To understand my excitement for this game you have to understand-
when the original Cyan team said they were coming back with a new game in the grand style of myst and Riven, I almost sh1t myself. the Myst series was a cornerstone in my life as a gamer, and has shaped my tastes in gaming ever since. When Obduction came out, I bought it instantly and played for days whenever I could. And while I was happy with the game, it was lacking. Cyan reached to far with the story line- so many different species and things going on that the solid core of the story seemed much weaker than the intrigue genereated in Myst / Riven.

Now we come to Quern. I've been thinking long while playing how to best describe this game, and all I cacn think of is "Amazing". I can't speak to the intentions of the developers at Zadbox, but what they have created here is a masterpiece in the grand tradition of Myst-likes. This is what Obduction SHOULD have been. Lets break it down as best I can without giving up to many of the secrets- this is a game of exploration after all.

The story moves you through a mysterious island world seemingly frozen in time. The islands previous resident, a 'professor', has brought you here to learn about his work and the secrets this world hold; as well as to help him complete an experiment of unknown scope.
We learn the story of Quern in pieces via notes scattered throughout the world. Fantastically rich and well written, and the voice acting is just outstanding- really helps set the atmosphere and progress the story in a meaningful way.

The thing that made Myst, and later Riven so unbelieveably successful was the thoughtfulness and integration of its puzzles. in this type of game, having a puzzle exist for no reason other than to have a puzzle is game-killing.
Quern takes that page from Cyans old playbook, distills it, and creates puzzles so well integrated into the story, landscape, and lore of the world, that they're challenging to even find.

I've had so many "I know EXACTLY how to solve that puzzle... I just can't figure out how to GET TO that puzzle!" moments I've lost count.

And the puzzles themselves, once found, play perfectly off the lore of the world, and are so well designed that they act almost as story-progression devices all by themselves.

And i find myself apologizing to the devlopers-so many comparisons to Cyan when their game is just as noteworthy. But hell, if you're a fan of Riven, you know how the music, the story, and the graphical design play off each other to create a world that feels almost real. This game blows them out of the water. Zadbox has really perfected that art of immersion and brought it all into the world of Quern.


I rarely write reviews, and when I do, they then to just be a short paragraph. With over 700 games in my library and 7+ years on steam, this is the FIRST game I've felt deserved a brain dump of this length. This is something that ANY fan of the original Cyan series, and anyone that was slightly dissapointed in Obduction but didnt quite know why should experience.

Quern is an absolute 10/10 in every category. If you have even the slightest interest in this type of game, get it. It's worth every penny and then some!