Myst

"Have you ever wished you could teleport yourself into one of your books?"

I realized the moment I fell into the Fissure that the Book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse of which I caught only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must admit that such conjecture is futile. Still, questions about who's hands may one day hold my Myst Book are unsettling to me. I realize my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been Written.

Accompanied by a cinematic of a man falling through a rift in the sky, this thought-provoking prologue leads you into one of the most emersive and challenging games ever made. The game begins simply with a book landing at your feet. This book is entitled "Myst" and is the very book spoken of by the narrator in the prologue.

As you open the book and flip through it, you notice what seems to be a living illustration on the back page. Noticing a corner of the page is wrinkled, you reach out to smooth it, causing your hand ot brush the illustration. Suddenly, everything goes black, and you find yourself standing on the docks of a mysterious island. Where do you go from here? That's up to you.

I obviously don't want to give too much away, so lets move on to the breakdown of the game itself.

[Controls - 8/10] The control scheme of this game is your basic point and click setup. Many early CD-Based games used this control scheme, and it's a solid one, though hardly innovative. Moving about the world of Myst is very easy to do. There are no complex controls to master, and that is to the benefit of the rest of the game because as a game of exploration and puzzle-solving, you will need to be able to move and manipulate things easily. However, In a world where exploration is key, it is disapointing to be limited to walking down preset paths. Gratefully, they remedied this with REALMyst, an updated version of the game where you had complete free-range movement.

[Graphics - 10/10] This was the part of the game that got people's attention. In 1995, no game ANYWHERE looked nearly as realistic as Myst did. Of course, graphics have come a long way since then, but for it's time, Myst was unmatched in its visuals.

[Story - 9/10] Suffice it to say, the story of Myst is a great one, though it takes time to uncover. Initially, you are merely thrust onto Myst Island with no clue where to go or what to do. However, you quickly discover something is very wrong. Someone has virtually destroyed the Library on the island, and there doesn't seem to be another living soul for miles, except of course for two unhinged brothers, Sirrus and Achenar who have each been sealed in a book. Each claims to be innocent and begs you to help them and not the other. This marks the pivotal choice of the game. Whom do you help?

Throughout the game you must solve puzzles and uncover clues to figure out who is telling the truth. During your travels, you learn though assorted notes and journals, the tragic tale of Myst island. I won't go further into detail, suffice it to say it's a great tale, and the buildup to the final choice, when you must decide who to help carries enormous pressure. I would also like to point out that this game has 4 possible endings. Three of them are "Bad" endings, and one the "Good" ending. Unfortunately, in their zeal to leave a nice opening for a sequal, they left the "Good" ending a bit lackluster after all the buildup.

[Replayability - 3/10] Unfortunately, this is the part of the game that falls short. Once you've beaten Myst, that's it. There's nothing left to do. There are no secrets left to find and nothing to unlock. Worse than that, once you know the solution to the final puzzle, you can literally skip the whole game and go right to the end. This was my sole gripe with the game. I loved it the first time through, and it's neat to play again for nostalgic purposes once you've given yourself enough to forget all the puzzles, but unfortunately there isn't anything to keep you coming back. You're best off moving to the next game in the series and returning to Myst only for nostalgic purposes.

[Conclusion] In the end, Myst is an excellent game for people who like to be intellectually challenged. If you're playing it for the first time, you'll be in for a treat if you can persevere through all the difficult puzzles. This game will always live on as one of the most unique ever created, and if they'd only had enough foresight to create something to keep you coming back to this delightful world, it would have been a true masterpiece.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

Game Release: Myst (US, 1995)