Myst

As someone who has been trying to beat the Original Myst for practically her entire life(I'm in my mid-30s), this is an amazing reimagining of the original Myst. It feels like how I imagined it back then and feels a fair bit better than the point and click of ye olde days. Not to mention there's a wonderful photo album that can act as a notepad for someone with a hard time remembering certain details without having to get out a notepad. It's just a bit hilarious how I've struggled for 30 years with this game and have gotten through 3 of the four ages in less than 3 hours. Just by the process of problem solving. Seriously, I didn't need to look up a guide, once you logic out these puzzles or actually try something different, it's easy.

It's great to see the classic environments updated for a modern engine. And I think the puzzle randomization option is GREAT for replayability! It's been a long time since I've felt challenged by Myst. However, there are a few things about it that feel rushed when compared to the original. Everything is very brightly and evenly lit, making the environments feel a little flat. I would like to see more attention paid to the use of light, shadow and color to convey appropriate tones for each environment and make them feel more unique. The scale of the maps in this version feels unusually small. It's as if Cyan built out all the maps to a natural scale and then shrunk them down by 10% for some reason. The environments of the original felt a bit more natural in scale. But I'm not sure if this was maybe an unintended consequence of the click-heavy nature of Hypercard. In this version, you can walk from one end of Myst island to the other in a few seconds, which feels strange. And finally... the character models. I understand Cyan can't just re-film all the live-action FMVs now that all the actors are 30 years older, and they probably didn't want to resort to using the old low-rez FMV files, though I may have actually preferred that. But if you're going to use 3D models in your 2021 re-master of Myst built in the Unreal engine, they HAVE to look better than Toy Story 1. In contrast to the stunning environments and world-building Cyan is known for, these 3D models are inexcusable. The models themselves look like cheaply purchased stock assets, and the animation is amateur-level. The lip-synching doesn't even match the audio. I sincerely hope this gets fixed in the future. As it is right now, I'd say this version is fine for what it is. If you're a Myst fan you will find plenty of reasons to enjoy it. Just... close your eyes when those 3D models show up.

The Game runs perfectly well on my system, using the "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\GOG.com\Myst\Play in DirectX 11 (if machine can't use DirectX 12).lnk" shortcut. System: Windows 7 Professionnel 64 bits SP1 Processor: Intel Core i5-2500 CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz RAM: 8 GB Graphic card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti DirectX: Version 11

As far as 3D remakes of Myst go (quite a few funny enough) I prefer this one over RealMyst. If for no other reason than the movement controls are just plain better. Pros: Environments look nice and it has decent movement controls. I definitely appreciated the gameplay subtitles options. I always had trouble with the sound cue puzzles so that was a welcome addition. Didn't try the 'randomize puzzle' option but that's a neat option. Cons: The 3D character models are really lacking. That got partially mitigated with the option to have the original FMV though (an option not available at launch it seems). Also not a fan of some of the color palette changes such as on Stoneship Age, but that's subjective on my part. As far as whether to get this if you have the original? If you don't have VR, then the value is an excuse to revist an old classic, so I recommend getting it on discount.

I heard and seen Myst all over the digital sphere for more than 30 years yet I never played it until now. I thought to myself now that the remake of Riven is coming out why not give Myst a try with the best version so far. It was indeed a magnificent experience. I played this on a powerful PC with a good RTX 4070 video card with all graphics settings to the highest and it was so beautiful to navigate through the different 'ages' and solve the puzzles. Only one problem : the HDR mode looks all wrong and hypercontrasted, don't use it. Everything else about this game is essentially perfect. Yes I did look for various sources of 'guidance' on the web because it is almost impossible to complete the game without them.