Myst VR: Virtual Reality Reboot of Classic Game

“We’ve been waiting for the stars to align to create a VR version of Myst – and I’m so excited to announce that alignment! Myst has always been about creating a world to lose yourself in, and VR takes the Myst experience to an entirely new level. It’s an almost magical experience for me, after so many years, to wander around the Ages of Myst and truly feel transported! We hope it will be for you, too.” ~Rand Miller, Cyan CEO

Myst, the flagship point-and-click adventure game from indie game studio Cyan, made its debut in 1993 to critical and popular acclaim, and went on to become the best-selling PC game of the 20th century.

Myst puts the player in the role of an unnamed person who is accidentally transported via a magical book through a starry void onto a starkly beautiful but mysterious deserted island. With no way back, the player is forced to explore the area and solve a variety of puzzles. In so doing, they discover the intriguing history of the island and uncover a story of ruthless family betrayal, as well as the secrets behind the “linking books” that join the island with a number of other worlds.

Myst contains no violence, time limits, failure conditions, or verbal storytelling to speak of – all of which was nearly unprecedented in 1993. Cyan even developed a whole unique group of people and language, called D’Ni – and much of the game involves exploring the vestiges of this culture. Myst not only set the stage for adventure games; it had a significant influence on video games and pop culture in general.

Myst Reimagined

Myst: Masterpiece Edition, released in May 2000, was an updated version of the original Myst with improved graphics, sound effects, and music. Later that same year, Ubisoft published realMyst, after Cyan overhauled the game into a free-roaming 3D adventure instead of point-and-click pre-rendered stills. In 2014, Cyan released a Unity-powered realMyst: Masterpiece Edition that subsequently received a major graphics update in 2015.

Now in 2020, Cyan has reimagined Myst for the Unreal Engine and virtual reality – a dream come true for fans of the surrealistic adventure game. Soon you will be able to explore Myst in a whole new dimension and take part in the epic story like never before!

According to Cyan’s press release, the definitive Myst experience will be finely detailed with new art, sound, interactions, and even updated puzzles! Many of the puzzles have been redesigned and engineered to include enhanced accessibility and optional puzzle randomization. This should offer a healthy challenge to anyone who’s already played the game.

Built from the ground up to play in either VR or flatscreen PC, the highly anticipated Myst VR will be released first on the Oculus Quest Platform for only $29.99. The PC version (2D with support for VR hardware) will soon follow. It will also be available for SteamVR headsets at a later date.

If you’re a fan of Myst, now is the time to invest in a VR headset! The Cyan press release just happened to coincide with the unveiling of the new $299 Oculus Quest 2 from the Facebook-owned virtual reality company. 😉