Myst
- Myst (2006 on PSP, 2007 on Nintendo DS, 2012 on Nintendo 3DS)
- Myst (2020 on Quest, 2021 on Windows, Macintosh...)
Description official descriptions
You have just stumbled upon a most intriguing book, a book titled Myst. You have no idea where it came from, who wrote it, or how old it is. Reading through its pages provides you with only a description of an island world. But it's just a book, isn't it? As you reach the end of the book, you lay your hand on a page. Suddenly your own world dissolves into blackness, replaced with the island world the pages described. Now you're here, wherever here is, with no option but to explore.
Myst is a first-person point-and-click adventure where the player controls a character known as The Stranger. Magically transported into the world described in the book, he needs to explore Myst Island and solve its mysteries. The game is presented as a series of static scenes where the player acts with the environment by clicking and manipulating objects. There are no enemies and it is not possible to die. Through Myst Island, the game is further divided into mini-worlds set in different ages accessed through different books.
The game's interface is reduced to a single cursor for navigation and interaction. Rather than collecting items and using them to solve puzzles, the player must gather subtly placed clues and manipulate complex mechanical devices in order to advance in the game. The world of Myst is mostly uninhabited, and the game has very few live-action scenes with characters and dialogue.
Spellings
- ミスト - Japanese spelling
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Videos
Add Trailer or Gameplay Video +1 point
See any errors or missing info for this game?
You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.
Credits (Macintosh version)
28 People (10 developers, 18 thanks) · View all
Designed by | |
Directed by | |
Graphics | |
Animation | |
Environmental Sound Design | |
Sound Effects | |
Musical Score | |
Video and Movie Editing | |
Producer | |
Production Assistant | |
Assistant Product Manager | |
Senior Marketing Manager | |
Marketing Coordinator | |
QA Lead Technician | |
Alpha Testing | |
Manual | |
Special Thanks to | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 78% (based on 66 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 330 ratings with 12 reviews)
I think "The Curse of Monkey Island" had the best review for this game...
The Good
In "The Curse of Monkey Island," Guybrush Threepwood speaks with a ferryman who's been lost in the mists for a long time now. Here's what Guybrush had to say about the boatman's experience:
"I like mist. I think it's pretty."
The Bad
The boatman's response to Guybrush's statement:
"Of course it's pretty, but egads, is it DULL!"
The Bottom Line
That conversation alone describes the game.
There's no story and no point to the game. There isn't even an ending. Your reward for finishing the game is to read all those freakin' books all over again. That's enough to make me want to put my foot through the monitor, but I'd rather just play frisbee with my dog using the CD.
Windows · by Macaroni Penguin (4) · 2002
Truely one of the best adventures of all time
The Good
The thing about Myst, is that it can't really be called a game. Myst is a work of art... It is a story told through immersive, beautiful graphics and an intriguing storyline. Many people don't like this, since it has very little action... But it takes a certain amount of intelligence to really see the wonderful detail and design put into this game. The graphics are fantastic, and the environments are beautifully surrealistic and dreamlike. The musical score is probably the best of any game I've ever played (buy the soundtrack!!), and sets the mode for the settings masterfully.
The Bad
There's nothing. That's right... I'm sure this will make a lot of people (mostly the less intelligent kind) mad, but there is absolutely nothing bad about Myst. It was the first of its kind, and there will never be another adventure like it.
The Bottom Line
It's as simple as this: If you like brainless, gory, first person shoot-em-up games, Myst isn't for you. If you enjoy exploring beautiful, dreamlike detailed worlds, and solving ingenious puzzles, then you should go out and buy this "game" right now.
As I said before, Myst is really not a game, and should probably not be treated as one. It can only be called a work of art, and it will be the most beautiful masterpiece ever to grace your CD-ROM drive. :)
Windows 3.x · by Null McNull (25) · 2000
Best selling game of all time? Don't make me laugh... But then again...
The Good
MYST.
Just the name conjures up images of still life pictures :)
When this game first came out, I didn't have the hardware (or software) to run the game. I was still stick in the Non-CD ROM and Win3.1 games. So when I heard all the great reviews from the critics, but the horrid reviews from people I knew who played... Well I was skeptical to say the least.
Now, I have a P233 and a CD-ROM drive. :) So one of the first games I played was Myst. And I must say that the game is one of the most involving games I've ever played.
The Graphics by far are incredible. I know that a lot of people complained that they were still-life pictures. But you must take into consideration, the incredible number of hours it took to render this game. Each picture has a purpose, if it be to convey a clue or to steer you toward a object. The detail is unreal.
The sound and music in the game is also very good. The creators actually thought of not having a soundtrack, but after listening to the music and SFX, they reconsidered. Each sound is significant (especially in one of the ages where you need to Listen to sounds to unlock doors and navigate a maze), and the Background music is just that - background. Not intrusive, but you know it's there, and it adds to the experience.
The game is one where you learn about the backstory as you play (simliar to System Shock). The idea of moving pages to the books is unique, although to me it means traversing the ages TWICE (i.e. going through the same motions two times.) because you can only carry one page at a time.
The Bad
The one thing that this game has going against it is the control. It's not quite a pixel hunt, but moving from area to area can be frustrating, mostly with going up and down ladders. I've actually saved my game, left it for a while, calmed down, and restarted the game just so I could move down the ladder in the lighthouse (those who have played the game, you know what I mean).
The Bottom Line
This one is a toss up. If you like a game with no time limits, no score, and an engaging storyline, Myst (and Riven) is your game.
But most real gamers (this those writing for MobyGames) will be put off on the abstractness of this game.
Bottom Line: Try it you might like it.
Windows 3.x · by Chris Martin (1155) · 2001
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Myst appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Development
Myst was rendered entirely on stock color Macintoshes using only Stratavision Software. Until the success of Myst, The Miller brothers ran Cyan from their basement.
Easter egg
A mosaic on the floor in the D'ni Age shows the face of developer Chuck Carter.
Novels
Hyperion published three novels set in the Myst universe:1. The Book of Atrus (1995), by Rand Miller, Robyn Miller and David Wingrove; 2. The Book of Ti'ana (1996), by Rand Miller, Robyn Miller, and David Wingrove; and 3. The Book of D'ni (1997), by Rand Miller and David Wingrove.
A fourth novel, The Book of Marrim, by Rand Miller and David Wingrove, was put on hold while the last Myst games were completed, and is now expected to be published at some point in 2006.
Additionally, Dark Horse Comics published two issues (Passages and the Joining) of an aborted Myst comic book miniseries, The Book of Black Ships.
Reception
Myst is the best-selling game of all time. Over the course of a few years, it stayed on PC Data's top ten list. The game's non-violence (the creators are both pious Christians), simplicity, and amazing graphics contributed to its success. Myst was also responsible for many people buying a CD-ROM drive for their computers.
References
While in D'ni, you may notice there is a mosaic of a face on the tile floor. Though it may look like one of the characters in the game, it is actually Chuck Carter, one of the graphics designers for the game.
References to the Game
In the 1995 episode "Treehouse Of Horror VI" of the TV series The Simpsons the last of three parodies named Homer³ is based on a Twilight Zone episode. Homer gets sucked into the 3rd dimension and enters a 3D animated world where some 3D objects exist on a grid. As he walks along, you can see a replica of Myst's library and a snippet of the Myst finale theme music can be heard.
Cancelled versions
Sunsoft announced releases for both the Sega CD and the LaserActive's Mega LD format, both of which were in an advanced state of completion before being cancelled.
Soundtrack
Myst soundtrack composed by Robyn Miller was released in 1998. This soundtrack is pretty much available everywhere, in almost every online music CD store.
The songs are parted to several Myst game ages:* Myst Island (1-6) * Mechanical Age (7-13) * Stoneship Age (14-17) * Selentic Age (18) * Channelwood Age (19-21) * Finale (22-23) * Bonus Tracks (24-26)
Tracklist: * Myst Theme * Treegate * Planetarium * Shipgate * The Tower * The Last Mesage (Forechamber Theme) * Fortress Ambience, Part I * Fortress Ambience, Part II * Mechanical Mystgate * Sirrus Cache * Sirrus Theme * Achenar's Cache * Achenar's Theme * Compass Rose * Above Stoneship * Sirrus Theme - Stoneship Age * Achenar's Theme - Stoneship Age * Selentic Mystgate * The Temple of Achenar * Sirrus Theme - Channelwood Age * Achenar's Theme - Chennelwood Age * Un-finale * Finale * Fireplace Theme * Early Selentic Mystgate * Original Un-finale
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #11 Most Innovative Computer Game
- November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #13 Hardest Computer Game
- November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #3 Least Rewarding Ending of All Time
- Electronic Entertainment
- March 1994 – Editors' Choice Awards: Breakthrough Game (Honorable Mention)
- FLUX
- Issue #4 - #14 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
- GameStar (Germany)
- Issue 12/1999 - #33 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
- MacUser
- 1993 - Best Game (Editors' Choice)
- PC Gamer
- April 2000 - #42 in the "All Time Top 50 Games" Readers' Poll
Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Agent 5, Big John WV, Mu77etOfDeath, PCGamer77, Pseudo_Intellectual, Scaryfun and Scott Monster
Analytics
Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!
Related Sites +
-
Cyan's Myst Walkthrough
Full solution to Myst -
JTB's Myst Help
A webpage providing a hint book in three different formats, illustrated puzzle solutions, both spoiler-free and spoiler-laden tips, maps of the Channelwood Age, links to other sources of online help for the game, and a set of save games for the Macintosh version of the game. -
Myst UHS Hints
Online web hints for Myst, written by Jason Strautman. -
Myst.Com
Cyan's Official Myst Homepage. -
Play Myst For Me
An article by Scott Rosenberg, originally published in the SF Examiner Sunday Magazine, detailing his experiences attempting to get Myst running on his (dated) PC (1994 - Feb. 1995). -
The Myst Guidebook
The Myst subsection of the Guidebook fansite that provides information about the game and a brief background on the game's production and later remake in addition to game hints and a walkthrough.
Identifiers +
Contribute
Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.
Contributors to this Entry
Game added by MAT.
PS Vita added by Fred VT. PlayStation 3 added by Lance Boyle. CD-i added by Corn Popper. Windows added by Trixter. PSP, iPhone added by Sciere. SEGA Saturn added by Kohler 86. Windows Mobile added by Kabushi. Macintosh added by Terok Nor. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan. Amiga added by Syed GJ. 3DO, Jaguar added by quizzley7.
Additional contributors: Jeanne, Guy Chapman, Havoc Crow, Parf, Ms. Tea, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, Evolyzer.
Game added March 29, 2000. Last modified March 20, 2024.