Aura

Same for me with the original Myst. I spent hours wandering around without accomplishing anything

The remake does a bit to ease the player into the game and reworks some puzzles too

i had a most excellent time with the remake, blasted through it in two sittings. i highly recommend it

...it was not unlike my childhood experiences with the original game at launch

I'm tempted. I made some progress I think, but then it got interrupted for some reason and I never restarted.

As a kid I don't think I even understood what I was supposed to be doing in Myst or Riven, I just wandered around confused, but last year (or earlier this year? idk) I revisited them (through the Myst remake and the original version of Riven) and ended up devouring both of them. Highly recommended.

I will say Riven feels more intimidating because you get so much more to explore at once and the puzzles are much more interdependent with the world, but that makes them much more interesting and satisfying imo.

I also enjoyed their first modern follow-up, Obduction, UP UNTIL one of the last puzzles of the game, which they intentionally broke post-launch (so most guides don't even acknowledge it's broken) but that's a long, angry rant for another day.

Riven is definitely worth revisiting; it's the kind of obtuse that you, now, would probably really enjoy. New Super 3D Riven is less obtuse, but no less absurd. You'll see what I mean.

(I'm personally disappointed by the changes made to some of the puzzles, but A) that's a feeling born of raw nostalgia, which shouldn't be an issue for you, B) I understand why the changes were made, design-wise, and C) several of the changes enhance and flesh out the setting in satisfying ways, which makes me more inclined to recommend Riven 2024 anyway.)

Do it! I recently did just the same myself. Trust me when I say that the time makes it easier.