RIVETED (1997)the sequel to the iconic point-and-click puzzle adventure MYST (1993), just got the VR treatment in its new remake. Contrary to Mystery, which seemed a little too playful and sometimes obtuse, Torn plays much more like a modern title, which, thanks to Quest and SteamVR support, is now fundamentally true in every sense of the word. Granted, you’ll have to ignore some VR implementation issues that prevent it from feeling like a true VR native, although no matter how you play, you end up with a fascinating world to explore, both rich in puzzles and undeniably beautiful.
TORN Details:
Available on: Quest 2/3, SteamVR
Revised on: Quest 3, Quest 3 via Link
Release date: June 25, 2024
Price: $35
Ddeveloper: Cyan worlds
Gameplay
I know Torn about now, having traveled his way five PlayStation 1 discs several times when I was a child. This is my first time returning as an adult, so I sort of get the chance to not only relive a bit of the past, but also rediscover some long-forgotten puzzles, this time in the immersive view at the first person of a VR headset.
Although I really can’t stop the nostalgia from coloring some of my experience with the new 3D rendering Torn, I’ve spent enough time in VR to know where things fall on the continuum of VR ports. Some games feel unnecessarily forced to work with VR, others are indistinguishable from VR natives, and somewhere in the middle are excellent games that remain feel like the ports, but it doesn’t matter because they provide enough on their own. It’s there that Torn seated: an excellent game that works quite well in VR.
If you’re playing it for the first time, you’ll have a blatantly cyan experience of deciphering codes, shuffling puzzle pieces, and visiting (and possibly revisiting) enigmatic locations, doors, and settings to figure out. the world around you. That’s reason enough to play if you’ve never had the chance. that of Riven The puzzle can be difficult for the uninitiated, but ultimately more enriching that Mystery thanks to its heaps of environmental storytelling that feels less formulaic and much more organic. More information about this in the Immersion section.
If you’ve played before, many of the game’s puzzles and gadgets are slightly altered from the originals, likely due to the spatial nature of the real-time 3D graphics, as opposed to the single-frame point-and-click original, which was much more static in the way its interactive elements are presented. A 27-year-old walkthrough that works with the original can still be useful in helping you with the broad strokes, but you’ll definitely notice differences here and there, with some puzzle elements simplified or complicated in new, distinct ways. the original. .
One thing that hasn’t changed is that there is still a tonne to walk and do loops, which is just one feature of the game due to its wide and varied puzzles. You’ll spend a lot of time circling one of the game’s five islands for the umpteenth time activating an item, only to return to a puzzle on the map and see what it did. Then again, it’s just the old school charm and hands-off approach. Torn brings to the table.
Not only that, but the old-school approach to game design requires you to rely on your own spatial memory. There are no map markers, signs, or “helpful” NPCs to guide you – an aspect of the game that still makes it one of my favorite experiences.
And unlike Mystery, you can travel a pretty impressive distance through the game with only a few difficult obstacles to stop you, making progression very natural. Here again, Torn is appreciated for its more organic and less formal level design than Mystery Overall, it feels a lot less like a mess of toys than Cyan’s modern titles Obduction (2016) And Firmament (2023).
Know Riven In the past, I shouldn’t really complain about the loading times – they’re certainly faster than going through a broken case full of PS1 discs – however, on Quest you’ll be sitting there for a while waiting for the Levels load, the longest of which is the initial splash screen which the game warns “could take a few minutes” (it does). From here on, whether on Quest or SteamVR, vehicle transitions will constantly show 10-second loading screens, which doesn’t sound like much, but happens on both sides of island transfers.
Another problem: There’s no practical way to write down notes so you can memorize clues or sketch out solutions, which is precisely what you’ll need to do to decode things. You can take a screenshot with the in-game camera system, and that’s it. I just wish there was a space pencil so I could annotate the letters I found, or stop me from taking the headset off to write things.
Immersion
I had the chance to play both Quest 3 natively and the PC VR versions. Here’s the breakdown between the two, which almost anyone can guess.
On the Quest version, you’ll notice a ton of low-resolution textures and geometries that load dynamically the closer you get to them. But once things are in place, sometimes Torn may be one of the prettiest games on the Quest platform. That’s if there aren’t any NPCs around, who are bloated and a little too cartoonish for the game’s lush natural environment.
It also looks like Cyan is throwing Quest’s entire toolbox of performance tricks at you at any given time, including what looks like permanent asynchronous spatial warping and glaringly obvious fixed foveal rendering.
Since it was primarily developed for the flat-screen PC audience, the PC VR version is a bit ahead of the native Quest 3 in terms of visuals. Even with the “Epic” settings, you’ll likely notice strangely applied shaders that make shadows dance and move when they shouldn’t, as well as discrepancies in how the shaders work in the two eyes, leading to quite visible shifts in the shadows. and lighting. Always. Area loading is generally minimal and textures are quite high, rightly making this a more graphically intense version of the game.
As Mystery, Torn suffers from poor object interaction, which is a shame considering how many objects are scattered around the game. Often I found myself trying to interact with something, only to discover that I wasn’t pressing it correctly , or that it wasn’t interactive at all in the first place, making it more of a guessing game than it should be. Here I am, vainly grabbing a weird banana-kiwi thing, then trying to grab a weirdly unusable pencil from the same table. Again, I wish I could use the damn pencil.
There is, however, a physical inventory where you can keep the various books you collect throughout the game, although you can’t use it for anything else.
Whether you’re on Quest or SteamVR, something that never fails to impress is coming to the edge of a precipice or turning a corner to find a breathtaking new scene before you. Torn is all about natural beauty, punctuated by megalithic structures that don’t seem as abandoned and lonely as Mystery did.
There’s wildlife here, sprawling villages, sanctuaries, and plenty of environmental stories to delve into, putting exploration at the forefront. There are even locals in the world, although too nervous to interact with such an obvious stranger.
Comfort
Torn offers the full range of comfort options in addition to some quality of life options that make things a little easier, but probably less immersive. Travel between islands is always in some sort of vehicle, which can be a bit jarring for some as it is fast and a bit choppy.
However, you can turn off vehicle transitions completely, essentially allowing you to jump straight to the next island’s train station, or enable the option to dirty the windows, which helps ground you a bit no longer in the vehicle cockpit. The game also offers similar options for instant traversal of stairs and ladders, which would otherwise be manually climbable.
See the complete comfort checklist below:
‘RIVEN’ Comfort Settings – June 25, 2024 |
|
Turning point |
|
| Artificial filming | |
| Spin instantly | ✔ |
| Quick tour | ✖ |
| Smooth turn | ✔ |
Movement |
|
| Artificial movement | |
| Teleport move | ✔ |
| Dash move | ✖ |
| Smooth movement | ✔ |
| Blinder | ✔ |
| Head based | ✔ |
| Controller based | ✔ |
| Replaceable movement hand | ✔ |
Posture |
|
| Standing mode | ✔ |
| Sitting mode | ✔ |
| Artificial crouch | ✖ |
| Real crouch | ✔ |
Accessibility |
|
| Subtitles | |
| LANGUAGES |
English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish |
| Audio of dialogues | |
| LANGUAGES | English |
| Adjustable difficulty | ✖ |
| Two hands required | ✖ |
| True crouch required | ✖ |
| Required audience | ✖ |
| Adjustable player height | ✔ |