Myst III: Exile

With Riven being the great game that it was, it was always going to be tough for Exile to top it in any way. Did it succeed? I think it did. Plot-wise, what you're trying to achieve in the game is to get Saavedro (played by Brad Dourif), the guy who wants revenge on Atrus for what his sons did. I'm not going to dwell on the plot because honestly speaking I'm one of those people who are into Myst more for puzzles and exploration than for the plot. :) Exile is one of those games that even though it's not perfect, it has something so ridiculously brilliant that it more than makes up for any shortcomings it might have. And I am talking about its design. Exile might very well be the best-designed Myst game (but not the most polished one - that award goes to Revelation). I think I read it somewhere that they had dedicated teams for each of the Ages and oh, does it show, because every Age is just so unlike the other ones,. Myst and Riven had great environments and tough puzzles too, but in my opinion they were not quite as detailed and infused with clear, distinct personalities of their own as Exile's ages. And there is such good cohesion between the types of puzzles specific to each Age, the mechanics behind them and their visual presentation. Speaking about the puzzles, I think anyone who cares about their sanity will absolutely enjoy them. They are hard enough to provide ample satisfaction when completed, yet not over-relying on "trial by error". Things make sense, which is what a balanced game should strive for anyway. That being said, you will probably find that overall the puzzles are not quite evely distributed among the ages you visit, with Amateria probably having the best puzzles, whereas Edanna kinda lacks in that department. Nevertheless, expect a good challenge throughout. The soundtrack by Jack Wall, which is gorgeous and totally in the spirit of the game, adds a lot to the immersion: non-intrusive, low key where it needs to be, a bit on the ethereal side, in one word: perfect. The bottom line is Exile is a great game from any angle you look at it. Entirely worthy of the Myst name, in many aspects superior to its predecessors and for a few people (myself included) one of the best first-person adventure games ever made.

Great game and the soundtrack is awesome too. I think this side story was really well done and fit in nicely with the lore and backstory from previous games. The Lesson Ages were artfully devised as well. They didn't feel tacked-on or anything and all the central ideas stemming from them flowed pretty naturally to the conclusion, I thought. Very satisfying ending as well.

Look. This game is great. But Myst and Riven are two of the best games of all time... historically significant games that pushed the medium forward. This was the first Myst game that wasn't made by the original creators. It was the first Myst game that didn't quite live up to the name. But!... This is still a great game. And hey, it has an amazing performance by Brad Dourif.

I still have my 4 Disc Jewel case copy of Myst 3. It was given to me for Christmas a long time ago, along with the Prima strategy guide as there was no way 14 year old me was going to be able to solve it all. I remember reading through the guide even when I wasn't playing, there was so much rich storyline to enjoy. Some will say this isn't better than Riven, but its really just a matter of opinion. The puzzles are intuitive but not easy and each age has its own set pieces that allow you to truly appreciate the beauty of the world.