# Finished Riven, Starting Exile! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187 "2002-06-03T16:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/1 "2002-06-03T16:33:10Z")
Yes, yes, yes I know **Riven** is like 5 years old but I haven’t played it in a few years and finally got back into playing the game. I never played the original **Myst** so I really didn’t understand the premise of the game or what was required so I had a horrible time with **Riven**. I finally lowered myself to a few on-line guides for hints. Now that I have completed **Riven** I went out and purchased **MYST III – Exile** and have started a new adventure. This time I am taking copious notes, drawing maps, carefully reading the journals, and noting every detail. I’m still trying to work out the numbering scheme, it is still eluding me and the puzzle with rotating viewers is still frustrating me but so far I really enjoy the game. Have any Dopers completed Exile and if so how many hours (days, weeks) did it take? Any other thoughts are welcome! ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/2 "2002-06-03T16:51:12Z")
I started to play **Myst** years ago. I’d be sitting there at night playing and I’d get the feeling that someone was creeping up behind me. ☹ It completely scared me and freaked me out. (Don’t know why). I finally traded it for Spyro the Dragon (PS) which I completely adore. 🙂 Did **Riven** have that same creepy, spooky atmosphere that **Myst** had? ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/3 "2002-06-03T17:06:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Honey \* > Did **Riven** have that same creepy, spooky atmosphere that **Myst** had? Yes, my 5 year old even commented “daddy, why is that game so scarry?” ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/4 "2002-06-03T19:00:43Z")
I loved Exile (I even have the soundtrack in my truck), but I found it much easier than Riven. It took me around 25-30 hours to complete. The atmosphere is a little different from Myst. In Myst, you were wandering around with the creeping feeling that there _could_ be a psycho lurking around. In Exile, you _know_ he’s out there. He’s even left these lovely little messages… ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/5 "2002-06-03T21:02:59Z")
Wow! 25-30 hours is pretty encuraging. I’ll take that as a very optimistic estimate. I was figuring more like 75+ hours. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/6 "2002-06-03T21:44:36Z")
I think Exile is the best of the three. The puzzles are much more localized and make more sense. I envy you, Opengrave. You’re in for a real treat! I don’t remember how long it took me, but it didn’t take as long as Riven. Exile is unique in that there are several ways to “win”. One thing you’ll enjoy, when you finish, is tracking back and playing it a different way to see alternate endings. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/7 "2002-06-04T04:59:06Z")
The graphics and animations in Exile are excellent, but best of all is the actor playing Saavedro, the great (and creepy) Brad Dourif. (check him out in LOTR later this year) So much a better actor than Rand Miller, who has played Atrus in all the other games, and who we know is being dramatic and deep because his raspy whisper has even longer pauses in between sentences. _sigh_ Anyhoo, I still had to cheat in a couple of places (_ **SPOILER** _ most notably in that plant/animal level because I didn’t realise how much there was to explore _ **END SPOILER** _) ---
**Author:** ![smaft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/8 "2002-06-04T05:03:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > One thing you’ll enjoy, when you finish, is tracking back and playing it a different way to see alternate endings. I did exactly this with Myst, and really liked Riven, but rather than moving on to Exile. I’ve started on Dreamcatcher’s **Schism**. A similar concept, but from two points of view. You switch back and forth at will, but have to do so strategically, as one character finds things you need to advance the other. I say “apparently”, because I am unable to figure it out and have gotten myself stuck. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![smaft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/9 "2002-06-04T05:06:39Z")
Sorry, that was supposed to be: …I should say, “apparently”… Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/10 "2002-06-04T23:56:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > **…best of all is the actor playing Saavedro, the great (and creepy) Brad Dourif.** Oof. For me, Saavedro was the worst part of Exile. I couldn’t stand his acting, I cringed (and not in a good way) every time he gave one of his over-the-top speeches. And his overall look just screamed “I am from 20th century earth and I have dressed up in a bad halloween costume.” I thought Gehn from Riven was far, far better. Exile had a major plot hole that didn’t make sense to me. Still, it was fun. I don’t remember how long it took me to solve, and I got hung up in the plant world when there was a side-path that was damn near invisible. None of the actual puzzles was very hard, though. Two or three of them were a bit annoying in that there was no good logic to them. You just have to do things a certain way because that’s the way the game designers wrote it, but within the diagesis your character must be thinking “Well, that was a total crapshoot, wasn’t it?” But the electrosquid makes up for it all. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finished-riven-starting-exile/112187/11 "2002-06-05T22:33:23Z")
I felt a different sort of creepiness in the games. In Myst, you felt alone, but there were relics that reminded you that there had been people there at one time. In Riven, you weren’t the only person around, but it was still big enough for you to feel that way at times. Plus, Gehn was looming somewhere. I didn’t play more than a couple hours of Exile. But it had its own kind of creepiness. I felt hunted. It was creepy but cool.