting for all 3 characters in the game.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
There's a lot of backtracking with slow-moving animations, a lot of hidden passages, clues and levers that are hard to see, a few leaps of logic... Myst suffers a lot from 30 years of evolution in puzzle design.
Also need to mention the horrendous acting for all 3 characters in the game.
Also need to mention the horrendous acting for all 3 characters in the game.
Myst was ahead of its time, which is both a compliment and a critique. For all its atmosphere and environmental storytelling, there are a lot of quite obvious game design flaws, too.
Which makes sense, devs weren't used to making puzzles work in a 3D environment, even without free-roaming.
Which makes sense, devs weren't used to making puzzles work in a 3D environment, even without free-roaming.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Myst was ahead of its time, which is both a compliment and a critique. For all its atmosphere and environmental storytelling, there are a lot of quite obvious game design flaws, too.
Which makes sense, devs weren't used to making puzzles work in a 3D environment, even without free-roaming.
Which makes sense, devs weren't used to making puzzles work in a 3D environment, even without free-roaming.
I feel like if I played the original in 1993 it would have been mind-blowing. For context, 1993 was Day of the Tentacle, Doom, and Link's Awakening.
Exploring a full 3D world with that level of realism was unheard of. There is a reason why Myst stayed the best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.
Exploring a full 3D world with that level of realism was unheard of. There is a reason why Myst stayed the best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I feel like if I played the original in 1993 it would have been mind-blowing. For context, 1993 was Day of the Tentacle, Doom, and Link's Awakening.
Exploring a full 3D world with that level of realism was unheard of. There is a reason why Myst stayed the best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.
Exploring a full 3D world with that level of realism was unheard of. There is a reason why Myst stayed the best-selling PC game for nearly a decade.
Myst is... I mean for its time it's certainly impressive. The atmosphere of desolate solitude, the player left alone with these machines and these abandonned islands, there's an impressive level of detail put in these worlds.
Reminds me a lot of Submachine, which leaned even more in that direction.
Reminds me a lot of Submachine, which leaned even more in that direction.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Myst is... I mean for its time it's certainly impressive. The atmosphere of desolate solitude, the player left alone with these machines and these abandonned islands, there's an impressive level of detail put in these worlds.
Reminds me a lot of Submachine, which leaned even more in that direction.
Reminds me a lot of Submachine, which leaned even more in that direction.
Finished Riven (2024)
This is going to be kind of a triple review, where I talk a bit about Myst (1993), Riven (1997) and Riven (2024).
I think it's both useful and necessary to talk about older media in their original context, AND in the context of modern times.
This is going to be kind of a triple review, where I talk a bit about Myst (1993), Riven (1997) and Riven (2024).
I think it's both useful and necessary to talk about older media in their original context, AND in the context of modern times.
November 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Finished Riven (2024)
This is going to be kind of a triple review, where I talk a bit about Myst (1993), Riven (1997) and Riven (2024).
I think it's both useful and necessary to talk about older media in their original context, AND in the context of modern times.
This is going to be kind of a triple review, where I talk a bit about Myst (1993), Riven (1997) and Riven (2024).
I think it's both useful and necessary to talk about older media in their original context, AND in the context of modern times.
We ended up cutting a few features, like the day/night cycle, and the level only got finished 2 hours before the end of the jam, so we couldn't really do any level design or testing.
Tiling a map big enough to justify the "exploring" game we wanted took a lot more time than we thought.
Tiling a map big enough to justify the "exploring" game we wanted took a lot more time than we thought.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
We ended up cutting a few features, like the day/night cycle, and the level only got finished 2 hours before the end of the jam, so we couldn't really do any level design or testing.
Tiling a map big enough to justify the "exploring" game we wanted took a lot more time than we thought.
Tiling a map big enough to justify the "exploring" game we wanted took a lot more time than we thought.
Once the planning was done, it was just a matter of putting hands on keyboards.
We used Unreal for the project, as always, because it's the only engine that I know sufficiently enough to use in the small timeframe of a game jam (even though it's really not made for 2D).
We used Unreal for the project, as always, because it's the only engine that I know sufficiently enough to use in the small timeframe of a game jam (even though it's really not made for 2D).
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Once the planning was done, it was just a matter of putting hands on keyboards.
We used Unreal for the project, as always, because it's the only engine that I know sufficiently enough to use in the small timeframe of a game jam (even though it's really not made for 2D).
We used Unreal for the project, as always, because it's the only engine that I know sufficiently enough to use in the small timeframe of a game jam (even though it's really not made for 2D).
While we were doing all of that, our composer was busy making some incredible tracks, fueled by our suggestions and the general ambiance of the game.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
While we were doing all of that, our composer was busy making some incredible tracks, fueled by our suggestions and the general ambiance of the game.
After the mechanics have been hammered down, it's Kanban time.
Making a kanban is often almost more important that maintaining it (at least for short projects).
It helps define critical points, roles, and refine further each mechanic.
Making a kanban is often almost more important that maintaining it (at least for short projects).
It helps define critical points, roles, and refine further each mechanic.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
After the mechanics have been hammered down, it's Kanban time.
Making a kanban is often almost more important that maintaining it (at least for short projects).
It helps define critical points, roles, and refine further each mechanic.
Making a kanban is often almost more important that maintaining it (at least for short projects).
It helps define critical points, roles, and refine further each mechanic.
It is vital that everyone's vision aligns with each other, and so the arguments and conversions that happen at this point of the project is, without exaggeration, THE most important part of the project.
Discussions can be heated, but everyone needs to listen to each other and be open-minded.
Discussions can be heated, but everyone needs to listen to each other and be open-minded.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
It is vital that everyone's vision aligns with each other, and so the arguments and conversions that happen at this point of the project is, without exaggeration, THE most important part of the project.
Discussions can be heated, but everyone needs to listen to each other and be open-minded.
Discussions can be heated, but everyone needs to listen to each other and be open-minded.
Then, we made a more detailed breakdown of the actual features, the code needed to make them, and the visuals associated with them.
This is always the most crucial part of any jam or project, as everyone starts to have their own idea of what the game will look like in their head.
This is always the most crucial part of any jam or project, as everyone starts to have their own idea of what the game will look like in their head.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Then, we made a more detailed breakdown of the actual features, the code needed to make them, and the visuals associated with them.
This is always the most crucial part of any jam or project, as everyone starts to have their own idea of what the game will look like in their head.
This is always the most crucial part of any jam or project, as everyone starts to have their own idea of what the game will look like in their head.
I started writing down the concept of the game and its main mechanics, as well as the general vibe and feel of it.
Meanwhile, the artists started putting together a moodboard to start going towards a common vision of the artistic direction.
Meanwhile, the artists started putting together a moodboard to start going towards a common vision of the artistic direction.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I started writing down the concept of the game and its main mechanics, as well as the general vibe and feel of it.
Meanwhile, the artists started putting together a moodboard to start going towards a common vision of the artistic direction.
Meanwhile, the artists started putting together a moodboard to start going towards a common vision of the artistic direction.
We refined our ideas into pitches, that we then discussed for a bit to try and flesh them out.
We landed on 4 main pitches, which felt interesting enough to make into a game.
We argued for a while about each of the concepts, before finally landing on the one about a squirrel exploring a forest.
We landed on 4 main pitches, which felt interesting enough to make into a game.
We argued for a while about each of the concepts, before finally landing on the one about a squirrel exploring a forest.
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
We refined our ideas into pitches, that we then discussed for a bit to try and flesh them out.
We landed on 4 main pitches, which felt interesting enough to make into a game.
We argued for a while about each of the concepts, before finally landing on the one about a squirrel exploring a forest.
We landed on 4 main pitches, which felt interesting enough to make into a game.
We argued for a while about each of the concepts, before finally landing on the one about a squirrel exploring a forest.
Here's a breakdown of what it was like to participate in the jam!
The theme was "Lost and Found", so we started the brainstorm as usual, by making an idea cloud to get our creative juices going
#gamedev #indiedev #gamejam #indiegame #pixelart
The theme was "Lost and Found", so we started the brainstorm as usual, by making an idea cloud to get our creative juices going
#gamedev #indiedev #gamejam #indiegame #pixelart
October 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Here's a breakdown of what it was like to participate in the jam!
The theme was "Lost and Found", so we started the brainstorm as usual, by making an idea cloud to get our creative juices going
#gamedev #indiedev #gamejam #indiegame #pixelart
The theme was "Lost and Found", so we started the brainstorm as usual, by making an idea cloud to get our creative juices going
#gamedev #indiedev #gamejam #indiegame #pixelart
A lot in SotM feels lifted directly from Poppy Playtime.
Which is not inherently a bad thing, Poppy IS a great game to copy, but it just does not capture the same magic the original games had.
SotM is not a bad game, but I just don't think it's for me, especially at 40$ for 6 hours of gameplay
13/15
Which is not inherently a bad thing, Poppy IS a great game to copy, but it just does not capture the same magic the original games had.
SotM is not a bad game, but I just don't think it's for me, especially at 40$ for 6 hours of gameplay
13/15
October 2, 2025 at 10:44 AM
A lot in SotM feels lifted directly from Poppy Playtime.
Which is not inherently a bad thing, Poppy IS a great game to copy, but it just does not capture the same magic the original games had.
SotM is not a bad game, but I just don't think it's for me, especially at 40$ for 6 hours of gameplay
13/15
Which is not inherently a bad thing, Poppy IS a great game to copy, but it just does not capture the same magic the original games had.
SotM is not a bad game, but I just don't think it's for me, especially at 40$ for 6 hours of gameplay
13/15