Myst remake impressions: Handsome island touch-ups, launch-week woes

Enlarge / Welcome back, yet again, to Myst Island. (credit: Cyan Worlds, Inc.)

This week, eight months after a touched-up version of 1993's Myst landed exclusively on the Oculus Quest VR system, the same remake has been further touched up and made available on more devices-including non-VR options. This remade version of the puzzle classic, simply titled Myst, is included on Xbox Game Pass on both consoles and PC, and that subscription option may be easier for some longtime fans to swallow than another $30 retail purchase (on Xbox, Steam, or GOG).

This release goes beyond the touch-ups found in 2014's realMyst Masterpiece Edition, but it's equal parts refined and iffy. Cyan has so far been proactive on its Steam forums, suggesting that fans should expect fixes and responses to some of this release's first-week woes in short order. In the meantime, certain returns to Myst Island are already easy to recommend. Others merit a wait-and-see approach.

Changes mild and major since realMyst

On the most basic level imaginable, this week's Myst is the same as the CD-ROM Myst you know and (possibly) love. Should you have the original game's puzzles and steps memorized, load the game in its default state, and you can either unravel every puzzle and story as you remember it or skip the hunt for clues and instantly expose every age attached to Myst Island.

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