This isn't the first time one of the grandfathers of adventure games was brought into modern gaming. The first version of realMyst released in 2000 as a fully 3D remake of the titular island, its cleverly designed puzzles, and the dramatic bicker-war between two trapped brothers. Developer Cyan Worlds has now given the remake a remake with the Steam release of realMyst: Masterpiece Edition which improves compatibility for modern PCs and adds a few navigation aids.
For $18 (discounted by 33 percent for owners of the original realMyst), the Masterpiece Edition further enhances the island's visuals and adds a flashlight for poking around in dark corners or during nighttime. Every environment is fully explorable as before, but the Masterpiece Edition also brings the option to revert to point-and-click navigation for that old-school feel. A Zip mode function speeds up walking by holding down the forward key, and pressing shift shows a comparison between classic and updated graphics at any time—an ability mostly added for fluff and a means for Cyan to exhibit its efforts as it moves on to its next adventure , Obduction.
Content-wise, the Masterpiece Edition adheres to its 1993 originator of exploration and puzzle-solving on the island itself and its branching ages—Selenitic, Stoneship, Mechanical, Channelwood, and the added Rime—as someone who gets unexpectedly yanked through a portal in the worn Myst tome (libraries are deadly like that). Books and the worlds they weave are Myst's themes, and Cyan's deep and interesting lore—particularly on the lost D'ni civilization—form a rich part of the experience.
Still, I would like to see Cyan one day focus on truly reworking Myst for today's audience. As PC technology has vastly improved since Myst's first appearance, so too has adventure games deepened in complexity and scope, with excellent titles such as The Stanley Parable or Gone Home providing far more nuanced examples of the genre. Myst was one of the first to start it all, sure, but there's plenty untapped aspects of its lore to delve into. I'd like to see a prequel adventure set during the zenith of the D'ni culture and its vast cave civilization, for instance.
Head to Steam to check out realMyst: Masterpiece Edition.
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