Games: Myst V: End of Ages (2005) developed by Cyan Worlds

 The end of the Myst series of games that moved from various versions of point and click to to full 3D navigation and replaced inserted actors with 3D characters. As far as the story goes its not complicated and I thought it made sense as it showed the negative effect that "writing worlds" had in the inhabitants of those worlds and what is the responsibility of those who create "ages". Visually, though not as dense and beautiful as previous games, it still have that Myst look though for games that, to me, hinge on exploration of created places it was lacking in details that expanded the places visited beyond story needs. I am not a fan of the computer generated characters, they were distracting looking and it's something cyan has not been able to really get a handle on. Their latest game Firmament suffered from many of the same issues, including FAR too much dialog and interruptions by characters into the game play. Their "comeback game" Obduction was much better, lots ot look at and discover even the game was done and used real actors in the character roles. 

The game relies, as did Myst 4 on too many confusing circular pathways, constantly going back and forth to do one simple thing to progress. Maybe people like that, I don't. Many of the ages in this game are good looking but i tink were limited by the free roaming aspect. Earlier games you could get into smaller spaces  and they had a lot more details for each age. 

Did I enjoy it. Sure it was fine. I am Myst'd out for the moment. I still have Uru to do which is the first time I will be playing it through as it was not available on Mac when it was an internet game. Because of it's early internet origins the graphics look pretty bad and the story seems to be a hodgepodge of stuff not used from other Myst games. Maybe it will change my life. Likely, it won't. I am much more excited to start getting into No Man's Sky as it looks great and I think will scratch my explore places bug. It has a no conflict mode and I'm all for that. 

Game review: Firmament (2023)

 

I gave money to the kickstarter for this new game from Cyan Worlds, the creators of Myst and more recently Obduction, a few yers back and if finally had it's release a little over a week ago. The game, as with Cyan's other games, has main graphics and features a single person journey (mostly- more on that in a minute) through various environments to uncover the story of why no one else is about. The specialize in a steam punk aesthetic and challenging puzzles that unlock the mysteries of the games and future little to no violence which I find welcome. 

This game like Obduction before it is also available in VR, something I am interesting in trying but can't imagine having the funds  to actually buy. So this is the flat screen Mac version and I am pretty happy with that truth be told. It took me abut 23 hours to play as I am not in a rush to "win" or anything like that.  The game follows Cyan's loner in a mystical place template with the exception of a "ghost" who give you plot points and waxes philosophic throughout. I was constantly looking for the "shut her up" button especially at the conclusion but to no avail. I did experience some bugs, I fell into a reservoir of acid because of some boundary error and the camera suddenly sank below the digital ground at one one point which was surreal. There was slight stuttering that was barely noticeable and during the first week they released 2 bug fixes so they were on the case right away to fix things. 

I recently replayed Obduction in reparation for the release of Firmament since it had been awhile since i played anything else. Obduction I will say is much larger more realized world which gives you a lotto tactile interaction with the environment. You can open draws and pick up objects and evert new area you explore is large and has hidden interesting things to find that are just there to fill out the world building and don't necessarily relate directly to game play. Firmament lacks much of this and is more about staying in the storyline. All interaction is though a device on your hand the shoots an electric cord into sockets that let you control things. The set pieces are amazing and lovely but I would have loved more extra areas to explore and discover. 

I have read some other reviews criticizing this game for being basically a Cyan game, not sure why they played it if that isn't something they like. Obduction did go in different directions in some ways with alien worlds and a more complex story but it was still you being alone in a mysterious place solving puzzles. It is what draws me personally to their games.

Cons:

• Less interaction than I expected.
• an annoying ghost companion you can not shut off
• not much exploration outside the direct needs of the story
• because of the limited interaction, puzzles are very similar in execution
• a never ending monologue at the conclusion

Pros:

• beautiful
• the puzzles are not nearly as frustrating as some were in Obduction which I had to stop playing at first because one section was just impossible and took me out of the game
• for a new release I found the play mostly smooth and Cyan has been quick to squash bugs
• a nice twist at the end and I oddly found there not being a "good" and "bad" choice endings made the game more satisfying. I guess that is spoiler of sorts but its common to for Myst games to have more than one ending so don't look for that this time.
• as a kickstarter person, the 30$ price and included game and exploration guide was really great. I will contribute to a next game if they go that route. 

* A remake of Riven, maybe one of the best exploration puzzle game s ever is in being done and after seeing how well Cyan updated Myst not that long ago I'm all in!