I just completed the game (total playing time of 13 hours or so with a few needed hints and pointers) and needed to vent my frustation... It definitely was a Cyan game and I liked it quite a lot. It didn't feel as good as OG Myst or Riven (my absolute favourite) but still, the worldbuilding was exactly on point. I was completly drawn in, from first arriving in Hunrath to slowly figuring out the mystery and traveling to different worlds. Most puzzles were easy and fair enough I think and build upon each other. The only part I found annoying were the extremely large chunks of backtracking one has to do. Sure, if you always know were exactly you need to go next this is minimal, but I would argue that most people need to do a lot of exploring to progress any further in this style of game. And I think the free-roam system contributes to this feeling, as the node based system of the older games does not feel as 'large' perhaps? I know that you can also choose this system in Obduction but the worlds feel much larger I think. But Oh Boy... I was not prepared for what would come. The final hard puzzle of the game (after that its all easy stuff thats left), the infamous Maze, almost made me quit completing the game and not come back. The gauntlet was quite cool I think but already went overboard with the amount of swapping and loading times one had to endure. Hah, how silly it seems now... Of my 13 hours of playtime 3 or 4 went into the maze. I spent the better part of last Sunday to solve it. It was such a chore to do. The constant backtracking, elevator up and downs and loading screens were insane. I can not remember any puzzle in any adventure game ever that was this unfun. The player should not be wasting extreme amount of time and clicking after he has figured out the puzzle. If it wasn't for the completion of the game and being invested in the story I would have given up. Not even glad I pushed through, it kind of left a bitter aftertaste even now.
