Myst III: Exile

I have played the first four Myst games and Exile is my favorite. The graphics are beautiful, the interface is simple and easy to understand, the story is moving, and the puzzles are just complicated enough to be fun. The emotional content supplied by the excellent Brad Dourif makes the whole experience meaningful and infuses the game with a sense of drama. I keep coming back to this one like a favorite book or movie.

Graphics are exceptional; the interaction with the characters is, well, an added bonus in the MYST series! I have not yet finished the game but i am enjoying exploring and solving the puzzles. Great addition to my collection!

Okay so I get the whole "nostalgic" Myst 1 and 2 thing. Having played all 5 'main' games. Actually liked this more then the rest. Music- Amazing cant and don't need to go into detail there. Puzzles actually intuitive and each pretty unique. For its time graphically beautiful. Surpassed only by 4 visually as the world got better with computer graphics. (as seen by the newest version of Myst 1). Each world/level really shined in its own setting. Actually found puzzles to be the right level of difficulty and not ridiculously tedious as some. There were clues as to what to do in each area and it was good not to have to travel to the other side of the 'map' to get through certain places. Riven looking at you. I'm actually a fan of Riven btw. Still had a choice at the end with a few different variations of ending. I enjoyed 1,2,4 and 5 was alright for what it was... but Exile simply did something for me...to me it just had a charm. I revisited Riven in recent years and actually realised some of the things I missed and the reasons for them at a younger age obviously I wasn't as experienced. A version of Riven actually came with the PC a parent bought at the time. Never could really get into the original Myst it didn't age that well... Recently got the chance to play it again completely remade and was blown away visually but the puzzles were mostly the same (not a bad thing) Just not sure why everyone drools over the first one sooo much when the Riven was far superior to it, in many ways. I think whereas others have stated a decline in Myst games from Exile - I find it the penultimate experience of the 3. And revisit it far more then the rest.

After Myst and Riven were so good, I went into this suspecting that the series would start to dip in the third installment. Starting from there, the game was a roller coaster for me, because those expectations were turned on their head with a very strong introduction with excellent music and a uniqueness of setting that I didn't think they could pull off a third time. It was a "whoa - they've done it again!" moment, which was even more impressive because I had already thought that Riven wouldn't be able to live up to Myst either (which it did!). The starting age and the first age I went to were excellent - some of my favorites of the series so far. Puzzles that were too challenging to just walk through, but not so difficult that I wanted to walk away; otherworldly setting supported by dream-like visual art and music that carries you away; a free-look system which I thought would make it feel less like a Myst game but which actually melded seamlessly into my experience; - I was blown away. Unfortunately, the next two ages were less enjoyable. In one I just sort of stumbled through the puzzles by interacting with everything I could as I walked by, without understanding the solutions. The aesthetic and dependence on other livings beings made it seem inconsistent with the rest of the ages in the games. In the other age, the puzzles were a more reasonable difficulty, but still simple enough to make solving them feel more inevitable and less like an accomplishment. It also felt too barren. The game wrapped up well enough - finishing higher than its lowest point, but still below its strong start. I would recommend this if you like the lore of Myst, want to revisit the setting, and don't mind easier puzzles than you might be used to. Just maintain moderate expectations, please. It has big shoes to fill. If you enjoyed Myst and Riven, but feel that they wrapped up the story nicely (or if you prefer more challenging puzzles), this one might not be for you.

Myst 3 is not the worst game in the series that I've played so far, but certainly not the best. I think what sets Myst 3 apart is the puzzles in this game exist as puzzles for the sake of being puzzles for you to solve, especially with the Amateria level, in contrast to the puzzles being a part of the world itself, as was the case with Riven. Take that for what you will. You've probably heard/read Myst 3 is easier than Myst and Riven, yes that is mostly true. But they're still challenging compared to your typical mainstream games. If I had to pick one thing Myst 3 did right, it was introducing the full 360 view, a much appreciated upgrade over the fixed angles of the first two. But it does come with the cost of being harder to navigate in its own way. Finding the path you're supposed to follow will become your greatest challenge in some parts, epsecially in Edanna. If I were to say one thing this game did wrong, I would say it's a tie between the weak plot and the scattering of pages in hallways and similar mundane locations. I won't spoil the story, but I will say clues should be presented, not laying on the ground wherever. So, learn from my struggle and keep your eyes open.