A year or so ago I was feeling nostalgic, and I attempted to load up my old copy of the original realMyst (from disc). Sadly, the game simply won't run on a modern machine without constantly crashing, and I gave up hope of experiencing the game again. So I was all the more delighted when I found out about realMyst: Masterpiece Edition, which I picked up the day it was quietly released on Steam. I'm glad to say that this game has all the greatness of the original, with the added bonus of better graphics and the inclusion of the original game's artwork.

For the uninitiated, realMyst is the 3D recreation of the original Myst game, which was released all the way back in 1993. Once an adventure created through still images and small inset videos, the world is fully eplorable and features all the neat things one expects to see in modern 3D game worlds, thanks to the Unity game engine. Added ambient effects include a day/night cycle and weather on Myst and many of the Ages, motion blur, depth of field, and a toggleable flashlight. It's also possible to set the game to jump between all the camera angles from the original game, but transition in 3D between clicks. It's a little bit bumpy at times, but helps strike a good balance between the new graphics and the underlying game of the past.

All the familiar sound effects and music from the original game are here as well, only in higher fidelity.

I have only minor complaints with realMyst: ME - mostly surrounding disparities between the control mechanics of certain puzzles, but none of which are really worth mentioning here. I also feel like some of the textures and 3D models could have been created at a higher resolution in places, but overall, things look pretty good.

I definitely recommend realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. It's a mostly faithful remake of Myst, and a great way to see the game realized on modern hardware, for fans of the series and newcomers alike.

A year or so ago I was feeling nostalgic, and I attempted to load up my old copy of the original realMyst (from disc). Sadly, the game simply won't run on a modern machine without constantly crashing, and I gave up hope of experiencing the game again. So I was all the more delighted when I found out about realMyst: Masterpiece Edition, which I picked up the day it was quietly released on Steam. I'm glad to say that this game has all the greatness of the original, with the added bonus of better graphics and the inclusion of the original game's artwork. For the uninitiated, realMyst is the 3D recreation of the original Myst game, which was released all the way back in 1993. Once an adventure created through still images and small inset videos, the world is fully eplorable and features all the neat things one expects to see in modern 3D game worlds, thanks to the Unity game engine. Added ambient effects include a day/night cycle and weather on Myst and many of the Ages, motion blur, depth of field, and a toggleable flashlight. It's also possible to set the game to jump between all the camera angles from the original game, but transition in 3D between clicks. It's a little bit bumpy at times, but helps strike a good balance between the new graphics and the underlying game of the past. All the familiar sound effects and music from the original game are here as well, only in higher fidelity. I have only minor complaints with realMyst: ME - mostly surrounding disparities between the control mechanics of certain puzzles, but none of which are really worth mentioning here. I also feel like some of the textures and 3D models could have been created at a higher resolution in places, but overall, things look pretty good. I definitely recommend realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. It's a mostly faithful remake of Myst, and a great way to see the game realized on modern hardware, for fans of the series and newcomers alike.