PS1 - Myst

Haiku-Review:

struggle with puzzles
whilst I make a decision,
choose: red page or blue?

Additional Comments:

First thing's first. I must concede that no matter my thoughts, I feel that they may not hold as much weight since I played through a port on the PlayStation as opposed to the highly acclaimed PC original. However, based on my experience, I'm of the impression the port did the game fair justice; I might question the load times and bemoan the sharpness of the graphics (especially the fonts - reading the books in the library proved hazardous to my eyes), but consider it spot on otherwise.

Secondly, Myst is one of those titles that somehow you knew by name even if you weren't a PC gamer, like myself. The concept of PC games, outside Zork, Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego, and various titles I had on an Apple II GS - wait, come to think of it, I had that Apple II after Myst would have flooded the marketplace - was completely foreign to me. In fact, it was non-existent. By the early to mid 90s, I didn't even know of games existing on computers with the exception of this strange piece of software I kept hearing about called Myst. And to be honest, I wasn't even certain it was a game. I'd hear people talk about it, but could never decipher exactly what it was. All I knew was that it was some sort of powerhouse that only the PC elite ever got to experience - essentially, people who came from households that could actually afford a PC. I wasn't one of those people, nor were most of my friends at the time.

But not everything worked against me. Eventually, I had some first hand experience with Myst at a Sears, I think. By this time, I came to learn that it was a confusing puzzle game that offered no insight for possible solutions. I recall finding it on an in-store demo computer where I walked aimlessly back and forth in a tree house, totally befuddled on how the hell to do anything. I couldn't even exit the structure! Frustrating!

I couldn't wait to tackle that same locale now that I finally owned a copy of the game. Uh...wait... What? Well, turns out whatever the hell I played briefly on store demo years and years ago was not Myst. I'd really like to know what game I did demo as my recollection is that it was far more frustrating than what Myst turned out to be. Then again, I had no context and a real unfamiliarity with PC gaming at the time.

Fast forward to the present. Going in, I was still perplexed over what Myst was. All I knew was that it supposedly contained some devilishly tricky puzzles and a mysterious, yet stunning landscape. And after completing the game, all I can confirm is that it contains some dev...eh, a mysterious, yet stunning landscape. Everything else is open to interpretation.

One important aspect of the game that impacts it both positively and negatively is the absence of everything: NPC's/creatures, background information, HUD, everything. This game is a total vacuum. While it makes the world that much more intriguing by stripping away all the knowledge and details other games like to disperse throughout their game worlds like flies around an orchard, it also makes everything far more convoluted than it needs to be. The way the game just drops you into the world and says, "Have at it," is simply frustrating. Never mind the fact that (eh, spoilers of a sort) the final puzzle in the game was negated because it happened to be the very first thing I accomplished out of sheer curiosity and confusion. That tripped me up more than anything come the end of the game because I didn't expect the solution to be something I had already chanced upon by accident (/spoilers).

Thing is, the puzzles weren't that hard to figure out. In fact, I'd hesitate to call half of them puzzles. The solutions are all very straight forward. Manipulate a switch here, pay attention to some insignia there, manipulate another switch over here. Rinse and repeat. There were only two times where I could genuinely say I was stumped, but I wouldn't say it was through the fault of a puzzle. Once in the Stoneship Age and once in the Mechanical Age I fell victim to asinine circumstances - be it the location of a certain switch or the questionable functionality of another certain switch. In the case of the latter, I apparently solved the "puzzle" but couldn't even begin to tell you what the actual solution is or how to execute it. Chalk that one up to dumb luck along with the aforementioned final puzzle. Hell, a good portion of this game can be chalked up to dumb luck, despite the knowledge on how to solve every puzzle except for the one I already mentioned.  After the fact, I have a theory of what the solution may be and how to execute it, but the game is done, and frankly I just don't care anymore.

I have very limited knowledge in the point-and-click genre as I'm not a PC gamer, but from those few games I have played, I found this one to be pretty weak. It's interesting, I'll give it that, and a marvel to look at, but I think Cyan's decision to strip the game of all the amenities found in other games, it stripped the essence of a game from the game. I get it. It's meant to be immersive, and it is. But it also gives the impression that it's nothing more than an interactive storybook than an actual game. While the same could be expressed for any point-and-click title, nearly every other point-and-click game at least offers a variety of options in solving puzzles through the use of various tools and different ways to manipulate an assortment of objects. Myst could be considered a step above a pop-up book. Sounds harsh, but if you seriously think about it, it's not that far from the truth.

Stepping away from Myst, the game, and instead turning our attention to Myst, the interactive storybook, I found it strangely enjoyable. Obviously, not as a game, but as an investigation into the bizarre environments that make up the world. If it wasn't for the majesty of the peculiar landscapes and the unnerving mystery and loneliness, I probably would have said, "Fuck this," and moved on to something else. And combine that with the excellent Foley work and nearly transcendental soundtrack, with works like The Tower, and the real star of the show takes the helm: mood. It reminds me of Super Columbine Massacre RPG! in that mood not only superseded every other element of the game, but did so effectively and with authority. Incredibly, for the sake of total immersion, Cyan wanted to forgo a soundtrack. What a hot mess that would have been, as there's very little to grip onto now. I suppose that could have helped stir up a claustrophobic unease akin to a survival horror game, but it's worlds apart from that genre. Although, if the gameplay was exponentially enhanced, I could see Myst working brilliantly as a survival horror.

I wish I could say the story helped as well, but I'm hesitant to say a story even exists. It does, but it's...weird. Not in the sense that its equivalent to an "acid trip for book readers" as Sven so eloquently expressed when I told him how ridiculous this "game" is, but in the way story is utilized in attempting to move the player forward. There's some fascinating backstory to be found throughout the world, but on the whole, the plot feels more vacuous than "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" For an adventure point-and-click game, that's not right. And for an interactive storybook, that's downright suicide! But if you can manage to piece all the bizarre plot line table scraps together, it is a fascinating sci-fi mystery which I think would fit more at home in paperback form than as computer software. Wait! Myst does exist in paperback form. Although I will admit there's a definite advantage taking the world of Myst down the video game route. As a game, we got to see the world come to life - that is if non-animated stills with a few cues of FMV is considered bringing something to life. It's debatable.

Nano-Rant:

I'm not sure if this is a result of the game being ported, or if this was present in the original game, but what is the deal with the screen/control locking when a certain aforementioned puzzle is executed incorrectly? Besides being suddenly deafened by a raging security system, my irritability threshold jumped through the roof as I thought the game gave out as I tried like hell to retreat back out into the wilderness. I don't understand the logic of locking the controls. While the rest of the game aimed for total immersion, that one instance broke down all barriers. Am I just missing something here?

Pico-Rant:

And are you fucking kidding me with this ending? I wasn't even sure if the game was over. Why would I want to further explore the lands when there is fucking nothing left to do!? What sort of game rolls the credits on the bad endings but then flips you the bird as you're eternally stuck in primitive isolation? What a piss-poor end to a mediocre game.

Rating: 2.5 volts out of 5*

(Honestly, it was tough to judge Myst. As a game, sad to say, it just isn't very good. But as a mysterious sci-fi experience, intriguing enough to make we want to continue the series.)