This game is BRILLIANT. Unparallel atmosfere and immersion. In this sequel, Myst acheive another level of artistry and gameplay. The puzzles are great. The music and sounds are crazy!! IMHO this is the top-of-top adventure of all times. Number #1
Kinda still blows my mind having just played it now for the first time. Despite the low video quality it's still very impressive in visuals and sound design. Truly iconic
"Riven likes to reward you for solving little increments of puzzles, with basically, nothing." No truer words have ever been said about this game and what's more insane is how that actually does become a positive. Sure Riven has "puzzles" but the thing I always took away from them was that they had actual function. Myst had puzzles that were obviously... Puzzles. And while the game narratively tried it's best to write some of the most absurd ones as some form of advanced "book related security system," some were on Resident Evil levels of "THE CREST GOES INTO THE DOOR AT THE POLICE STATION!" Uh-huh. Sure. Riven and it's puzzles all felt like they had a reason to be there. You weren't exactly "solving" anything half the time, you were trying to understand the functions of a society. Most of the time the game feels like you're being asked to drive a car without any knowledge of what are cars. The number system alone, the fact you learn it in a literal abandoned school, there are aspects of this game that modern games don't understand today.
Agree 100%, thanks for the really thoughtful comment. There’s something about the vibe in Riven that elevates the experience from simply checking off the boxes to feeling like you’re at a crime scene. Like, this all happened, and I’m just here trying to make sense of it...none of this was made for me. Which of course, it was, but. Yeah, masterful in the way it all comes together. =)
@@JordanRogers85 One thing I found Myst III succumbed to, and a more recent game called Quern, and even the 1st Myst actually is the crutch of puzzles existing because some figure who came before you is trying to "teach you lessons". It works obviously, but Riven somehow COMPLETELY avoided that, yes you're still "solving puzzles", and the "puzzles" are completely at home in the world like the OP stated, they all have a reason to be there. I adore this game. It's absolutely ingenious how the lore and environment is tightly interwoven with he puzzles. I found Obduction also did an excellent job at this, which makes sense as it came from the mind of Rand Miller, and I have VERY high hopes for their next game, Firmament.
@@JordanRogers85 I don't think Myst V is worth it. I haven't tried it yet, but Myst IV seemed like the last decent game in the series. The surrealistic worlds combined with real people is what made it interesting, Myst V does away with all that and uses 3D objects and characters that look low-quality and just "plopped" into the game, it doesn't look seamless or realistic. I would just read the books, play 1-3 - it may be worth it to try the new Myst with the old FMVs, the visuals have been dramatically reworked - maybe try 4, and forget about 5 altogether - it's not worth playing a mediocre quality game and ruining the experience, simply because it's part of the series. Obduction is completely unrelated to the Myst universe, so you don't even need to get through the entire Myst series to experience it.
If you had multiple CD drives, you could put more than one Riven disc in, and the game would know that, and wouldn't ask you to swap discs. I didn't have FIVE drives, mind you, I had two, but if you were going back and forth between two places, it was so convenient.
I have two separate comments here: Firstly, this was my grandpa's favorite game and while neither of us knew any english at the time he still managed to beat it all on his own, while I would be drawing all the animals of riven any time I was visiting. Secondly, I love this concept of a video that isn't a speedrun but a "leisurely jog" that shows all the intended solutions in a fast and interesting manner, great video!
Truly a masterpiece, a world that doesn’t force itself on you but allows you to freely immerse yourself in it at your own pace. I’ve never experienced a game quite like it, though I know personally it has inspired me as a game developer and other developers to build/create other such fantastic experiences.
I never played Myst prior to Riven. I remember playing this game when I was probably seven or eight, having absolutely no idea what I was doing or suppose to do. I just enjoyed exploring and playing with all the transports and gadgets.
There's another hint for the fish. When you're in the village on the forest island, near to where you lower the submarine, there is a string of fish hanging on a post. There are only 5 animals you encounter in Riven, and 1 is the only number you haven't paired with an animal. So, by elimination you can associate #1 with the fish. Love your walkthroughs by the way. I've played this game a million times and still can't stay away. 😊
Played Riven as a Kid with my Dad. He would be up countless nights until he broke and got the strategy guide. watched the whole video and your commentary does it more than justice. Riven should have been the final ending.
When I first played this game as a kid I didn't understand the plot, the world building details or anything. I just thought it was this weird creepy world with dudes in towers that made whistle noises, a cloaked ghosts running around in the underground of tunnels in that control island, weird children lost outside the city, etc. I never realized any of that had a purpose or significance which made the game so much more surreal. Watching it 24 years later I really appreciate how much subtle detail they put in to the world building to make the world believable.
"I lost weeks of my life playing this", wanting desperately to solve it, and then... one day I solved it finally, and wished I wouldn't, so I could l loose another couple of weeks... Wait, did I just say "I lost"?! NONSENSE! I was through such a breathtaking adventure, how one can possibly say it was a "lost" time?! And, oh, BTW: it was, for me, 25 yrs ago. ;-)
@@squamish4244 Aw, c'mon! What's a year or two between friends, eh? But then... yeah, it was '97 indeed (or '96?), and that makes me wonder how would you know... Am I missing something here...?
Yeah it totally is, haha. It was a really hard game to route to be watchably short but give a good idea of how the game was meant to be discovered. I tried anyway!
Wow, I played Myst when it first came out. It was revelatory for me. Never played a shooter game after that, only puzzles. Tried to start Riven several times but couldn’t spare the time due to work and family. Now retired and was going to play it on iPad but saw your channel and decided, at 62, it was time to just watch you play through. Thoroughly enjoyable. I never even knew that 3, 4, and 5 had come out. Will watch your play throughs.
I wish I could go back in time and play this again for the first time, and then remain there forever lol. No seriously, nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially when you're remembering a time when life literally was "the best" for you.
Beating myst and riven with my girlfriend back when they came out was so fun. Still have a sketch book full of notes, maps, glyphs which without notes it seemed impossible. Love the first 3.
Ah Riven, the game I loved to play when I was wee lad.. not understanding English, not understanding the game, but what a game it was.. eventually I did beat it but it took a really long time (years). My kid is 3 now... in a few years he should be ready to dive in another world.
Great walkthrough. The balance between hint and solutions is done in a way that promotes exploration without huge delays in solutions. + for the graph paper and notation. Nice work!
Thank you for taking the time to explore the areas and things that do not lead to the unraveling of specific puzzles but rather add flavor to the overall experience.
Great playthrough. I remember I could never solve these puzzles when I was a kid. Seeing it now makes me appreciate the art of this game even more. I would have never found most of these puzzles on my own. Too cryptic. A bit sad that you skipped many of the cutscenes as I haven't seen them yet. :(
You skipped it when you went back to Temple Island, when the temple doors were slooowly opening, Gehn was looking right at you in that imager cage (pulling a Great and Powerful Oz impression) before shutting it down. Sadly, he's split from his big, comfy chair before you get there. Still, scared the crap out of me when I first played back in the late 90s.
Wow!! Surprising so much fun to watch. You never lost any enthusiasm during this whole playthrough, and this game is not easy. Thanks for taking me back in time bro!
Thank you very much Jordan, your excellent walk-throughs and insights have added a new dimension to my play-throughs of these wonderful games. Greatly appreciated! In short you ROCK :)
the countless hours i lost on these games ;D so much searching for sometimes not very obvious outcomes..... looking back it was a great experience but frustrating as well haha. seeing a walk through finally gives me closure haha
I think it is ten bucks now. best ten bucks ever spent. great game. I too had played it when it came out. and launched my 3d animation career because of MYST 1. and I remember never finishing Riven because my one of my several CD roms was corrupt and crashed in the later part of the game. I remember having to constantly switch cd roms. must have gotten scratched. so was very pleased to see it online, and now play it with my children. I needed this refresher as there were several areas near impossible to know where to click to get passed the linear end points, frustrating for many people. great game but they could have made some doors easier to find.
@@gregkrazanski The guy that played Atrus in all the games was also the lead programmer and one of the original creators of all the MYST games. Apparently, he didn't like the actress that played Catherine's voice, so he had another woman do the voice.
@@thisithis oh man, Rand is my idol, but i did not know that about Catherine. Very interesting, I wonder what the original recording sounded like haha. Great job dubbing anyway, I couldn't tell at all
Looking over the cliff after the intro, you can see the body of the fallen guard. This is my favorite game ever and it was cool to revisit it. I remember staying up long nights trying to solve these puzzles. Oh, and loading the discs between islands...didn't mind it back then. It provided time for note taking and reflecting. I remember the artwork on the disc sleeves was so cool. Such a beautiful landscape throughout and the music too. Man, the live action people would startle me at times because they weren't there in Myst. I don't think it will ever happen, but it would be cool if this game received a makeover like Myst allowing for a 360 degree playthrough. Great video!
Wow! What a nostalgia trip that was ! Thanks for sharing! Two things I remember clearly about playing this game as a teenager : 1. I was amazed by the roller coaster ride at the beginning. 2. I was quite bummed out by not being able to explore Tay….I mean that was the front cover of the game 😢
You were twelve. I was in my forties. I never got as far as you did in this game, but it was the most interesting game I ever played.I still have the packet with Myst, and five Riven disks.
Jordan, I really love these videos. I haven't played these games but they fascinate me. These videos have been really comforting as I moved to a new city and started at a new school.
Finished Riven 2024 last week, was curious about original, you taught me a lot about the story I didn't grasp!. yeah I cant imagine swapping disks to switch islands lol.. This was so great, thanks!
Very nice and thoughtful presentation of a timeless classic here. I played Riven with my brother as a kid and last year decided to give it another go. Proud to say I was able to get through it all without looking anything up (brute forced the fish, however). Still, there is so much lore to be found - when I finally beat it and looked some things up I was very impressed by all the supplemental lore. So many ways of understanding this rich world that lead to ultimately being able to solve the puzzles. I distinctly remember the moment I realized beyond doubt about the animal shapes - chills, man! I am really looking forward to the "RealRiven" Starry Expanse project - so far it looks incredible, and the team has been working with Cyan under a NDA since late 2019. I expect that by now they are not too far away from wrapping it up. Thanks again for this retrospective, hope you have been well in the intervening years.
I just played Myst remastered, and it was great to be able to watch this playthrough of Riven right after. Brings back lots of old memories of both! Thanks!
I absolutely love the "burn in" visual effect you get adding power to Ghen's linking books. It looks like the cliché "film burning up" effect, but seeing it in effective reverse looks awesome.
I appreciate the kinds words, thank you! Always question if it makes sense to have a face cam, I can see pros and cons, but if you liked it then it’s worth it to me. )
Thank you for this clear and concise walkthrough. I never got around to finishing it 20 years ago because it was my Uncle's property, and it takes a lot of time without help. And your commentary is intelligent and insightful; you picked up on many of the subtle nuances throughout the game, things most of us could probably sense but couldn't quite put into words.
Many thanks Jordan for this great playthrough. It was quite a journey back in time and I loved that you even told the background stories about many aspects of the game. EDIT: I hope you find the motivation to do Myst 3, 4 and 5 playthrough aswell
The most striking thing to me is how much agency the game expects the player to have, how much thought you would have to put into solving them the first time, sight unseen. Hiding subtle clues within the world of the game, without drawing undue attention to them expects such a level of maturity from the player and really contrasts with the simplistic way that most games hold your hand these days. Riven and Myst are great examples of an age of computer games that really produced some thoughtful, complex games which you really had to think about, and there's something melancholy that we don't see such games selling as well these days.
Fun Myst lore: att 1:42:27 the photos on the wall are indeed Gehn's parents - Aitrus and Ti'ana (Anna). They are the main characters of the 2nd Myst novel "The Book of Ti'ana". A great read that really opens up the lore of this world and cemented me as a life-long Myst fan.
Thanks for this Jordan. I am impressed at how you got the idea to take notes; I'm now convinced that this is how the creators intended the game to be played.
Yeah, they did intend you to take notes. In the edition of the game I got back in the 90s the game came with a blank Riven book to take notes in it was your 'Journal'.
I used this video to help me learn this game inside and out, and now I can finish it in under and hour. Not a speed run, exactly, more like an efficiency run with no mistakes
Late comment, but thanks for putting together this really fantastic walkthrough and commentary. Riven was a game that I struggled with 30+ years ago. The place I got stuck was in the crater island, realizing I needed to make a u-turn and then close the doors after encountering the frog trap. Seeing you play through the game end-to-end, overlaid with running commentary connecting clues and written notes with puzzle solutions was cathartic. Thanks for helping me tie up a nerdy loose end for me. Now, to watch your other retrospectives.
Definitely :) I am developing my own point and click games at the moment, you can find out more on instagram.com/DefyRealityEntertainment - the first game is called Neyyah :) I think my second favourite Myst game was Exile :)
I think one of my favourite places in Riven is definitely the jungle. Certain scenes used to freak me out as a kid too lol when i used to play it with my dad ... I'm keeping up to date with Starry Expanse too :)
This is a lifetime game... There may be diferent ends and also diferent ways to get there. The jurney is the most important and is fascinating... Thank you!
Thank you Jordan! It was a pleasure to go through Riven with you. I too played this and Myst as a kid. Amazing stuff considering how long ago this was! This became an obsession and I couldn’t wait to play the next day after I thought through all the possible scenarios. Riven was tough and glad you were there to help me through 😂. I still have the original cd’s for both games! Played this time on an iPad Pro that I bought just to play these. I know you made this some years ago, but awesome work! Never got tired of your voice! Sure hope we will see someone continue the story in like fashion.
Game felt so much different than Myst since the place is populated. I played this on PS1 on like 7 CDs or something. Now I'm playing it on my PC wireless in VR on a Quest 3. I can't believe it. I'm much less familiar with Riven than I was with Myst but it's still so crazy to be there.
i have all the games so i went back and started from the beginning and god damn i learn new things everytime with this game ,i think just playing the game ya its puzzles but knowing what everything means it blows me a way for such an early game
I remember playing this as a young kid; I never understood what to do with the domes! I hated them since I was blocked in the game because of them, and didn't really know English since it was my 2nd language... I think I'll try this again, without tips, and I'll just have to crack the codes... For anyone curious, a full game without any walkthrough or hints took 1 year or 2; the guy played only Riven and on a daily basis... It's a ruthless game! Anyway, it's extremely fun to see all those contraptions again and again!
I made it to about the 30 min mark as a kid and it took me dozens of hours. Today is my 33rd birthday and I just remembered I had never beat it. I’m watching this play-through to get some much needed closure. Thank you for this! Edit: My only criticism is that I would have liked to see all the movie animations. It detracts from the atmosphere when you skip.
They changed the code to open the brass domes. on the plateau dome for me. Cross reference the cypher table at 1:20:56 with your game's version of the five figure code in Ghen's journal. My highest number was 18, but every video I watched showed 20 and 21. You sir have my subscription for giving me the tools to figure it out.
First excellent walk through. I bought and finished all these games when they came out. My first adventure GAME WAS ADVENT An IBM mainframe Text based adventure GAME. then i played ALL THE INFOCOM text games GAMES ON A commodore 64, one OF MY favorite GAMES WAS obsidian had such cool cut scenes including a giant fire breathing spider robot at one point. I loved all these games and your awesome walk through is a great reminder. Lot of work so thank you. I also liked Time lapse and Rheah.
My sister and I absolutely love your playthrough! We beat the game, but a few of the puzzles we solved through trial and error. It was great to see what we missed! We're working our way through the Myst series and were thrilled to see that you have a video on Exile too! Also, your explanation of the D'ni number system was great!
I must say a hearty Thank You from the opposite side of the gamer spectrum. I was in my late thirties / early forties when these games came out. I remember buying Myst and playing it for maybe 10 minutes before throwing my hands in the air. I did not get it _At_ _All_ -- and something told me that I wasn't going to -- so I never seriously tried. I'm sure I tossed that copy long ago. But I'm glad to finally have an idea what the hubbub was all about.
Fantastic playthrough. I only played Myst as a kid (though I remember Riven's very distinctive cover art), and hearing the way the story has expanded and the intricate triple puzzle the game leads up to is very fascinating. Grab a beverage, sit down, relax and enjoy -- indeed!
I found Riven again in my game collection. All these quests, which i was so close to solve, i spent hours . . . i really like the lot back information around the quest you gave. . . Thanks Jordan
Brilliant, very entertaining with the way you presented it and explained all the puzzles, brings back memories when I first played this all them years ago. You should do the other games too.
I never played Myst 5, because i remember not wanting this series to end. In many ways this series inspired a lot of the photography that i currently do. Watched this since we're finally getting the remaster after all of these years. The way that you tackled the number system was interesting, i don't think i got the clue about 5 the first few times i played it. Will give it another go at some point, appreciate the way you explained a few things about the lore.
I love how you took the notes on camera for this playthrough. You draw the straightest lines ever lol It was really nice that you explained a lot of the clues and everything to help make them understandable. I really enjoyed this one :)
Jordan - "The fan's turned off. Can we fit in there?" Me - "Haha No" Jordan - "Of course we can...doesn't make a lot of sense..." Me - "Yeah...would've NEVER figured that out..." lol
Cant believe how far I had gotten as a 10-11yo child. I would spend entire afternoons after school just clicking around trying to find new paths I might have missed. The giant tree was on the box art, so I knew there was another area somewhere, but I never figured it out and we didn't have access to the internet back then. This game used to drive me crazy. I'm impressed with my younger self for figuring out the color marble puzzle. I failed on the domes and animal puzzle though. Never made the connection that he found that ball in the water and it was suppose to represent a fish, and I don't remember extrapolating the numbers to 25. The tree on the CD case threw me off. I was convinced there was a part of one of the islands I had missed and I just needed to find that tree to get the rest of my answers.
Absolutely fascinating video, and a great watch. Myst and Riven were a bit before my time (I vaguely recall poking around on the island as a small child before getting bored), so it's pleasant to see how they were actually meant to be played. I was recommended this video by the Journal Updated podcast, so shout out to them. I doubt I would have seen it otherwise.
Thanks for that Jordan! Thanks also for talking in a normal voice not *super* excited etc like so many people do (drives him *crazzeeee!*) I spent ages trying to do Riven way back when and recently decided to have another look now that it's available on Steam. I would NEVER have worked out the game- just not bright enough or maybe just not motivated enough BUT I LOVE the worlds and atmosphere. So thank you for the walkthrough, really enjoyed it. haven't realMyst atmosphere of the place. I Amy or may not watch the walkthrough, probably wait a bit thanks again
Nice walkthrough with the use of chapters. I just finished Riven and am now just trying different endings. (I actually played Riven years ago but never really finished as I saw new stuff second go 'round). I hope you do the other Myst game walkthroughs as well as that's my next move. I picked up a Myst bundle package through Steam sorta recently so am working my way through them.
As a recent discoverer of the Myst franchise, this was an extremely beneficial watch. I had previously gone through Riven following a no commentary video longplay and didn't really understand what was happening. Your playthrough very clearly explains the logic behind the puzzles and has made me want to return to it for another playthrough. I see you've finally tackled Myst 4 as well which is great to see! I hope you also get to explore Uru and Myst 5 at some point because they're both great little expansions of the lore. Very much looking forward to watching the rest of your Myst franchise playthroughs too!
You comment about the length of the video, but I want your to know I deeply appreciate long form content. A four hour video is great for just lying back and relaxing, or listening while I'm at work. This make the latter half of my shift way more fun.
I remember playing this at my friend's house, three of us gathered around the computer taking turns being the one in charge of the mouse. We had to use a walkthrough that we printed off and at one point we missed a step and got incredibly lost. We backtracked and realized we'd missed a line that said "down the stairs and to the right". For ages that was a hilarious inside joke for us, any time we asked a question one of us would answer, "oh, down the stairs and to the right." One of those memories that stuck with me.
THANK YOU for this playthrough Jordan. I got Myst and Riven around -00 for my birthday when I was like 11 years old. The bundle included a cool Personal Journal for me to write down the clues and stuff. I didn't understand a thing. I just loved the scenery in combination with the sounds. I only wrote down two marble-stones in the journal. I've given the games a couple of tries over the years but never with greater success. Funny though, I still have the personal Journal and later it became my Dream Journal where I wrote down my weird dreams. Anyways, now, about 20 years later, I played through both games and even though I'm kind of disappointed in myself for not playing the games without any help, I'm very glad and relieved that I've completed them. They are truly something else. I told my mom, who got me the games for my birthday, and she remembered the games very well. Great video Jordan! Thanks again.
This is possibly the best Let's Play I have seen on CZcams, and I have seen quite a lot of masterclass ones such as MatthewMatosis'. You have an exceptional eye for environmental storytelling and conveying intricate details in an entertaining and concise way. I bought Riven over a decade ago and just finished it recently and this enriched the experience afterwards quite a bit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I also got this game on Christmas of 1997 as a 9 year old. It took us a while but my dad and I beat it together. I think we may have cheated to solve the fire marble puzzle and/or the dome combination - I don't remember completely. This remains arguably my favorite adventure game of all time. Everything is just right - the atmosphere, the music, the puzzle difficulty, etc...You can tell the developers really put a lot of thought into creating this world for you to explore. IMHO, the other sequels don't hold up to the level of art encapsulated by the first two games in this series.
I never played Myst but got this game as a hand-me-down from a friend who hated it. I got VERY immersed into the game but I have to admit. The 25x25 puzzle with the colored marbles threw me for a loop. I honestly never even noticed the darker lines that outlined the shapes. I searched and searched for a solution for the longest time but nothing made sense because I didn't revisit that platform and see the outlines. I eventually gave up and looked up the solution but never finished the game because I felt so damn cheap in having cheated. Thanks for a comprehensive walkthrough, so that I finally see what I missed.
I've played Riven many times. And I never clued in that one of the cave entrances looked like the frog. I just figured out the frog by accident I think back in the day.
The fish, man. I was playing this game while working night shifts and I remember jumping out of my chair in the office after seeing the fish silhouette in the water after like 10 hours of running around. Nothing tops this game for sure.
That's one I definitely had help with haha I remember hanging out with the friend who had introduced the game and they told us the solution was 'fish beetle frog sunner whark' so I repeated it to myself the whole ride home and to this day remember the sequence :D
Thanks for the vid, one of the greatest adventure/puzzle games ever made. My favourite puzzle (or information delivery device) of all time is the little hangman game in the classroom. It has it all: perfect integration with the lore and environment, it's also Gehn's propaganda and a hint to the gallows device... it just makes sense :) I will never forgive myself for looking up one spoiler (the small wooden spheres), it was so obvious in hindsight!
This game is BRILLIANT. Unparallel atmosfere and immersion. In this sequel, Myst acheive another level of artistry and gameplay. The puzzles are great. The music and sounds are crazy!! IMHO this is the top-of-top adventure of all times. Number #1
The roller coaster also blew my mind has a kid! I remember riding it for like an hour 😂
Kinda still blows my mind having just played it now for the first time. Despite the low video quality it's still very impressive in visuals and sound design. Truly iconic
"Riven likes to reward you for solving little increments of puzzles, with basically, nothing."
No truer words have ever been said about this game and what's more insane is how that actually does become a positive. Sure Riven has "puzzles" but the thing I always took away from them was that they had actual function. Myst had puzzles that were obviously... Puzzles. And while the game narratively tried it's best to write some of the most absurd ones as some form of advanced "book related security system," some were on Resident Evil levels of "THE CREST GOES INTO THE DOOR AT THE POLICE STATION!"
Uh-huh. Sure.
Riven and it's puzzles all felt like they had a reason to be there. You weren't exactly "solving" anything half the time, you were trying to understand the functions of a society. Most of the time the game feels like you're being asked to drive a car without any knowledge of what are cars. The number system alone, the fact you learn it in a literal abandoned school, there are aspects of this game that modern games don't understand today.
Agree 100%, thanks for the really thoughtful comment. There’s something about the vibe in Riven that elevates the experience from simply checking off the boxes to feeling like you’re at a crime scene. Like, this all happened, and I’m just here trying to make sense of it...none of this was made for me. Which of course, it was, but. Yeah, masterful in the way it all comes together. =)
@@JordanRogers85 One thing I found Myst III succumbed to, and a more recent game called Quern, and even the 1st Myst actually is the crutch of puzzles existing because some figure who came before you is trying to "teach you lessons". It works obviously, but Riven somehow COMPLETELY avoided that, yes you're still "solving puzzles", and the "puzzles" are completely at home in the world like the OP stated, they all have a reason to be there. I adore this game. It's absolutely ingenious how the lore and environment is tightly interwoven with he puzzles. I found Obduction also did an excellent job at this, which makes sense as it came from the mind of Rand Miller, and I have VERY high hopes for their next game, Firmament.
@@gregkrazanski I def want to get through Myst 5 so I can pick up Obduction!
@@JordanRogers85 I don't think Myst V is worth it. I haven't tried it yet, but Myst IV seemed like the last decent game in the series. The surrealistic worlds combined with real people is what made it interesting, Myst V does away with all that and uses 3D objects and characters that look low-quality and just "plopped" into the game, it doesn't look seamless or realistic. I would just read the books, play 1-3 - it may be worth it to try the new Myst with the old FMVs, the visuals have been dramatically reworked - maybe try 4, and forget about 5 altogether - it's not worth playing a mediocre quality game and ruining the experience, simply because it's part of the series.
Obduction is completely unrelated to the Myst universe, so you don't even need to get through the entire Myst series to experience it.
I think the only comparable game today in 2022 is still Outer Wilds. That game is on Myst and Riven levels of amazing.
If you had multiple CD drives, you could put more than one Riven disc in, and the game would know that, and wouldn't ask you to swap discs.
I didn't have FIVE drives, mind you, I had two, but if you were going back and forth between two places, it was so convenient.
I have two separate comments here:
Firstly, this was my grandpa's favorite game and while neither of us knew any english at the time he still managed to beat it all on his own, while I would be drawing all the animals of riven any time I was visiting.
Secondly, I love this concept of a video that isn't a speedrun but a "leisurely jog" that shows all the intended solutions in a fast and interesting manner, great video!
I love the notebook cam. Very good playthrough of a classic!
Truly a masterpiece, a world that doesn’t force itself on you but allows you to freely immerse yourself in it at your own pace. I’ve never experienced a game quite like it, though I know personally it has inspired me as a game developer and other developers to build/create other such fantastic experiences.
I never played Myst prior to Riven. I remember playing this game when I was probably seven or eight, having absolutely no idea what I was doing or suppose to do. I just enjoyed exploring and playing with all the transports and gadgets.
There's another hint for the fish. When you're in the village on the forest island, near to where you lower the submarine, there is a string of fish hanging on a post. There are only 5 animals you encounter in Riven, and 1 is the only number you haven't paired with an animal. So, by elimination you can associate #1 with the fish.
Love your walkthroughs by the way. I've played this game a million times and still can't stay away. 😊
Played Riven as a Kid with my Dad. He would be up countless nights until he broke and got the strategy guide. watched the whole video and your commentary does it more than justice. Riven should have been the final ending.
Have had this game since I was 7 years old. You opening the totem just blew my fracking mind.
So that's s 21:27 right?
I could really live here and be happy as long as I have all the modern creature comforts in my lockable hut.
When I first played this game as a kid I didn't understand the plot, the world building details or anything. I just thought it was this weird creepy world with dudes in towers that made whistle noises, a cloaked ghosts running around in the underground of tunnels in that control island, weird children lost outside the city, etc. I never realized any of that had a purpose or significance which made the game so much more surreal. Watching it 24 years later I really appreciate how much subtle detail they put in to the world building to make the world believable.
I lost weeks of my life playing this, 20 years ago! Brilliant and beautiful game.
"I lost weeks of my life playing this", wanting desperately to solve it, and then... one day I solved it finally, and wished I wouldn't, so I could l loose another couple of weeks...
Wait, did I just say "I lost"?! NONSENSE! I was through such a breathtaking adventure, how one can possibly say it was a "lost" time?! And, oh, BTW: it was, for me, 25 yrs ago.
;-)
@@MrKotBonifacy 1997 and no mistake.
@@squamish4244 Aw, c'mon! What's a year or two between friends, eh?
But then... yeah, it was '97 indeed (or '96?), and that makes me wonder how would you know... Am I missing something here...?
Beating Riven in less than 2 hours is sacrilegious.
Yeah it totally is, haha. It was a really hard game to route to be watchably short but give a good idea of how the game was meant to be discovered. I tried anyway!
24 years later I’m still working on mine
@@pimpinken8901 I gave up and will soon move on to the amazing Myst 3 and 4
Awesome playthrough, man! Very relaxing and nice to have on in the background!
Thank you!
a trick: watch series on kaldroStream. Been using them for watching a lot of movies recently.
@Princeton Lucian Yup, have been using KaldroStream for since november myself =)
Wow, I played Myst when it first came out. It was revelatory for me. Never played a shooter game after that, only puzzles.
Tried to start Riven several times but couldn’t spare the time due to work and family.
Now retired and was going to play it on iPad but saw your channel and decided, at 62, it was time to just watch you play through.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
I never even knew that 3, 4, and 5 had come out.
Will watch your play throughs.
The iPad versions of Myst and Riven are pretty good honestly! But thank you, glad it was enjoyable :)
I wish I could go back in time and play this again for the first time, and then remain there forever lol.
No seriously, nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially when you're remembering a time when life literally was "the best" for you.
I so agree.
Beating myst and riven with my girlfriend back when they came out was so fun. Still have a sketch book full of notes, maps, glyphs which without notes it seemed impossible. Love the first 3.
Ah Riven, the game I loved to play when I was wee lad.. not understanding English, not understanding the game, but what a game it was.. eventually I did beat it but it took a really long time (years). My kid is 3 now... in a few years he should be ready to dive in another world.
Great walkthrough. The balance between hint and solutions is done in a way that promotes exploration without huge delays in solutions. + for the graph paper and notation. Nice work!
Thank you for taking the time to explore the areas and things that do not lead to the unraveling of specific puzzles but rather add flavor to the overall experience.
Great playthrough. I remember I could never solve these puzzles when I was a kid.
Seeing it now makes me appreciate the art of this game even more. I would have never found most of these puzzles on my own. Too cryptic.
A bit sad that you skipped many of the cutscenes as I haven't seen them yet. :(
This brings back some very fond memories of playing Myst, Riven and the rest of the series. Thanks for this.
You skipped it when you went back to Temple Island, when the temple doors were slooowly opening, Gehn was looking right at you in that imager cage (pulling a Great and Powerful Oz impression) before shutting it down. Sadly, he's split from his big, comfy chair before you get there. Still, scared the crap out of me when I first played back in the late 90s.
i never really understood where he went when this happened. the fire marble domes are not powered so how does he get back to his office age?
Wow!! Surprising so much fun to watch. You never lost any enthusiasm during this whole playthrough, and this game is not easy. Thanks for taking me back in time bro!
Thank you very much Jordan, your excellent walk-throughs and insights have added a new dimension to my play-throughs of these wonderful games. Greatly appreciated! In short you ROCK :)
the countless hours i lost on these games ;D so much searching for sometimes not very obvious outcomes..... looking back it was a great experience but frustrating as well haha. seeing a walk through finally gives me closure haha
This game was even harder than myst but I loved getting lost in it for hours. I LOVED the roller coaster.
Man I remember playing through Myst Riven and Exile with my dad when I was little. We'd take notes and stuff as we went and it was so fun.
I think it is ten bucks now. best ten bucks ever spent.
great game.
I too had played it when it came out. and launched my 3d animation career because of MYST 1. and I remember never finishing Riven because my one of my several CD roms was corrupt and crashed in the later part of the game. I remember having to constantly switch cd roms. must have gotten scratched. so was very pleased to see it online, and now play it with my children.
I needed this refresher as there were several areas near impossible to know where to click to get passed the linear end points, frustrating for many people. great game but they could have made some doors easier to find.
The woman who played Catherine sadly passed away for unknown reasons. As for the woman that voiced her, she is still alive.
So is that why theres a different looking Catherine in Myst 3?
@@jonnyfavors7585 Maybe?
wait the actor and the voice are different people in these videos?
@@gregkrazanski The guy that played Atrus in all the games was also the lead programmer and one of the original creators of all the MYST games. Apparently, he didn't like the actress that played Catherine's voice, so he had another woman do the voice.
@@thisithis oh man, Rand is my idol, but i did not know that about Catherine. Very interesting, I wonder what the original recording sounded like haha. Great job dubbing anyway, I couldn't tell at all
I NEVER knew about getting the colors from the viewing room where you can see the whark.
Looking over the cliff after the intro, you can see the body of the fallen guard. This is my favorite game ever and it was cool to revisit it. I remember staying up long nights trying to solve these puzzles. Oh, and loading the discs between islands...didn't mind it back then. It provided time for note taking and reflecting. I remember the artwork on the disc sleeves was so cool. Such a beautiful landscape throughout and the music too. Man, the live action people would startle me at times because they weren't there in Myst. I don't think it will ever happen, but it would be cool if this game received a makeover like Myst allowing for a 360 degree playthrough. Great video!
There is a small team working on a 3D conversion of Riven with the blessing of Cyan. No news in awhile but keeping fingers crossed!
Wow! What a nostalgia trip that was ! Thanks for sharing!
Two things I remember clearly about playing this game as a teenager :
1. I was amazed by the roller coaster ride at the beginning.
2. I was quite bummed out by not being able to explore Tay….I mean that was the front cover of the game 😢
I am very much hoping that Tay is more explorable in the remake, for sure =)
You were twelve. I was in my forties. I never got as far as you did in this game, but it was the most interesting game I ever played.I still have the packet with Myst, and five Riven disks.
Wouldn't it be funny if they could fit the game on 4 discs but they did 5 just to fit the theme
Jordan, I really love these videos. I haven't played these games but they fascinate me. These videos have been really comforting as I moved to a new city and started at a new school.
Finished Riven 2024 last week, was curious about original, you taught me a lot about the story I didn't grasp!. yeah I cant imagine swapping disks to switch islands lol.. This was so great, thanks!
Very nice and thoughtful presentation of a timeless classic here. I played Riven with my brother as a kid and last year decided to give it another go. Proud to say I was able to get through it all without looking anything up (brute forced the fish, however). Still, there is so much lore to be found - when I finally beat it and looked some things up I was very impressed by all the supplemental lore. So many ways of understanding this rich world that lead to ultimately being able to solve the puzzles. I distinctly remember the moment I realized beyond doubt about the animal shapes - chills, man!
I am really looking forward to the "RealRiven" Starry Expanse project - so far it looks incredible, and the team has been working with Cyan under a NDA since late 2019. I expect that by now they are not too far away from wrapping it up. Thanks again for this retrospective, hope you have been well in the intervening years.
This was absolutely my favorite Myst game. Thank you for the revisit and for all your behind-the-scenes info about its production!
I just played Myst remastered, and it was great to be able to watch this playthrough of Riven right after. Brings back lots of old memories of both! Thanks!
I absolutely love the "burn in" visual effect you get adding power to Ghen's linking books. It looks like the cliché "film burning up" effect, but seeing it in effective reverse looks awesome.
Thank you for the playthrough, nice job with video! I remember the game as a child. I was always a fan of myst.
absolutely love the notepad cam. Genius
You’re really entertaining to watch. You have a great camera presence.
I appreciate the kinds words, thank you! Always question if it makes sense to have a face cam, I can see pros and cons, but if you liked it then it’s worth it to me. )
@@JordanRogers85 Yeah! Go for it! 💯
Those are the neatest notes I've ever seen.
Thank you for this clear and concise walkthrough. I never got around to finishing it 20 years ago because it was my Uncle's property, and it takes a lot of time without help. And your commentary is intelligent and insightful; you picked up on many of the subtle nuances throughout the game, things most of us could probably sense but couldn't quite put into words.
Riven will be taught in high schools 500 years from now. Nice playthru btw
Many thanks Jordan for this great playthrough. It was quite a journey back in time and I loved that you even told the background stories about many aspects of the game.
EDIT: I hope you find the motivation to do Myst 3, 4 and 5 playthrough aswell
The most striking thing to me is how much agency the game expects the player to have, how much thought you would have to put into solving them the first time, sight unseen. Hiding subtle clues within the world of the game, without drawing undue attention to them expects such a level of maturity from the player and really contrasts with the simplistic way that most games hold your hand these days. Riven and Myst are great examples of an age of computer games that really produced some thoughtful, complex games which you really had to think about, and there's something melancholy that we don't see such games selling as well these days.
Played this as a kid, without understanding a thing! But I loved clicking through the world, it gave me a very creepy vibe. I have to play it again!
Fun Myst lore: att 1:42:27 the photos on the wall are indeed Gehn's parents - Aitrus and Ti'ana (Anna). They are the main characters of the 2nd Myst novel "The Book of Ti'ana". A great read that really opens up the lore of this world and cemented me as a life-long Myst fan.
Yes! The 2nd book gets a little dry at times but I'm so glad it exists, I read it eagerly as a kid.
Thanks for this Jordan.
I am impressed at how you got the idea to take notes; I'm now convinced that this is how the creators intended the game to be played.
Yeah, they did intend you to take notes. In the edition of the game I got back in the 90s the game came with a blank Riven book to take notes in it was your 'Journal'.
Yeah the guide I believe had a note section as well
Thank you so much for this playthrough, I really enjoyed watching your approach.
Excellent playthrough mate. Watched this while sick in bed. As you felt about Riven, i felt about Myst as i'm a couple of years older. Thanks.
I used this video to help me learn this game inside and out, and now I can finish it in under and hour. Not a speed run, exactly, more like an efficiency run with no mistakes
Late comment, but thanks for putting together this really fantastic walkthrough and commentary. Riven was a game that I struggled with 30+ years ago. The place I got stuck was in the crater island, realizing I needed to make a u-turn and then close the doors after encountering the frog trap. Seeing you play through the game end-to-end, overlaid with running commentary connecting clues and written notes with puzzle solutions was cathartic. Thanks for helping me tie up a nerdy loose end for me. Now, to watch your other retrospectives.
Whenever Atrus said "Thank God you've returned", I liked to pretend the character had walked back across from the other side of the room.
Great video! Definitely my favourite Myst game. Just finished it for the third time :)
Thanks man! I really hope we get to see a modernized version that more people can enjoy one day!
Definitely :) I am developing my own point and click games at the moment, you can find out more on instagram.com/DefyRealityEntertainment - the first game is called Neyyah :) I think my second favourite Myst game was Exile :)
I think one of my favourite places in Riven is definitely the jungle. Certain scenes used to freak me out as a kid too lol when i used to play it with my dad ... I'm keeping up to date with Starry Expanse too :)
This is a lifetime game... There may be diferent ends and also diferent ways to get there. The jurney is the most important and is fascinating... Thank you!
Kinda unhappy to not see a walkthrough/retrospective of Myst 3 exile, 4 revalations, or 5 end of ages by you. I enjoyed this one very much.
You and I are the same age and every single part of this playthrough I remembered just how cool this game was to play that Christmas week.
Thank you for including the notebook cam!
Thank you Jordan! It was a pleasure to go through Riven with you. I too played this and Myst as a kid. Amazing stuff considering how long ago this was! This became an obsession and I couldn’t wait to play the next day after I thought through all the possible scenarios. Riven was tough and glad you were there to help me through 😂. I still have the original cd’s for both games! Played this time on an iPad Pro that I bought just to play these. I know you made this some years ago, but awesome work! Never got tired of your voice! Sure hope we will see someone continue the story in like fashion.
Game felt so much different than Myst since the place is populated. I played this on PS1 on like 7 CDs or something. Now I'm playing it on my PC wireless in VR on a Quest 3. I can't believe it. I'm much less familiar with Riven than I was with Myst but it's still so crazy to be there.
This is an excellent walk through and commentary. Myst and Riven were so freaking cool
i have all the games so i went back and started from the beginning and god damn i learn new things everytime with this game ,i think just playing the game ya its puzzles but knowing what everything means it blows me a way for such an early game
I remember playing this as a young kid; I never understood what to do with the domes! I hated them since I was blocked in the game because of them, and didn't really know English since it was my 2nd language... I think I'll try this again, without tips, and I'll just have to crack the codes...
For anyone curious, a full game without any walkthrough or hints took 1 year or 2; the guy played only Riven and on a daily basis... It's a ruthless game!
Anyway, it's extremely fun to see all those contraptions again and again!
I made it to about the 30 min mark as a kid and it took me dozens of hours. Today is my 33rd birthday and I just remembered I had never beat it. I’m watching this play-through to get some much needed closure. Thank you for this!
Edit: My only criticism is that I would have liked to see all the movie animations. It detracts from the atmosphere when you skip.
I loved playing Myst and Riven back then. Finished them both without help but it costs me many weeks.
I've watched this video about 4 times now. Best Riven video on CZcams.
You are really kind, thank you =)
They changed the code to open the brass domes. on the plateau dome for me. Cross reference the cypher table at 1:20:56 with your game's version of the five figure code in Ghen's journal. My highest number was 18, but every video I watched showed 20 and 21. You sir have my subscription for giving me the tools to figure it out.
First excellent walk through. I bought and finished all these games when they came out. My first adventure GAME WAS ADVENT An IBM mainframe Text based adventure GAME. then i played ALL THE INFOCOM text games GAMES ON A commodore 64, one OF MY favorite GAMES WAS obsidian had such cool cut scenes including a giant fire breathing spider robot at one point. I loved all these games and your awesome walk through is a great reminder. Lot of work so thank you. I also liked Time lapse and Rheah.
I really wish I had the patience, and intelligence, to have gone through myst and riven in earnest. They are works of art.
My sister and I absolutely love your playthrough! We beat the game, but a few of the puzzles we solved through trial and error. It was great to see what we missed! We're working our way through the Myst series and were thrilled to see that you have a video on Exile too! Also, your explanation of the D'ni number system was great!
Thanks! I really enjoyed setting the camera up on a tripod to look down at the pad, had a ton of fun with that bit.
I must say a hearty Thank You from the opposite side of the gamer spectrum. I was in my late thirties / early forties when these games came out. I remember buying Myst and playing it for maybe 10 minutes before throwing my hands in the air. I did not get it _At_ _All_ -- and something told me that I wasn't going to -- so I never seriously tried. I'm sure I tossed that copy long ago.
But I'm glad to finally have an idea what the hubbub was all about.
Fantastic playthrough. I only played Myst as a kid (though I remember Riven's very distinctive cover art), and hearing the way the story has expanded and the intricate triple puzzle the game leads up to is very fascinating. Grab a beverage, sit down, relax and enjoy -- indeed!
I found Riven again in my game collection. All these quests, which i was so close to solve, i spent hours . . . i really like the lot back information around the quest you gave. . . Thanks Jordan
Brilliant, very entertaining with the way you presented it and explained all the puzzles, brings back memories when I first played this all them years ago. You should do the other games too.
I never played Myst 5, because i remember not wanting this series to end.
In many ways this series inspired a lot of the photography that i currently do.
Watched this since we're finally getting the remaster after all of these years.
The way that you tackled the number system was interesting, i don't think i got the clue about 5 the first few times i played it.
Will give it another go at some point, appreciate the way you explained a few things about the lore.
TY for this walkthrough, I couldn’t beat it at 14, decided to try it again at 40, still couldn’t beat it!
I love how you took the notes on camera for this playthrough. You draw the straightest lines ever lol It was really nice that you explained a lot of the clues and everything to help make them understandable. I really enjoyed this one :)
Jordan - "The fan's turned off. Can we fit in there?"
Me - "Haha No"
Jordan - "Of course we can...doesn't make a lot of sense..."
Me - "Yeah...would've NEVER figured that out..." lol
Thank you! I thought Riven specifically lends itself well to taking lots of notes. To be fair, it was graph paper ;)
Cant believe how far I had gotten as a 10-11yo child. I would spend entire afternoons after school just clicking around trying to find new paths I might have missed. The giant tree was on the box art, so I knew there was another area somewhere, but I never figured it out and we didn't have access to the internet back then. This game used to drive me crazy. I'm impressed with my younger self for figuring out the color marble puzzle. I failed on the domes and animal puzzle though. Never made the connection that he found that ball in the water and it was suppose to represent a fish, and I don't remember extrapolating the numbers to 25. The tree on the CD case threw me off. I was convinced there was a part of one of the islands I had missed and I just needed to find that tree to get the rest of my answers.
Absolutely fascinating video, and a great watch. Myst and Riven were a bit before my time (I vaguely recall poking around on the island as a small child before getting bored), so it's pleasant to see how they were actually meant to be played.
I was recommended this video by the Journal Updated podcast, so shout out to them. I doubt I would have seen it otherwise.
Thanks for that Jordan! Thanks also for talking in a normal voice not *super* excited etc like so many people do (drives him *crazzeeee!*)
I spent ages trying to do Riven way back when and recently decided to have another look now that it's available on Steam. I would NEVER have worked out the game- just not bright enough or maybe just not motivated enough BUT I LOVE the worlds and atmosphere. So thank you for the walkthrough, really enjoyed it.
haven't
realMyst atmosphere of the place. I Amy or may not watch the walkthrough, probably wait a bit
thanks again
Nice walkthrough with the use of chapters. I just finished Riven and am now just trying different endings. (I actually played Riven years ago but never really finished as I saw new stuff second go 'round). I hope you do the other Myst game walkthroughs as well as that's my next move. I picked up a Myst bundle package through Steam sorta recently so am working my way through them.
As a recent discoverer of the Myst franchise, this was an extremely beneficial watch. I had previously gone through Riven following a no commentary video longplay and didn't really understand what was happening. Your playthrough very clearly explains the logic behind the puzzles and has made me want to return to it for another playthrough. I see you've finally tackled Myst 4 as well which is great to see! I hope you also get to explore Uru and Myst 5 at some point because they're both great little expansions of the lore. Very much looking forward to watching the rest of your Myst franchise playthroughs too!
This is one of my favorite videos on CZcams.
You comment about the length of the video, but I want your to know I deeply appreciate long form content. A four hour video is great for just lying back and relaxing, or listening while I'm at work. This make the latter half of my shift way more fun.
I remember playing this at my friend's house, three of us gathered around the computer taking turns being the one in charge of the mouse. We had to use a walkthrough that we printed off and at one point we missed a step and got incredibly lost. We backtracked and realized we'd missed a line that said "down the stairs and to the right". For ages that was a hilarious inside joke for us, any time we asked a question one of us would answer, "oh, down the stairs and to the right." One of those memories that stuck with me.
THANK YOU for this playthrough Jordan. I got Myst and Riven around -00 for my birthday when I was like 11 years old. The bundle included a cool Personal Journal for me to write down the clues and stuff. I didn't understand a thing. I just loved the scenery in combination with the sounds. I only wrote down two marble-stones in the journal. I've given the games a couple of tries over the years but never with greater success. Funny though, I still have the personal Journal and later it became my Dream Journal where I wrote down my weird dreams.
Anyways, now, about 20 years later, I played through both games and even though I'm kind of disappointed in myself for not playing the games without any help, I'm very glad and relieved that I've completed them. They are truly something else. I told my mom, who got me the games for my birthday, and she remembered the games very well.
Great video Jordan! Thanks again.
Thank you so much for the comment! I think it’s pretty rare that anyone didn’t get SOME help, SOMEhow, so I wouldn’t feel too bad about it ;)
That was very well done. Thank you. I played Myst when it first came out. loved it. started Riven but never finished it
This is possibly the best Let's Play I have seen on CZcams, and I have seen quite a lot of masterclass ones such as MatthewMatosis'. You have an exceptional eye for environmental storytelling and conveying intricate details in an entertaining and concise way. I bought Riven over a decade ago and just finished it recently and this enriched the experience afterwards quite a bit.
That is very kind of you to say, thank you!
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I also got this game on Christmas of 1997 as a 9 year old. It took us a while but my dad and I beat it together. I think we may have cheated to solve the fire marble puzzle and/or the dome combination - I don't remember completely. This remains arguably my favorite adventure game of all time. Everything is just right - the atmosphere, the music, the puzzle difficulty, etc...You can tell the developers really put a lot of thought into creating this world for you to explore. IMHO, the other sequels don't hold up to the level of art encapsulated by the first two games in this series.
Love your dedication. Top 80 global MMORPG record holder here
I never played Myst but got this game as a hand-me-down from a friend who hated it. I got VERY immersed into the game but I have to admit. The 25x25 puzzle with the colored marbles threw me for a loop. I honestly never even noticed the darker lines that outlined the shapes. I searched and searched for a solution for the longest time but nothing made sense because I didn't revisit that platform and see the outlines. I eventually gave up and looked up the solution but never finished the game because I felt so damn cheap in having cheated. Thanks for a comprehensive walkthrough, so that I finally see what I missed.
Thank you for this! I got stumped while playing and eventually gave up in frustration. Nice to see what I missed.
I've played Riven many times. And I never clued in that one of the cave entrances looked like the frog. I just figured out the frog by accident I think back in the day.
The fish, man. I was playing this game while working night shifts and I remember jumping out of my chair in the office after seeing the fish silhouette in the water after like 10 hours of running around. Nothing tops this game for sure.
Pulsar dbc I can’t imagine how cool it must have felt to figure that out on your own. Awesome!
That's one I definitely had help with haha I remember hanging out with the friend who had introduced the game and they told us the solution was 'fish beetle frog sunner whark' so I repeated it to myself the whole ride home and to this day remember the sequence :D
Thanks for the vid, one of the greatest adventure/puzzle games ever made.
My favourite puzzle (or information delivery device) of all time is the little hangman game in the classroom. It has it all: perfect integration with the lore and environment, it's also Gehn's propaganda and a hint to the gallows device... it just makes sense :)
I will never forgive myself for looking up one spoiler (the small wooden spheres), it was so obvious in hindsight!