It was a delightful surprise was announced last year when Myst, the much beloved game from Cyan Worlds released in 1993, was announced as an upcoming series set to debut on Hulu. Myst was a seminal moment in the history of games (that had a ton of sequels) and it was perhaps the first game that ever made us wonder, “could video games actually be art?”
Our time on the island, while frustrating and challenging, was ultimately rewarding — far more rewarding than Lost (and yes, let the comparisons begin) one. Dropped on an island with no instructions and no direction, the player is forced to wander and begin to make connections, solve numerous puzzles, travel to different ages (or worlds), and solve the ultimate secret of the island.
Here are some of the more difficult puzzles from Myst that we found most challenging.
Five Location Sounds (Selenitic Age)
In the Selenitic, you will find peppered throughout the area five buttons that ultimately represent specific sounds. Simple enough, huh? Not so fast. You’ll need to find specific landmarks which line up with the individual sounds. And then once that’s done, you’ve got to play those sounds back IN ORDER at another location. Good luck.
The Planetarium (Myst Island)
You enter a room and sit in a chair and a nightime sky is revealed to you. With very little direction, you’ve got to piece together exactly what it is that you’re looking at and what it means. Ultimately, you discover that you’re looking at the nighttime sky of *20 year old spoiler* Stoneship. Controls and contraptions also allow you to view the sky at a specific date and time. With the help of your Journal, you’ll dive deeper into the mystery of Myst and what to do next.
Lighthouse (Stoneship Age)
Just in order to access the lighthouse itself, this section of the game involves a number of interconnected puzzles and obstacles. Exhausting. Once you’ve found your way inside, you’re then tasked to put a specific degree into the controls. Your path is blocked by a series of turn off/turn on access options. (Flood the lighthouse to do one thing, unflood it to do another.) The degree that you set the lighthouse is your ultimate key and gives you access back to the main Myst world.
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What are some of your hardest obstacles in Myst? And not just this game but the series as a whole? Let us know in the comments!