Riven: The Sequel to Myst

i mean, i think this is entirely dependent on your personal preference when it comes to aesthetics. for example, personally, one of the biggest appeals of this franchise for me is the beautiful atmosphere created by the old '90s art direction, 3D rendering, FMVs etc. obviously, the remake will lose this element entirely

The original has an outstanding presentation that is unfortunately held back by its resolution, and there's no AI restoration project for it. If you have a CRT monitor lying around I'd recommend using that as it would massively boost the quality of those low Res visuals.

my suggestion is to really take your time with it and try not to use any walkthroughs or hints if you can. Riven is basically two giant puzzles with little pieces of contextual information scattered everywhere and in different forms--books, sounds, subtle visual clues. everything connects. and there is absolutely no shame in taking a break and returning to it later!! in fact I really recommend it. this is the slowest of slow burns and I mean that as the highest compliment.

for reference, I started this game when I was about 7, occasionally played it with my dad and brother, and never used any hints or guides. it took me 5 years to beat. probably won't take you nearly as long because I was a literal child, but the satisfaction of beating this after living with/in it for years of my life into it was......unparalleled. it's hard to put it into words.