Myst IV: Revelation Reviews

ALL OF THE MYST GAMES ARE GORGEOUS

This game is practically not playable on Windows 11. The flying finger is too finicky & not usable when finesse or timing is needed. Also, most cut-scenes cannot be skipped, so restarting from new game those unhelpful, annoying, and LONG expositions cant be avoided. It is pretty, though. Acting and dialog are dead but who cares if the scenes can be skipped. The "zip" mode is confusing and next to worthless. Puzzles are abstruse and I was wondering how they possibly interacted with the characters, since they were inventions of the characters themselves. I played this game many years ago and forgotten what an unrewarding slog it was.

This one's hard to recommend, but if you've made it through the first 3 games and still want more Myst, you might enjoy it if you don't set your expectations too high. The two biggest problems for me are the grainy graphics which combined with some puzzles makes the game feel like pixel hunting (the Spire world was especially visually confusing), and the weird jumpy cursor. Feels like the latter could be easily solved, and I am a fan of the animated hand that replaces your normal cursor (indicates what you can/can't click on which is nice). I like the idea behind a lot of the puzzles, and the story was enjoyable enough while a little strange at points. Overall, a deeply flawed game with a decent skeleton. I think it would really benefit from a remaster.

Narrowly a thumbs down. Of course I had to use a walkthrough for this, but I had to do that with all of the Myst games so I don't take points off for that. The interface is awkward and there are some very tedious sequences, especially in the final Age. Also the entire game grinds to a halt at one point to turn into a Peter Gabriel music video. There are things in this I liked. The videos are much better integrated, and I didn't mind the retcon about the Prison Ages because it allowed us a greater look into Sirrus and Achenar's character. Spire and Haven are very interesting and beautifully rendered worlds, and I like how they at least attempted to have the puzzles in each parallel the character arcs of the two brothers. Said puzzles are just not up to par with those in Riven or Exile, though, and there's a few moments that are supposed to be dramatic but are unintentionally kind of hilarious. Worth playing if you love the series, and definitely way better than the vastly more disappointing End of Ages.

if Cyan considering to do another remake after Riven (which im not quite sure yet since this game was done by another dev), I do hope they make this one first instead of Exile. I admit the visual is better than Exile but some puzzles are time based while the gameplay itself feels slow. Would recommend if you wanna see more worlds in this series. Wont recommend if you are easily impatient.

This game is complex and challenging, if you like puzzles and patterns you will find your way quite easily. It will train you to be thorough and orderly. it is surprising how the mechanics work, I like the mechanics and the left field thinking, it is definitely a game to do things outside of linear thinking. Cheryl

Most puzzles are nonsensical with inadequate clues to resolve without resorting to walk-through cheats; too many obscure riddles that are simply frustrating and tedious make the game boring. Lots of unnecessary trial and error challenges with excessive backtracking required in order to make progress. But the Myst worlds are intriguing to explore, always providing an immersive and entertaining experience.