Posted December 03, 2009
Should I even be saying anything about Myst? If you don't know about it already, then where were you, under a rock?
Myst is undoubtedly a pioneer in many things - one of the first games that revolutionized the way we play games, using (at that time) a new medium, the CD-ROM, the first to make an emphasis on story and atmosphere much more than gameplay, and the first to blend puzzles into a living, breathing world filled with sights and sounds unique to the videogame medium.
From beginning to end, Myst does not have enemies. Myst does not rush you into anything. Take your time. Explore. Click on anything and everything. Listen to the environment. Use your mind. Pick up pieces of the story, try to assemble them into a chapter. A chapter of your own writing. Because Myst and the rest of the series is just about that - experiences written in a book.
Perhaps I am too confusing, and this is certainly not a review in the general sense, but that is the effect Myst has on you. It's not a game, it transcends that. Cyan Worlds aren't named like that for nothing - they did create a world, a world you can visit at anytime, and that world - is Myst. The technical details, whether they be puzzles, pre-rendered backgrounds, the music, or anything else, just don't matter. What matters is that you become a part of Myst, just as much as Myst becomes a part of you.
Myst is undoubtedly a pioneer in many things - one of the first games that revolutionized the way we play games, using (at that time) a new medium, the CD-ROM, the first to make an emphasis on story and atmosphere much more than gameplay, and the first to blend puzzles into a living, breathing world filled with sights and sounds unique to the videogame medium.
From beginning to end, Myst does not have enemies. Myst does not rush you into anything. Take your time. Explore. Click on anything and everything. Listen to the environment. Use your mind. Pick up pieces of the story, try to assemble them into a chapter. A chapter of your own writing. Because Myst and the rest of the series is just about that - experiences written in a book.
Perhaps I am too confusing, and this is certainly not a review in the general sense, but that is the effect Myst has on you. It's not a game, it transcends that. Cyan Worlds aren't named like that for nothing - they did create a world, a world you can visit at anytime, and that world - is Myst. The technical details, whether they be puzzles, pre-rendered backgrounds, the music, or anything else, just don't matter. What matters is that you become a part of Myst, just as much as Myst becomes a part of you.