Rivage: some very good puzzle ideas, and a technical launch that buries them

There is an idea in Rivage I have not seen anywhere else, and it deserves knowing even though the rest struggles: codes and passwords are randomised for every playthrough.

In other words, you can read every solution in the world and you will still have to solve the puzzles. For a puzzle game in 2026 that is an elegant answer to a problem nobody dared attack.

A shame the rest of the launch is what it is.

The setting

In the 25th century humanity has expanded beyond its solar system. VESTA is discovered, a planet that might become a new home, and the A.R.E.S. station is launched into orbit to study it.

Then a space phenomenon catches the station and its crew.

You play Miranda, who wakes alone on board, trapped in that phenomenon. Clues from the past echo through the place: an object out of place, a door newly unlocked, a message left behind, almost as if the station itself were challenging you.

It is a very good basis, and the station is fully interactable, with artefacts to examine, research data to analyse and hidden notes scattered across abandoned workstations. Each crew member had their own goals, fears and philosophies, and only fragments remain.

What works

The convinced players are very clear about what they like.

The puzzles hold up. Hard enough to make you search, not hard enough to make you quit. Several players praise sound puzzles and creative ideas you do not meet elsewhere.

The aesthetic succeeds. Even negative reviews acknowledge the game is beautiful and the atmosphere works.

And the time loop is appreciated. You restart, but you learn a little more each time, which gives a sense of progress even while going back.

Expect five to six hours, which is consistent with the price for this kind of game.

What is wrong, and it is specific

The game shows 35 positive reviews out of 62, placing it at a mixed reception. And the complaints are almost never about the game itself.

The image. That is grievance number one, and it recurs in nearly every negative review: a blurry or grainy render players cannot correct whatever the settings. One describes spending over an hour in menus without succeeding.

A resolution bug. Several players report the render percentage resetting on its own after being raised to 100.

Missing options. No dropdown in the settings menu, common options absent, and no AMD upscaling.

And no colour-blind mode, while the game leans heavily on colour-based minigames. That is the most serious complaint in my view, because it is not comfort but accessibility: some players simply cannot play certain sequences.

On substance, one recurring complaint too: some puzzles do not feel organic. A player sums it up by asking why somebody would circle batteries they want put away instead of simply putting the batteries away.

What I make of it

At 22.49 euros, published by Raw Fury, this game had everything needed to be a fine discovery. It has ideas, it looks good, and its randomised codes are a genuine find.

But you do not review an intention, you review what runs on the machine, and right now a share of buyers cannot get a sharp image.

So my recommendation is clear: wait for a patch. The studio visibly has work to do on its graphics options, and those are exactly the things fixed within weeks.

And if you are colour-blind, wait until a dedicated mode is announced before buying.

How long did you last in the graphics menus? We compare records on the InsertCoins Discord.