I am writing this review as if I'm writing it back in 1997, on game's launch date. Review in the context of 2022 will be at the end of this essay. Released four years after the original Myst, in 1997, it really showed the immense leaps the gaming technology was taking. It still keeps the point-and-click core of the original, but the graphic are improved tenfold, almost resembling real life. The transit videos and animations suffer from lower resolution, but keep in mind that this game was a killer app back in the day, released on 5 CDs, so they had to make some compromises. This is the first game of the series that had real "bad" ends, of which there are a few, adding to the realism of one's choices. You really feel the pressure of the decisions you have to take, some of them with "fatal" consequences. The story really engulfs you, making you gradually discover what a monster the main antagonist is, basically the judge, jury and executioner of his islands. And he can hurt you too, you can feel it, you always look behind, when walking around. There are some really cruel things he does, but that's to be discovered by playing the game. Now, let's talk in a 2022 perspective: graphics are a bit outdated, but still hold well, if you think about this game as a slow-pace adventure/discover/puzzle game. The resolution of the in game videos is low, a pity given that they are amazing, as ideas. For modern gamers, the point-and-click controls may be frustrating, but there is a "zip" setting, allowing you to move faster through already visited places. Conclusion: this game is all about story and character discovery. If you really like mystic stories with a sense of awe and danger, set up in idyllic places and with hard but logic puzzles to solve, this is the game for you. If not, you can always try Syberia 1 and 2. And remember: The ending has not yet been written.
My first ever PC game surely deserves my first ever review on GOG... The year is 1994, summer of '94. I was 10 years old, growing up in a shaky post communist country. Grew up in a normal hard-working family of 3, but my parents could't afford a PC back then, it cost around 20 minimum wages. So all I did was dreaming, after seeing one at one of my school colleague's home. Who didn't even allow me to play on it (a Windows 3.1 based PC). And then comes autumn of '94. Start of scool year approaches and here comes this wonderful day when my favourite uncle (a commercial ship engine master) comes back from Singapore. Of all the gifts he brought back for his 3 daughters, my eyes are fixed on one alone: a shiny white PC (would later found out it was a Macintosh Quadra). As it was the norm back then, it came with lots of software CD's and some games and there it was, this CD with "Myst" written on it. As soon as I started my first session of Myst, my life changed. The music, making me think I am in a place far, far away. The fear, of being caught by an escaping Achenar or Sirrus and who knew what they could've done to me. The places I visited, looking so otherworldy. And then Atrus' journals... I knew right in that moment that I want to be a writer, to tell stories, to make people travel with me, in a story. Yes, the game was hard for a 10 year old kiddo, with average english skills, given he lived in a non english native country, but it made the finish so much more rewarding. Yes, the original graphics don't hold up well, if we compare them to modern games. And yes, by now there are many people knowing about Myst, good or bad memories. But to some and especially to me, this game is about exiting childhood and entering teenage years, maturing, finding one's goal in life. And the memories I have, solving puzzle after puzzle, will forever live with me. Thank you, Cyan. Thank you, Miller brothers. The ending has not yet been written.
