I agree...Riven had the kind of immersive worldbuilding that would make Tolkien crack a smile and every other fantasy writer blush in embarrassment. It was simply stunning.
I remember when you visited some of the villages, you could knock on peoples doors and sometimes they'd open the hatch and look at you before shutting it again. That always scared me.
Damn right!!! I remember when i finally figured out the D'ni numbers and opened the first Dome just to find out there was no power in the book in it!!!
I loved Riven! I refused to use any sort of cheat source whatsoever when playing Riven. At one point, I got stuck on an important puzzle, knowing I had all the pieces except one. I would literally scour through the game, walking across each island, over and over trying to find some kind of clue. And then one day, the most satisfying thing happened... I found the clue I had overlooked, even though I had walked past it so many times. It wasn't even hidden. It was there in plain sight, but just so well integrated into the world that it didn't seem like a clue.
I loved Riven. It's my favorite game of all times. There is no other game where I almost forgot that I am playing a game and could completely lose myself in the game. The atmosphere and story was a really special one.
Even though it definitely isn't the best age, there is no feeling for me like hearing the Above Stoneship theme while looking through the telescope on Stoneship Island. With the stormy weather, the clouds and the distant mountains, it's a beautiful moment!
Never have i seen a video capture what makes the Myst series so wonderful, and it was all through you explaining each level and the music choices with it. I remember hanging around in Uru JUST to listen to the Gallery theme
Amateria was always my favorite age. Riven stands alone for sure, just one age but was still a great experience. It was the only pc game series I can remember that ever came with a sketchbook/notepad. I miss that :)
I wouldn't say it's a great age but I loved Narayan as the end to Exile, putting all the words from the other ages together in what is described as poetry in the local language.
You were losing me there for a minute but I cried out in joy when you revealed the pics for Numbers 2 and 1. Exactly perfect. Yes, I will admit that Amateria is actually my favorite age but truth be told, something of Riven had to be first. That game became my world, just as the literature suggested. It was so totally immersive. Lord that was over 20 years ago now. Good times.
What makes ages in Myst amazing aren't that they're pretty, or that they have a neat gimmick. It's that they feel like a real place that you want to visit and come back to.
That is a reasonable proposition. And though the Myst ages be rich in graphics, music and story, there are other things which make me want to visit and return to virtual spaces. I am probably the worlds biggest fan of the Rhem series. No discernible story, no music at all, rudimentary graphics. But so much machinery and wonderful puzzles. Makes me feel like a kid again, losing myself in the local junkyard, wandering and tinkering. @@Raistlen007
For me, real places should stories behind them. why they're there, who built the stuff, where they went. That's what real places to me are like. The fact that they are fantastical just makes it all that much better. @@IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony
And since the video was made, another masterpiece Age has been released: Veelay Tsavahn. Not only is it of Garternay vintage, but it's also a gorgeous world with gorgeous music.
Riven is definitely my favourite because of the beauty, the story, the everything. It is so well put together. I really really want them to remaster it in VR high definition. I would live in that environment for a long time before getting bored.
I agree. Something about the Starry Expanse Project doesn't capture the atmosphere. I hate to say that, because you can tell how much they love the game, but it feels like a set piece rather than a living world.
@@ralexhassle5136 i heard Cyan bought them is that true? That would make it official, and Cyan wanted to remaster Riven anyway after the 2021 remake of Myst
I've only played Myst 3, but Amateria has always been my favourite. 1stly because the Oboe music is gorgeous, but also the ball ride. Also I resonated with the idea of it being the age of Dynamic Force as a kid. I knew probably only 1 age from Myst 3 would make this list, and I'm so pleased it was the "right" one!
Interesting. I didn’t know there was more to Myst than 5 minutes of clicking randomly, giving up, and then never thinking about it again until you’re an adult watching TH-cam recommendations.
Amateria is my favorite. It was the first level in that game I solved, and I was sitting in the dark totally immersed, and I was totally unprepared for the ride. Amazing.
I feel like I have to mention tomahna from myst 4. I mean obviously, if you consider the puzzles within the age tomahna does not belong in this list, but the atmosphere, the day and night thing and especially the soundtrack makes this age just so immersive (and perhaps the most beautiful of them all) for me :)
What you say is true in that since Tomahna is a hub world, the puzzles are tutorial level by design. I agree the atmosphere, sound, and animation is great. After all, this is the first age the player encounters so Ubisoft probably wanted Tomahna to be a showcase. That being said, I have some issues with the age. First of all, it's actually two ages on disc. It's day, and then night, and stays night, and you can't go back to day unless you restart the game. Another thing that bugs me about it, is that since the age is a hub age, it should be easy to get from point A to point B. Problem is, it has some annoyingly long unskippable elevator rides. You can't skip them even with fast travel because fast travel limits you to be able to go the stats that are open to you without manipulating things like bridges and lifts.
@@Raistlen007 Even so, I think it's the only age alongside riven that I'd actually want to live in. It's a matter of taste for sure, but when it comes to myst age, that's my metric, however subjective it may be, and for that reason alone, I think it deserved a spot - in my list I mean, you're completely justified if you prefer spire.
@@maximeteppe7627 Looking at an age you might want to live in, the metrics would be different. How safe is it? How beautiful is it? How much is there to explore and discover about it? When I made my list I looked at them as Ages in an adventure game, and their totality. The one age I'd most want to live would probably Ameteria. I mean, built in amusement park, am I right?
Tomahna is somewhere on Earth (I believe in the New Mexican desert). Of course Earth is simply another age, written by Ri'neref. So Tomahna can be considered as long as the rest of Earth is taken into account: the cleft from Uru, K'veer from Myst, Riven and Myst V, the city of D'ni from Uru: live and perhaps some other places I've forgotten.
Channelwood is a weak age in my mind. It has basically one and a half puzzles - routing the water, and pushing a button to open a door. It has little to no music, and isn't visually stunning. Just looks like Endor but over water. I'll give it credit for the atmosphere, though, knowing the backstory and how the age looks like something bad happened there.
It's a great soundtrack, and it fits the game like a glove as part of a unified vision. I also really enjoy the Exile soundtrack. Uru has a couple of good tracks, and Revelations has a couple good ones, too. I feel that Exile's and Riven's are about both on par. Myst 5's are forgettable for the most part.
@@Raistlen007 I like the Exile soundtrack as well, but: Riven feels like an organic development from the already haunting, but far less complex Myst score, whereas the music for Exile lacks that 'family tissue', so to speak. I find it good, but more generic. The music for both Myst and Riven is absolutely unique. Ryan Miller must have been exceptionally inspired and 'inside that universe' to have come up with something so unforgettable and original.
@@JohanHerrenberg I agree that it doesn't seem to have been possible to improve on Riven! I thought the Voltaic music in Exile was exceptionally effective though, just sparse fragments on the air which (to me) made a perfect aural metaphor for the stark visual environment. Less is more!
I agree, all of Cyan's games are brilliant and noteworthy, but Riven has been and still is my favorite. The Sunners' beach is so real, I daydream about it when mowing our lawn.
Having just played and finished OG Riven in 2024, I can proclaim it one of the most immersive and wonderous video game worlds I've ever experienced. No nostalgia involved at all.
I loved Riven! I refused to use any sort of cheat source whatsoever when playing Riven. At one point, I got stuck on an important puzzle, knowing I had all the pieces except one. I would literally scour through the game, walking across each island, over and over trying to find some kind of clue. And then one day, the most satisfying thing happened... I found the clue I had overlooked, even though I had walked past it so many times. It wasn't even hidden. It was there in plain sight, but just so well integrated into the world that it didn't seem like a clue.
The thing I loved about Myst 2 and 4's puzzles are that they seem like they are just contraptions in the world that you are learning how to use and solve. The others might just feel like someone gave you a random puzzle, but in myst 3 it feels right since the ages are meant to test the boys. (although the puzzles in 4 were a bit more frustrating than fun such as the music puzzle, the monkey puzzle and the weird order for the bridge symbols in Haven)
I think 4 suffers most from the 'you happen to come across a rubik's cube' syndrome. Especially haven with the slide lock puzzle. The bridge symbols seems to copy the Riven fire marble puzzle, but felt a bit more like animal study, what with having to learn the footprints.
The RIVEN Soundtrack is one of the first things i dupe on a new cellphone! It rests as CD in my Cupboard and always comes with me on my Cell! Great Game, Great Soundtrack!
It may be worth noting that Number 5 (Todelmer) was hinted to be, as far as lore goes, grouped together with 4 other ages that did make it to Uru: Tetsonot, Payiferen, Dereno, and Negilahn. All of them are pods on a single planet, and Todelmer's keep seems to fit well into that structure (even though it is much larger than the other pods). It's also interesting to think of the 5 as a punctual insights on a much larger world, as well as keeping the mystery around the other extant, but never explored, pods
Nicely done. I may not agree with your rankings but I appreciate the reasoning you present. I have to admit, I despised Spire, but then again, I also despise Sirrus so that may have colored my reactions. There are so many things about the Myst series in general that made me so incredibly happy, and watching this let me remember a few more of those moments. Thanks!
Tomahna shares the first place with amateria in my mind. It feels so much like a home, warm and cozy but also so alienlike while only relying on simple electronics and mechanics. It is my dream home somewhat.
I agree it is a great home, but does it make a good age? There are some things about it that annoy me, such as unskippable elevator rides, bridge configuration that hinders zip mode. seeing only part of the age in daylight, and the rest only at night. Puzzles are on the easy side. What I will give it credit for is that it's the flagship age of the game, because it's the first one, so a lot of effort went into the visuals, so the wind blows through all the trees and all that.
I'm so glad Todelmer made it. It is a little spare, but it is probably the most beautiful Age in the games. It's also funny (in a good way) that you chose a Gehn Age for number one since they're so unstable. But Fifth Age is beautiful and a great example of world-building.
In terms of sheer beauty, for me it's sort of a tie between Todelmer and Kadish tolesa. Riven's instability is part of what makes it beautiful. The fissure, the lava pits, and you can't see it, but the giant crack that's tearing the age apart...
The first time I arrived in Todelmer my jaw dropped and I just stood there gawking at the scenery for a good minute or two before I even began to start exploring.
I would say I agree. I just only recently started playing Myst V, and I absolutely was blown away by the imaginative beauty of Todelmer. I've always loved the realism and immersion of Riven. That lazy afternoon feel with the very familiar sounds of summer. I love everything about Amateria. Spire is just plain cool. I like Voltiac especially because of the music. Serenia has this... Serene... beautiful feel and I absolutely love the music. Gahreesen was cool and interesting, especially when you consider that the surrounding jungle was filled with dangerous, carnivorous creatures. Other Ages I like are Haven and Rime. The awesome thing is, the whole Myst series has inspired me to design my own, unique ages! The first and most impressive one I've done is Isabbi (a name I came up with as a kid) which is a series of massive island cities floating in the sky (inspired by Spire), a vast underwater city underneath it, and underneath that, an impressive underground city (inspired by the Dwarvish mines in The Lord of The Rings).
@@Raistlen007 I've started collecting real life pictures that come the closest to showing little pieces of each age, and putting them in a Pinterest board. I have also done some drawings and unfinished writings describing them. I've done the most work on Isabbi, but have a long way to go. 😆
Amazing video!! I love your picks and your Uru pick makes me want to play that game since I missed out on that one. Amateria is definitely my top pick so I was happy to see that one in particular. Cheers!
i was introduced to the series through Exile, and i think J'nanin is my favourite age as that's the one that made me want to get into drawing islands, but i agree the Ameteria Ice Ball Run is the best reward for finishing the age... i have a save i can go back to to just ride it again and again. i know that Tomahna is actually just Atrus's house on earth but that doesn't stop me from loving it too.
Agreed. Riven is my personal fav too. I have yet to experience its equal. It truly transports you to another world and the payoff is glorious. The concept, music, puzzles, game-play, ambience...all of it is spot-on. It would make a great TV series. Conversely, while Myst 4 has some intense depth and design, the puzzles for the most part are obnoxious, misplaced, frustrating and needlessly difficult: I felt as if the programmers were against me. I didn't have much fun.
Agree wholeheartedly. Kadish Tolesa and Amateria are the most visually stunning and exciting. The implications of building this machine to hold a living being, makes your heart stop for a second and makes your brain retract all the frustrated cuss words you said during each puzzle. Makes you wonder why "the boys" didn't get the message of why it's important to "get it right".But then if they *had* gotten the message, we wouldn't have the exciting game we have. :D
Exile was one of the first Myst games I played through myself. My family had played them as they came out, but Exile came out when I was old enough to start playing. I remember absolutely adoring Amateria. The art style and lighting were so peaceful that I barely felt frustrated trying to solve the puzzles. Shame Exile was as short as it was. Its worlds were beautiful and its story had some depth to it...a bit more substance and it could have easily rivaled Riven.
Am I the only one who loves even the puzzles in Spire?! Also, completely agree about the Gallery Theme, it's nothing short of divine. 5. Narayan (so small but I just goddamn love that endgame) 4. Ahnonay (absolutely unable to solve that one without the answers, it is just too smart ; the letdown is the visual of the first two areas, and at first I wrote it off as the worst age ever) 3. Hmm I can't remember all of the ages of URU:CC right now, so I will say Teledahn because I just loved being in the Baron's study. 2. Spire 1. Riven I completely agree on Amateria but despite all of that it lacks a certain magic to me, I don't have this feeling of awe at the world.
My issues with the Spire puzzles is that they are either too simplistic and easy or they are nearly impossible. The main four lock tuning puzzle is a nightmare. I've solved it with walkthroughs and I still don't understand it. Narayan is beautiful when the force field is down, but it's not much of an age. It's just a few rooms and some stairs. Rime is actually a bigger age with more to it, and it hardly has any puzzles in it.
5:10 I've put way too many hours into Uru over the years, and this became the soundtrack for my Relto Age so it was playing every time I went into Uru, and I *still* never get tired of hearing it. Personally, tho, I'd have put Teledahn over Kadish Tolesh. The emotional journey from beauty to horror is a summation of Uru itself.
I think Haven would have to be on my list. Yes, the mangree puzzle is really aggravating to solve, but it's just so pretty there, and so full of life. But agreed, Riven is the best age they created.
Pfff. No one cares about Zoidberg! Just kidding. Thanks for your comment, and I agree. Riven is a masterpiece of environmental storytelling. The fact that the graphics still hold up is a true testament.
And, of course, Myst Online Uru Live is still up and running - and the Guild of Writers is adding new ages and new puzzles. The game is living, breathing, and growing still - in 2024.
Selinitic made a giant impression on me, but I see why your list is what it is. Also, I adored the *story* in Revelation best of all. Maybe because I'm a mom, or maybe because I've been a "friend of the family" so long I felt that sense of "responsibility" for Yeesha (which carried all the way into URU by the way).
I agree. Rescuing Yeesha is a huge motivational factor in Myst IV. It was a classic damsel in distress scenario, but with a twist, and done right. We get to see firsthand what a sweet, bright, and cheerful girl Yeesha is. We know how depraved and dangerous her older brothers can be. The "rescue" element of the story was done to great effect, arguably even better than in Riven, where the damsel in distress sits in the background most of the game. But the arbitrary puzzles of Myst IV are where it fell short.
I just recently started Riven. I watched my dad play it as a kid, but that was a long time ago, so it seemed mostly fresh to me. I feel like it was probably the high point of the series. I feel now like Uru really bastardized the story arc of the Myst series. Riven seems to bring up a lot of haunting ethical questions about "The Art" that Uru just seems to gloss over, and instead it took a left turn into all this "Bahro" non-sense when they already had something really intriguing to build on.
I feel that Myst is strongest when it has a human drama in the center of it. For me, Riven is a masterpiece also because of the environmental storytelling and the atmosphere, but also Ghen and how he is presented and acted. To that end, I also think that Exile is not far from Riven, especially with Saavedro and how his grief is presented and acted.
I still have my Riven coffee mug from 24 years ago. I drink my brew from it almost daily. And, I was so happy to see Amateria at No. 2. I'll never forget how satisfying that payoff was at the end. Absolutely floored me. What an experience! Still my favorite single age from a MYST game.
I think it's all wonderful. I play these games because I want to experience them as real as possible. I find each rewarding in its own way. Best series I have ever played.
I am playing the myst games for the first time right now, except for Uru which I played g years ago and myst 5 which I played briefly but didn't finish also years ago I just finished myst, 2020 version and it's great. But riven is the best damn game in the whole series, that much is clear to me as soon as I started it. it's absolutely incredible what Riven managed back in 1997.
I'm divided between Myst 4 and Riven. Riven had the best built environment, the best puzzles, the best story. But Myst 4 felt like being inside a live movie. I do hope we see a VR remake of these games soon :)
Well reviewed, outstanding. 2006, Ubisoft released the Myst The Collection Box set, and I just had to have it, drove 113km and shop hopped until I found it. It lives on a shelf in my gaming room, together with my original Riven Big Box set as well as the Myst Reader. I got Riven in 1998, found it a Flea Market Bargain Bin, it was the last one they had. Paid what is today $6,50 for it, entire Big Box including individually sleeved cd's, the Making of Riven video disc and a commemorative diary. Sad to say that I only learned about Obduction today, however it's already downloading at home. Thanx for the reminder of what is still in my opinion, the best game(series) made in the history of gaming.
Riven was my first taste of the Myst series. I actually had to build a new PC for URU to function properly. I played Exile on the original Xbox. Beautiful immersive games that drew upon logical rather than FPS skills.
I only played the first three games, but of those the Age of Riven was by far the most impressive. It makes me curious about what Gehn's other ages were like since we only ever saw 3 of them (Riven, 37, and 233. I'm not counting Tay since Catherine rewrote it).
If only URU online would have gone viral and Cyan could have finished it. I played the fan based one that is still ongoing but just imagine if Cyan could have put in the ages they intended!
It's in the works. It used to be a fan project called The Starry Expanse, but Cyan went and hired them all. It's really happening, and it's going to have VR support.
Well... I thought a lot on this list, and it was a very difficult choice. First for me would be Todelmer. I'm obsessed with space and stars, so when I saw that age in End of Ages, I felt like I just want to go into the game and live there. It's really beautiful, and the puzzles are some of my favourites too. Noloben was certainly another favourite, it had a captivating atmosphere, it was one of the few ages where I literally just walked around for a while, enjoying the view. I can't leave out Channelwood, because back when I first played Myst, absolutely loved that age (even though I always missed the elevator in the tree so I was really angry by the time I finally got there). I really grown to love Riven after reading the books, after the Book of Atrus, I saw it in a completely different light. And... can I say Earth? :D In Uru and End of Ages, I really enjoyed exploring the D'ni caverns, they really captured what was described in the books that they are the remnants of something ancient, and they had a strange beauty. And I think Tomahna was amazing as well. It already had the feel of a safe haven in Exile, but in Revelation, even more. The Cleft is kind of similar in some ways, it has a strange, hidden beauty to it. I'm not sure, if this is the exact ranking as well (I'm only sure in Todelmer), but these are certainly my top five ages.
I love Spire, but the idea of Atrus linking to that perpetually gray and windy rock island and thinking yeah, this is a humane place to trap a man for eternity...makes me chuckle. I would love to visit though!
You are right, but at some points, Atrus call you to see if his sons were ready to come back (this is the plot of Myst: Revelations), so he would never leave them there for eternity.
What I loved in the game RIven was the fact that even if it's a bit fantasy no extraorinary shines and glowing stones or other magical flashing smoking supernatural voodo is going on. Just look at the box design, the soundtrack, the storyflow the natives and their design it is just soooooo 90's and this is what I love. Everything looks manmade and industrial even if it's more like art. This feels so natural but in the same time so out of place compared to the real world. I mean: People who grew up with Starwars had this 80's feel when watching the movies and yes no modern movie can reach the art of this time because of modern influences in details. And so it's with riven and the 90's.
Thank you for watching it. I don't have any plans at the moment on making videos on those topics, but I might make a video related to the Riven image upscaling I've worked on.
After watching this video, I played Myst 3 after 20 years. Managed to finish 2 ages I was stuck before. Then I installed Witness and got bored almost instantly. I think we have lost something along the way. Even RPG's are shallow with more focus on story and cutscenes than immersion.
Serenia is really pretty and has nice music. I do have some major issues with it though, mainly the puzzles. The only good one is the Bathosphere. The rest I didn't like. Navigating the main area is like a maze. The spirit puzzle is really frustrating to do even when you know how to do it. (Similar to the spire lock puzzle.) But worst of all, the progression in the age isn't up to you. It's up to characters who show up or don't based on external triggers.
@@Raistlen007 I've just re-played Edanna and it's wonderful and weak for the some of same reasons. It's a totally believable environment, alluringly beautiful both to look at and to feel yourself in. The music is haunting. But the puzzles are weird (was that electric fish put in that pool just for the player's benefit? It's not there any more after we're done with it ... does someone go and put it back somehow for the next player? Or do they chuck it in the sea and go fish for another one?) and the navigation is awful in places (maybe I was unlucky/stupid but even with two hint guides open on my other computer I STILL couldn't find one of the turnings for ages). The final resolution is brilliant fun, but completely unreasonable to expect the player to anticipate ("I know, squirting some spores into the air will provoke a big bird to come and pick up the plant I've climbed into and put it next to its nest (which so happens to be the only place on the island where I can see the all-important symbol!" thought nobody, ever) - and so anyone who completes the age has done it without really knowing what they were doing or why. You leave the age in such a way that no-one who followed you would be able to replicate your journey. But it's supposed to be a learning age!
@@alistairkirk3264 I agree with what you're saying. I feel the problem lies in the disconnect between how puzzles in Myst games should behave, that is to say, mechanical, reproducible, logical entities, in stark contrast to Edanna which should be a chaotic nature filled age, teaming with unpredictable life in various forms of balance. The only way they could have probably made it work are with puzzles where say you have to plant seeds to grow plants that attract animals that eat other animals or something like that. But yeah, I had the same issues you did. I missed the log path and the final left path to the second pod. Just because of confusing layout. And yeah, the puzzles didn't make a lot of sense, but when I thought about the plants as mechanical things, that behave mechanically, it made things a little easier to complete. Beautiful age, good music, poor navigation, questionable puzzles. That's why Edanna isn't on the top five. As much as I love Myst 3.
@@Raistlen007 Agree totally. You'd have to have something long-term and statistical (what's that game where you try and evolve a species of goo into complex organsisms? I can't remember, but like that) and I suppose that's not very Myst-like; it's a pre-ordained, epistemological set of worlds.Those are the exact turnings I couldn't find. I also totally agree Riven is #1 btw.
Kadish was inspiringly beautiful. But I'll never forget how dumb that puzzle with the floor tiles was. It's like trying to hack into a librarian's computer and finding out the password is "books".
There's two floor tile puzzles. One with shadows, one with symbols. What you need to remember is that they're both acting as a vault combination, and not a puzzle. So without the library inscription of the shadows or the symbol combination, you can't solve it. The one clever thing I like about the puzzle is having to "charge" the glow in the dark tiles.
Riven and end of ages were kinda my least favorite of the series and idk why I could just never really connect with them. For me it's very difficult, I'd say either Edanna or Voltaic either an age which looks like it has been lived in for a long while or an age which is still full of life in just a singular "tree". I get that Riven is good because it basically forms a 2nd earth that is more complex than most other ages. But to me it just didn't feel like MYST. If anything what I would've really loved is to explore Releeshahn as the one look that you get at the end of the series just makes you want to see it all, it seemed like an improved riven to me. Then again I grew up on MYST III so maybe I'm just a sucker for the book that I held in my inventory but never got to open since I didn't have that stupid key.
Nothing really matched my experience with Myst and Riven. I think developing Riven burned out Robyn on world building, which was too bad because he breathed a lot of the magic into those worlds.
Yup. For me Myst and Riven are # 1 with Exile right after those 2. I have played all the games in the series but nothing was quite the same after those 3.😢
How is Channelwood not on here? That age was mesmerizing and creepy to me as a kid. A flooded world with an entire abandoned village up in the trees. It left so much to the imagination. It also gave the most insight into how Sirrus and Achenar behaved in the outside world. Sirrus being a greedy, raging alcoholic and Achenar being a masochist interested in primitive cultures. Way better than whatever that Age was in Uru Legends.
It's called Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, but I get your meaning. The reason why Channelwood didn't make the list for me is partly because of what you said. It leaves so much to the imagination. It basically has one puzzle, which is the water pathing. The second floor is basically a maze where you look for a lever. After that, all that's left in the age is a slightly creepy atmosphere, and hardly any music. It works for the story, but as an age... I don't dig it. I find Selenitic to be a more interesting age, and it suffers from much the same issue. One puzzle, and then a maze.
@@Raistlen007 I guess it's just a personal preference on whether puzzles or atmosphere/exploration matter more to you. Both are integral parts of these games.
@@zepps88 I agree. How much you enjoy an age is very subjective. When I compare ages, I look at several criteria. How it looks visually, the atmosphere, the puzzles and how well they fit into the age and how difficult they are, environmental storytelling, sound and music. I'll give Channelwood atmosphere and one puzzle, a bit of enviorenmental storytelling, but thats it.
You picked all the ages I would have picked! I'd also put Channelwood and Ahnonay as runner-ups. Channelwood is pretty sparse when you look at it now, but when I first played it as a kid it was so immersive and exciting. It was the closest I got to feeling like I was really in another world until Riven came along. As for Ahnonay... well, you can't really explain why Ahnonay's great without spoiling it, haha. Ahnonay did have the most dramatic turnaround for me in going from "wow this age sucks" to "holy crap this awesome!"
Don't worry about spoilers. It's been years since the game has come out. I actually don't enjoy the Ahnonay twist. It's not telegraphed well, and the early clues to it can be dismissed as the limited graphics of the URU engine. On the whole the age just isn't visually interesting to me. One of the most impressive sights on it is actually optional. (The statue.) For me, the strongest runner up age is Voltaic. Beautiful but desolate. Atmospheric. Logical puzzles. It almost made the list.
@@Raistlen007 See, I liked the fact that it wasn't telegraphed because the surprise blew my mind. But yeah, the original state of the island is pretty visually uninteresting (hence why I didn't like it at first), and cycling through the different "eras" over and over again gets tedious, so I can see why the Truman Show twist wouldn't be enough to make up for those flaws for some people. I think Voltaic & Edanna are both good runners up. All of Myst 3 is gorgeous, really. I also really liked Teledahn, though I remember wishing there was more to it when I first played it.
Totally agree with the list. Does anybody know if there is another game which is immersive and with no arbitrary puzzles (as you said very well), that is, puzzles that are perfectly blended in the world?
@@Jasonfranko1 Sure. Played it and finished it. It has some environmental puzzles but it also has quite a few mini game puzzles which are not very immersive, but otherwise it's a rather good looking game.
Obsidian. It came out in 1997, and was on multiple discs, as Riven was. I find that the puzzles mostly fit into the world very well, and the graphics were top-notch for their era.
Amateria is fine, but for me the crowning jewel of Myst 3 is Edenia. Sure the puzzles are a bit contrived, but the organic feeling of this vertical ecosystem is spectacularly cool IMO; if I could only go back and play one age from the whole series, well I'd pick Riven since that's an entire game in one age, but ignoring that obvious cheat-pick, Edenia would be the obvious choice.
Funny enough, it was till the marbles that I actually did fine at Riven without having the need to find out how to solve it. Twas just too hard to solve for me. Other than that, great video. Personally I adored the age in the first Myst where you were up in the trees.
The marble puzzle is a massive culmination of information, requiring a very wide understanding of the game. It's both its strength and its weakness. Channelwood is an age I'm conflicted about. The age kind of has two parts to it. The ground(erm, water) level where you have to deal with routing the water through pipes, and the upper section which is essentially a maze. I like the lower part, and not the upper part.
@@yair1010 For me it's pretty much a tie between Exile and Riven. Riven wins on atmosphere and immersiveness, and Exile wins on beauty, music, and exploration.
absolutely my top 5, except i didn't like any of Myst 5 worlds, so i'd pick probably Myst Island from the 1st game instead ;) i really loved it and all its puzzles and the general concept of it.
So far my most favorite ages from myst is Myst: channel wood, stoneship Riven: riven because it's the only age in myst but some are others I can't remember what the name of the ages. There was some ages that was limited you cant fully visit them. Myst3: voltaic, enddna, and atmeria Myst4: spire, serina, thomana Uru: fortress age, d'ni caverns, there is some ages I like but it's hard to named them a few. The reason why I like the gharneese age because it feels like a unreal tournament vibe. I like thomana because it feels like a player home just relax look at the night sky relax at the kitchen room.
Les énigmes de Riven sont organiques, cohérentes et logiques : on apprend à lire pour déchiffrer, on fait fonctionner des machines u quotidien. L'exploration est libre mais simplifiée par des véhicules. L'usage d'une carte détaillé pour notifier les indices et raccourcis relève permet de s'approprier les lieux. J'ai vite décrocher de Myst pour absence de cohérences dans ses énigmes.
I was kind of disappointed that Ahnonay didn't get an honorable mention. Because that Age is one hell of a mind bender. Tedious, yes, but a mind bender. Or really, the fact that the entire D'ni city was one entire puzzle to find Null Zero.
I mentioned Ahnonay in one of my other comments. My issue with it is that the hints to the main puzzle are nearly non existent. When you figure it out... you don't understand WHY it works until after you've solved it. I don't know if I consider the D'ni great zero to be a puzzle... it's more like a glorified scavenger hunt.
@@Raistlen007 Yeah, I see your point. I think I was comparing Ahnonay to The Room series, where one puzzle solved leads to another puzzle's key. However, Uru: Path of the Shell was released before The Room series, so I guess it was the first of its' kind to have puzzles solving other puzzles. Heh, maybe I was wrong with the Great Zero being fulfilling after having solved it. Maybe I just forgot the entire glorified scavenger hunt in the process.
@@Raistlen007 lol. And I needed several "brains" combined to solve it. I"ll have to give it another go. Just turned 59 and still love games...big Star Citizen fan currently.And I played Skyrim remastered. Just found your channel. You have any Skyrim videos ?
@@Raistlen007 I'm not sure there ever truly is a "finished" with that game. It has so many options in it; you can play thru all the "missions" given by NPCs or you can just wander. You can play as a certain character type and join this side then play it again taking the other side then play both all over again as a different character type! I got hooked on it after they remastered it because I was taking a break from No Man's Sky waiting on some imnprovements in that game. Shortly after Skyrim (or during) I got hooked on Star Citizen and am now a tester of the game (Evocati we're called). Maybe some day I'll grow up, huh?
I agree...Riven had the kind of immersive worldbuilding that would make Tolkien crack a smile and every other fantasy writer blush in embarrassment. It was simply stunning.
I remember when you visited some of the villages, you could knock on peoples doors and sometimes they'd open the hatch and look at you before shutting it again. That always scared me.
@@magetaaaaaa that's true, it only happens once tho
Riven's gonna get bigger in the remake! Did you watch the Q&A on it with Rand and Richard?
and now after all these years Riven is finally coming back...
@@matthewwilliams3827 I just played the demo for the new Riven and it was stunning.
As I always tell people: I have _played_ the Myst games, but I have _been_ to Riven.
Agreed. Arguably the most well-realised world in gaming history.
Damn right!!! I remember when i finally figured out the D'ni numbers and opened the first Dome just to find out there was no power in the book in it!!!
@@evarobison . yes...Riven was subliminal!! It made us feel like we've been there before.
Damn straight, there's no other way to say it.
I go to Riven at least once a year. More than a vacation.
For someone who lived breathed and completed Riven without a walk-through......that was the best video game experience of all time 100%
Love Myst and Exile but Riven in my Opinion is the best video game of all time!!!
I loved Riven! I refused to use any sort of cheat source whatsoever when playing Riven. At one point, I got stuck on an important puzzle, knowing I had all the pieces except one. I would literally scour through the game, walking across each island, over and over trying to find some kind of clue. And then one day, the most satisfying thing happened... I found the clue I had overlooked, even though I had walked past it so many times. It wasn't even hidden. It was there in plain sight, but just so well integrated into the world that it didn't seem like a clue.
I loved Riven. It's my favorite game of all times. There is no other game where I almost forgot that I am playing a game and could completely lose myself in the game. The atmosphere and story was a really special one.
Period
Even though it definitely isn't the best age, there is no feeling for me like hearing the Above Stoneship theme while looking through the telescope on Stoneship Island. With the stormy weather, the clouds and the distant mountains, it's a beautiful moment!
Never have i seen a video capture what makes the Myst series so wonderful, and it was all through you explaining each level and the music choices with it. I remember hanging around in Uru JUST to listen to the Gallery theme
Amateria was always my favorite age. Riven stands alone for sure, just one age but was still a great experience. It was the only pc game series I can remember that ever came with a sketchbook/notepad. I miss that :)
I wouldn't say it's a great age but I loved Narayan as the end to Exile, putting all the words from the other ages together in what is described as poetry in the local language.
Props for using the D'ni style of writing numerals.
I mean you had to know Riven was coming based on that fact alone. Riven is where we very first learn the D'ni numerology.
You were losing me there for a minute but I cried out in joy when you revealed the pics for Numbers 2 and 1. Exactly perfect. Yes, I will admit that Amateria is actually my favorite age but truth be told, something of Riven had to be first. That game became my world, just as the literature suggested. It was so totally immersive. Lord that was over 20 years ago now. Good times.
What makes ages in Myst amazing aren't that they're pretty, or that they have a neat gimmick. It's that they feel like a real place that you want to visit and come back to.
That is a reasonable proposition. And though the Myst ages be rich in graphics, music and story, there are other things which make me want to visit and return to virtual spaces. I am probably the worlds biggest fan of the Rhem series. No discernible story, no music at all, rudimentary graphics. But so much machinery and wonderful puzzles. Makes me feel like a kid again, losing myself in the local junkyard, wandering and tinkering. @@Raistlen007
For me, real places should stories behind them. why they're there, who built the stuff, where they went. That's what real places to me are like. The fact that they are fantastical just makes it all that much better. @@IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony
And since the video was made, another masterpiece Age has been released: Veelay Tsavahn. Not only is it of Garternay vintage, but it's also a gorgeous world with gorgeous music.
Riven is definitely my favourite because of the beauty, the story, the everything. It is so well put together. I really really want them to remaster it in VR high definition. I would live in that environment for a long time before getting bored.
I agree. Something about the Starry Expanse Project doesn't capture the atmosphere. I hate to say that, because you can tell how much they love the game, but it feels like a set piece rather than a living world.
starry expanse is a fan project to make riven vr ! check it out
@@ralexhassle5136 i heard Cyan bought them is that true? That would make it official, and Cyan wanted to remaster Riven anyway after the 2021 remake of Myst
Yep this comment is aging well!
Oh, yes that song in the Kadish gallery - mesmerizing! Reminds me of of "Rachel´s song" from Blade Runner OST, sadly unused in the movie itself.
Edanna, the island with the giant inward-turned tree in Myst III, was one of my favourites, as was the forested part of the forest island in Riven.
Riven was absolutely stunning! Agree, it was so real and the attention to detail and ambience was astounding right down to the sound design.
I've only played Myst 3, but Amateria has always been my favourite. 1stly because the Oboe music is gorgeous, but also the ball ride. Also I resonated with the idea of it being the age of Dynamic Force as a kid. I knew probably only 1 age from Myst 3 would make this list, and I'm so pleased it was the "right" one!
5:52 😁 I immediately recognized the Amateria theme song. Know it by heart.
Interesting. I didn’t know there was more to Myst than 5 minutes of clicking randomly, giving up, and then never thinking about it again until you’re an adult watching TH-cam recommendations.
Well... The Myst series is definitely not a game for everyone. If you don't have any satisfaction in solving puzzles...
@@ryangainey94 I love solving puzzles! It just didn't make sense to me as a kid.
Amateria is my favorite. It was the first level in that game I solved, and I was sitting in the dark totally immersed, and I was totally unprepared for the ride. Amazing.
I feel like I have to mention tomahna from myst 4. I mean obviously, if you consider the puzzles within the age tomahna does not belong in this list, but the atmosphere, the day and night thing and especially the soundtrack makes this age just so immersive (and perhaps the most beautiful of them all) for me :)
What you say is true in that since Tomahna is a hub world, the puzzles are tutorial level by design. I agree the atmosphere, sound, and animation is great. After all, this is the first age the player encounters so Ubisoft probably wanted Tomahna to be a showcase. That being said, I have some issues with the age. First of all, it's actually two ages on disc. It's day, and then night, and stays night, and you can't go back to day unless you restart the game. Another thing that bugs me about it, is that since the age is a hub age, it should be easy to get from point A to point B. Problem is, it has some annoyingly long unskippable elevator rides. You can't skip them even with fast travel because fast travel limits you to be able to go the stats that are open to you without manipulating things like bridges and lifts.
I remember going through Tomahana wondering how much it would cost to buy the place and move there. Imagine owning a house like that.
@@Raistlen007 Even so, I think it's the only age alongside riven that I'd actually want to live in. It's a matter of taste for sure, but when it comes to myst age, that's my metric, however subjective it may be, and for that reason alone, I think it deserved a spot - in my list I mean, you're completely justified if you prefer spire.
@@maximeteppe7627 Looking at an age you might want to live in, the metrics would be different. How safe is it? How beautiful is it? How much is there to explore and discover about it? When I made my list I looked at them as Ages in an adventure game, and their totality. The one age I'd most want to live would probably Ameteria. I mean, built in amusement park, am I right?
Tomahna is somewhere on Earth (I believe in the New Mexican desert). Of course Earth is simply another age, written by Ri'neref. So Tomahna can be considered as long as the rest of Earth is taken into account: the cleft from Uru, K'veer from Myst, Riven and Myst V, the city of D'ni from Uru: live and perhaps some other places I've forgotten.
Riven is a flat out masterpiece.
But no Channelwood age on this list? Come on!
Channelwood is a weak age in my mind. It has basically one and a half puzzles - routing the water, and pushing a button to open a door. It has little to no music, and isn't visually stunning. Just looks like Endor but over water. I'll give it credit for the atmosphere, though, knowing the backstory and how the age looks like something bad happened there.
Yes...Channelwood is great. Specially if you read the book in the library way before you get into the age!!👍👍👍
I love Channelwood. I suppose it's "simple" but it's just so immersive for me
@@Irraptured . The atmosphere of the age is great. The sound of the water running, the catwalks on the trees etc..👍👍👍
I used to visit a local cedar swamp regularly because it took me back to Channelwood. Wood paths, murky water, towering trees and all.
Just watched this.
#2 choice was definitely up there.
My favorite myst venture, not only a puzzle, but a spherical rollercoaster.
I listened to the Exile CD for years and eventually ripped it to my computer. I still listen to it to this day.
Absolutely agree with you about Riven, I played it tonight, and again I feel its power of immersion.
Yes, Riven reigns supreme. It also has the best soundtrack of the bunch. I still regularly listen to it.
It's a great soundtrack, and it fits the game like a glove as part of a unified vision. I also really enjoy the Exile soundtrack. Uru has a couple of good tracks, and Revelations has a couple good ones, too. I feel that Exile's and Riven's are about both on par. Myst 5's are forgettable for the most part.
@@Raistlen007 I like the Exile soundtrack as well, but: Riven feels like an organic development from the already haunting, but far less complex Myst score, whereas the music for Exile lacks that 'family tissue', so to speak. I find it good, but more generic. The music for both Myst and Riven is absolutely unique. Ryan Miller must have been exceptionally inspired and 'inside that universe' to have come up with something so unforgettable and original.
@@JohanHerrenberg I agree that it doesn't seem to have been possible to improve on Riven! I thought the Voltaic music in Exile was exceptionally effective though, just sparse fragments on the air which (to me) made a perfect aural metaphor for the stark visual environment. Less is more!
Riven taught me never to leave the door open
I agree, all of Cyan's games are brilliant and noteworthy, but Riven has been and still is my favorite. The Sunners' beach is so real, I daydream about it when mowing our lawn.
Having just played and finished OG Riven in 2024, I can proclaim it one of the most immersive and wonderous video game worlds I've ever experienced. No nostalgia involved at all.
I loved Riven! I refused to use any sort of cheat source whatsoever when playing Riven. At one point, I got stuck on an important puzzle, knowing I had all the pieces except one. I would literally scour through the game, walking across each island, over and over trying to find some kind of clue. And then one day, the most satisfying thing happened... I found the clue I had overlooked, even though I had walked past it so many times. It wasn't even hidden. It was there in plain sight, but just so well integrated into the world that it didn't seem like a clue.
The thing I loved about Myst 2 and 4's puzzles are that they seem like they are just contraptions in the world that you are learning how to use and solve. The others might just feel like someone gave you a random puzzle, but in myst 3 it feels right since the ages are meant to test the boys. (although the puzzles in 4 were a bit more frustrating than fun such as the music puzzle, the monkey puzzle and the weird order for the bridge symbols in Haven)
I think 4 suffers most from the 'you happen to come across a rubik's cube' syndrome. Especially haven with the slide lock puzzle. The bridge symbols seems to copy the Riven fire marble puzzle, but felt a bit more like animal study, what with having to learn the footprints.
Riven is still my favorite. Still hope I will be able play that amazing game again.
Nothing is stopping you from playing the original right now.
Your choices are absolutely perfect! Completely agree with all of them!
The RIVEN Soundtrack is one of the first things i dupe on a new cellphone! It rests as CD in my Cupboard and always comes with me on my Cell! Great Game, Great Soundtrack!
It may be worth noting that Number 5 (Todelmer) was hinted to be, as far as lore goes, grouped together with 4 other ages that did make it to Uru: Tetsonot, Payiferen, Dereno, and Negilahn. All of them are pods on a single planet, and Todelmer's keep seems to fit well into that structure (even though it is much larger than the other pods). It's also interesting to think of the 5 as a punctual insights on a much larger world, as well as keeping the mystery around the other extant, but never explored, pods
Nicely done. I may not agree with your rankings but I appreciate the reasoning you present.
I have to admit, I despised Spire, but then again, I also despise Sirrus so that may have colored my reactions.
There are so many things about the Myst series in general that made me so incredibly happy, and watching this let me remember a few more of those moments. Thanks!
I hate spires puzzles and hate the way sirrus is presented but spire is beatiful and the music is haunting and atmospheric
Tomahna shares the first place with amateria in my mind. It feels so much like a home, warm and cozy but also so alienlike while only relying on simple electronics and mechanics. It is my dream home somewhat.
I agree it is a great home, but does it make a good age? There are some things about it that annoy me, such as unskippable elevator rides, bridge configuration that hinders zip mode. seeing only part of the age in daylight, and the rest only at night. Puzzles are on the easy side. What I will give it credit for is that it's the flagship age of the game, because it's the first one, so a lot of effort went into the visuals, so the wind blows through all the trees and all that.
I'm so glad Todelmer made it. It is a little spare, but it is probably the most beautiful Age in the games. It's also funny (in a good way) that you chose a Gehn Age for number one since they're so unstable. But Fifth Age is beautiful and a great example of world-building.
In terms of sheer beauty, for me it's sort of a tie between Todelmer and Kadish tolesa. Riven's instability is part of what makes it beautiful. The fissure, the lava pits, and you can't see it, but the giant crack that's tearing the age apart...
The first time I arrived in Todelmer my jaw dropped and I just stood there gawking at the scenery for a good minute or two before I even began to start exploring.
hands down. riven is a masterpiece
Riven is where I solved one of the hardest puzzle in video games history imho
Amateria is my absolute favorite age. First is what you said in the video, and second, i absolutely love the skybox a sunset with an oncoming storm.
I would say I agree. I just only recently started playing Myst V, and I absolutely was blown away by the imaginative beauty of Todelmer. I've always loved the realism and immersion of Riven. That lazy afternoon feel with the very familiar sounds of summer. I love everything about Amateria. Spire is just plain cool. I like Voltiac especially because of the music. Serenia has this... Serene... beautiful feel and I absolutely love the music. Gahreesen was cool and interesting, especially when you consider that the surrounding jungle was filled with dangerous, carnivorous creatures. Other Ages I like are Haven and Rime.
The awesome thing is, the whole Myst series has inspired me to design my own, unique ages! The first and most impressive one I've done is Isabbi (a name I came up with as a kid) which is a series of massive island cities floating in the sky (inspired by Spire), a vast underwater city underneath it, and underneath that, an impressive underground city (inspired by the Dwarvish mines in The Lord of The Rings).
Are your ages depicted visually in some way, or is this all conceptual?
@@Raistlen007 I've started collecting real life pictures that come the closest to showing little pieces of each age, and putting them in a Pinterest board. I have also done some drawings and unfinished writings describing them. I've done the most work on Isabbi, but have a long way to go. 😆
Amazing video!! I love your picks and your Uru pick makes me want to play that game since I missed out on that one. Amateria is definitely my top pick so I was happy to see that one in particular. Cheers!
Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed the video.
i was introduced to the series through Exile, and i think J'nanin is my favourite age as that's the one that made me want to get into drawing islands, but i agree the Ameteria Ice Ball Run is the best reward for finishing the age... i have a save i can go back to to just ride it again and again. i know that Tomahna is actually just Atrus's house on earth but that doesn't stop me from loving it too.
No special save needed. As long as you don't go to Narayan all the rides are reset and available to ride whenever you want them.
@@Raistlen007 wait really?? i never knew that
Yeah, nailed my top 3 ages in this list too. Starting with Riven, of course.
Agreed. Riven is my personal fav too. I have yet to experience its equal. It truly transports you to another world and the payoff is glorious. The concept, music, puzzles, game-play, ambience...all of it is spot-on. It would make a great TV series. Conversely, while Myst 4 has some intense depth and design, the puzzles for the most part are obnoxious, misplaced, frustrating and needlessly difficult: I felt as if the programmers were against me. I didn't have much fun.
Myst is literally my all time favorite pc game, then Myst 3 and of course Riven.
Amateria, the best era ever. by far.
Agree wholeheartedly. Kadish Tolesa and Amateria are the most visually stunning and exciting. The implications of building this machine to hold a living being, makes your heart stop for a second and makes your brain retract all the frustrated cuss words you said during each puzzle. Makes you wonder why "the boys" didn't get the message of why it's important to "get it right".But then if they *had* gotten the message, we wouldn't have the exciting game we have. :D
But the puzzles of it...I hated them!
You live your hudrles and stresses. And somewhere in another Universe, Myst exists with its worlds, timeless and eternal.
Exile was one of the first Myst games I played through myself. My family had played them as they came out, but Exile came out when I was old enough to start playing. I remember absolutely adoring Amateria. The art style and lighting were so peaceful that I barely felt frustrated trying to solve the puzzles. Shame Exile was as short as it was. Its worlds were beautiful and its story had some depth to it...a bit more substance and it could have easily rivaled Riven.
Riven, greatest game ever!
Am I the only one who loves even the puzzles in Spire?! Also, completely agree about the Gallery Theme, it's nothing short of divine.
5. Narayan (so small but I just goddamn love that endgame)
4. Ahnonay (absolutely unable to solve that one without the answers, it is just too smart ; the letdown is the visual of the first two areas, and at first I wrote it off as the worst age ever)
3. Hmm I can't remember all of the ages of URU:CC right now, so I will say Teledahn because I just loved being in the Baron's study.
2. Spire
1. Riven
I completely agree on Amateria but despite all of that it lacks a certain magic to me, I don't have this feeling of awe at the world.
My issues with the Spire puzzles is that they are either too simplistic and easy or they are nearly impossible. The main four lock tuning puzzle is a nightmare. I've solved it with walkthroughs and I still don't understand it.
Narayan is beautiful when the force field is down, but it's not much of an age. It's just a few rooms and some stairs. Rime is actually a bigger age with more to it, and it hardly has any puzzles in it.
I love the spire puzzles. Although I encountered the patched tuning lock puzzlr
Ah, Amateria. When you realize YOU are in the crystal sphere. That was a GAMING MOMENT.
Good job and well written. Yes, you did this almost 4 years ago...but it conjurs up memories from far longer...
I have had drafts for a while for the top 10 worst Myst puzzles, but I seem to never get around to it
Riven is an absolute masterpiece. For my money, the best of the series, by far.
I totally agree with your top three, and in this order.😁👍 I’ll have to think about what my fourth and fifth picks would be.🤔
5:10 I've put way too many hours into Uru over the years, and this became the soundtrack for my Relto Age so it was playing every time I went into Uru, and I *still* never get tired of hearing it.
Personally, tho, I'd have put Teledahn over Kadish Tolesh. The emotional journey from beauty to horror is a summation of Uru itself.
Using that track in the video got the video copyright tagged. Worth it.
I think Haven would have to be on my list. Yes, the mangree puzzle is really aggravating to solve, but it's just so pretty there, and so full of life.
But agreed, Riven is the best age they created.
Interesting list! I appreciate your choices.
How ever I am surprised at your choice for number one.
As you said it is your opinion and I respect that.
What is your number one choice, and why?
Great commentary on RIven, spot on! It is the most fullt realised video game world of all time.
Pfff. No one cares about Zoidberg!
Just kidding. Thanks for your comment, and I agree. Riven is a masterpiece of environmental storytelling. The fact that the graphics still hold up is a true testament.
And, of course, Myst Online Uru Live is still up and running - and the Guild of Writers is adding new ages and new puzzles. The game is living, breathing, and growing still - in 2024.
Selinitic made a giant impression on me, but I see why your list is what it is. Also, I adored the *story* in Revelation best of all. Maybe because I'm a mom, or maybe because I've been a "friend of the family" so long I felt that sense of "responsibility" for Yeesha (which carried all the way into URU by the way).
I love the story and I love the ending, the puzzles and acting I have issues with
I agree. Rescuing Yeesha is a huge motivational factor in Myst IV. It was a classic damsel in distress scenario, but with a twist, and done right. We get to see firsthand what a sweet, bright, and cheerful girl Yeesha is. We know how depraved and dangerous her older brothers can be. The "rescue" element of the story was done to great effect, arguably even better than in Riven, where the damsel in distress sits in the background most of the game. But the arbitrary puzzles of Myst IV are where it fell short.
I just recently started Riven. I watched my dad play it as a kid, but that was a long time ago, so it seemed mostly fresh to me. I feel like it was probably the high point of the series. I feel now like Uru really bastardized the story arc of the Myst series. Riven seems to bring up a lot of haunting ethical questions about "The Art" that Uru just seems to gloss over, and instead it took a left turn into all this "Bahro" non-sense when they already had something really intriguing to build on.
I feel that Myst is strongest when it has a human drama in the center of it. For me, Riven is a masterpiece also because of the environmental storytelling and the atmosphere, but also Ghen and how he is presented and acted. To that end, I also think that Exile is not far from Riven, especially with Saavedro and how his grief is presented and acted.
I still have my Riven coffee mug from 24 years ago. I drink my brew from it almost daily. And, I was so happy to see Amateria at No. 2. I'll never forget how satisfying that payoff was at the end. Absolutely floored me. What an experience! Still my favorite single age from a MYST game.
@@Raistlen007 Well, they couldn't go wrong with Brad Dourif in that role. He's great in everything he does, and Fiona is following in his footsteps.
Channelwood was always my favorite but in fairness I haven't played all of the games in the series yet.
I think it's all wonderful. I play these games because I want to experience them as real as possible. I find each rewarding in its own way. Best series I have ever played.
And more recently, Veelay Tsahvahn is what a habitable zone on Proxima B would be, complete with the essential strong magnetic field.
I am playing the myst games for the first time right now, except for Uru which I played g
years ago and myst 5 which I played briefly but didn't finish also years ago
I just finished myst, 2020 version and it's great. But riven is the best damn game in the whole series, that much is clear to me as soon as I started it.
it's absolutely incredible what Riven managed back in 1997.
I'm divided between Myst 4 and Riven. Riven had the best built environment, the best puzzles, the best story. But Myst 4 felt like being inside a live movie. I do hope we see a VR remake of these games soon :)
Riven VR is on the way. Revelations VR is unlikely to ever happen
Well reviewed, outstanding.
2006, Ubisoft released the Myst The Collection Box set, and I just had to have it, drove 113km and shop hopped until I found it. It lives on a shelf in my gaming room, together with my original Riven Big Box set as well as the Myst Reader. I got Riven in 1998, found it a Flea Market Bargain Bin, it was the last one they had. Paid what is today $6,50 for it, entire Big Box including individually sleeved cd's, the Making of Riven video disc and a commemorative diary.
Sad to say that I only learned about Obduction today, however it's already downloading at home. Thanx for the reminder of what is still in my opinion, the best game(series) made in the history of gaming.
It is outstanding, I'd say the best adventure game series and a master class in world building. The Xwing series is my favorite series, though.
I would say all 5 ages of exile are worthy of taking up all of the list
Wow....I ever loved Serenia by Revelation, but i agree.
Riven was my first taste of the Myst series. I actually had to build a new PC for URU to function properly. I played Exile on the original Xbox. Beautiful immersive games that drew upon logical rather than FPS skills.
Why hasn't this been made into a movie.
I only played the first three games, but of those the Age of Riven was by far the most impressive. It makes me curious about what Gehn's other ages were like since we only ever saw 3 of them (Riven, 37, and 233. I'm not counting Tay since Catherine rewrote it).
Probably very generic, with a giant tree, and very unstable.
If only URU online would have gone viral and Cyan could have finished it. I played the fan based one that is still ongoing but just imagine if Cyan could have put in the ages they intended!
They actually did finish the ones that work was started on. They made it into the expansions, and the online server, for the most part.
Riven should have a fully 3d remaster. It would be a hit even today
It's in the works. It used to be a fan project called The Starry Expanse, but Cyan went and hired them all. It's really happening, and it's going to have VR support.
Great video! More on Myst pls :)
Well... I thought a lot on this list, and it was a very difficult choice.
First for me would be Todelmer. I'm obsessed with space and stars, so when I saw that age in End of Ages, I felt like I just want to go into the game and live there. It's really beautiful, and the puzzles are some of my favourites too. Noloben was certainly another favourite, it had a captivating atmosphere, it was one of the few ages where I literally just walked around for a while, enjoying the view. I can't leave out Channelwood, because back when I first played Myst, absolutely loved that age (even though I always missed the elevator in the tree so I was really angry by the time I finally got there). I really grown to love Riven after reading the books, after the Book of Atrus, I saw it in a completely different light. And... can I say Earth? :D In Uru and End of Ages, I really enjoyed exploring the D'ni caverns, they really captured what was described in the books that they are the remnants of something ancient, and they had a strange beauty. And I think Tomahna was amazing as well. It already had the feel of a safe haven in Exile, but in Revelation, even more. The Cleft is kind of similar in some ways, it has a strange, hidden beauty to it. I'm not sure, if this is the exact ranking as well (I'm only sure in Todelmer), but these are certainly my top five ages.
Yes, the Cleft and D'ni make Earth my #2
I love Spire, but the idea of Atrus linking to that perpetually gray and windy rock island and thinking yeah, this is a humane place to trap a man for eternity...makes me chuckle. I would love to visit though!
You are right, but at some points, Atrus call you to see if his sons were ready to come back (this is the plot of Myst: Revelations), so he would never leave them there for eternity.
What I loved in the game RIven was the fact that even if it's a bit fantasy no extraorinary shines and glowing stones or other magical flashing smoking supernatural voodo is going on. Just look at the box design, the soundtrack, the storyflow the natives and their design it is just soooooo 90's and this is what I love. Everything looks manmade and industrial even if it's more like art. This feels so natural but in the same time so out of place compared to the real world. I mean: People who grew up with Starwars had this 80's feel when watching the movies and yes no modern movie can reach the art of this time because of modern influences in details. And so it's with riven and the 90's.
Thanks for making a video on MYST that isn't cringe. I look forward to more videos from you on D'ni numbers, The Art of Writing etc.
Thank you for watching it. I don't have any plans at the moment on making videos on those topics, but I might make a video related to the Riven image upscaling I've worked on.
After watching this video, I played Myst 3 after 20 years. Managed to finish 2 ages I was stuck before. Then I installed Witness and got bored almost instantly. I think we have lost something along the way. Even RPG's are shallow with more focus on story and cutscenes than immersion.
I totally agree with your points on riven.
No Serenia? You're right to put Riven first though, Richard Vander-Wende was a visionary artist in designing that sacred space.
Serenia is really pretty and has nice music. I do have some major issues with it though, mainly the puzzles. The only good one is the Bathosphere. The rest I didn't like. Navigating the main area is like a maze. The spirit puzzle is really frustrating to do even when you know how to do it. (Similar to the spire lock puzzle.) But worst of all, the progression in the age isn't up to you. It's up to characters who show up or don't based on external triggers.
@@Raistlen007 I've just re-played Edanna and it's wonderful and weak for the some of same reasons. It's a totally believable environment, alluringly beautiful both to look at and to feel yourself in. The music is haunting. But the puzzles are weird (was that electric fish put in that pool just for the player's benefit? It's not there any more after we're done with it ... does someone go and put it back somehow for the next player? Or do they chuck it in the sea and go fish for another one?) and the navigation is awful in places (maybe I was unlucky/stupid but even with two hint guides open on my other computer I STILL couldn't find one of the turnings for ages). The final resolution is brilliant fun, but completely unreasonable to expect the player to anticipate ("I know, squirting some spores into the air will provoke a big bird to come and pick up the plant I've climbed into and put it next to its nest (which so happens to be the only place on the island where I can see the all-important symbol!" thought nobody, ever) - and so anyone who completes the age has done it without really knowing what they were doing or why. You leave the age in such a way that no-one who followed you would be able to replicate your journey. But it's supposed to be a learning age!
@@alistairkirk3264 I agree with what you're saying. I feel the problem lies in the disconnect between how puzzles in Myst games should behave, that is to say, mechanical, reproducible, logical entities, in stark contrast to Edanna which should be a chaotic nature filled age, teaming with unpredictable life in various forms of balance. The only way they could have probably made it work are with puzzles where say you have to plant seeds to grow plants that attract animals that eat other animals or something like that. But yeah, I had the same issues you did. I missed the log path and the final left path to the second pod. Just because of confusing layout. And yeah, the puzzles didn't make a lot of sense, but when I thought about the plants as mechanical things, that behave mechanically, it made things a little easier to complete. Beautiful age, good music, poor navigation, questionable puzzles. That's why Edanna isn't on the top five. As much as I love Myst 3.
@@Raistlen007 Agree totally. You'd have to have something long-term and statistical (what's that game where you try and evolve a species of goo into complex organsisms? I can't remember, but like that) and I suppose that's not very Myst-like; it's a pre-ordained, epistemological set of worlds.Those are the exact turnings I couldn't find. I also totally agree Riven is #1 btw.
@@alistairkirk3264 Life moves in cycles. Perhaps Atrus wrote in that it would reset itself to the default state by natural means.
and now after all these years Riven is finally coming back...
Kadish was inspiringly beautiful. But I'll never forget how dumb that puzzle with the floor tiles was. It's like trying to hack into a librarian's computer and finding out the password is "books".
There's two floor tile puzzles. One with shadows, one with symbols. What you need to remember is that they're both acting as a vault combination, and not a puzzle. So without the library inscription of the shadows or the symbol combination, you can't solve it. The one clever thing I like about the puzzle is having to "charge" the glow in the dark tiles.
Great review!
Riven and end of ages were kinda my least favorite of the series and idk why I could just never really connect with them. For me it's very difficult, I'd say either Edanna or Voltaic either an age which looks like it has been lived in for a long while or an age which is still full of life in just a singular "tree". I get that Riven is good because it basically forms a 2nd earth that is more complex than most other ages. But to me it just didn't feel like MYST.
If anything what I would've really loved is to explore Releeshahn as the one look that you get at the end of the series just makes you want to see it all, it seemed like an improved riven to me. Then again I grew up on MYST III so maybe I'm just a sucker for the book that I held in my inventory but never got to open since I didn't have that stupid key.
Nothing really matched my experience with Myst and Riven. I think developing Riven burned out Robyn on world building, which was too bad because he breathed a lot of the magic into those worlds.
Yup. For me Myst and Riven are # 1 with Exile right after those 2. I have played all the games in the series but nothing was quite the same after those 3.😢
How is Channelwood not on here? That age was mesmerizing and creepy to me as a kid. A flooded world with an entire abandoned village up in the trees. It left so much to the imagination. It also gave the most insight into how Sirrus and Achenar behaved in the outside world. Sirrus being a greedy, raging alcoholic and Achenar being a masochist interested in primitive cultures. Way better than whatever that Age was in Uru Legends.
It's called Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, but I get your meaning. The reason why Channelwood didn't make the list for me is partly because of what you said. It leaves so much to the imagination. It basically has one puzzle, which is the water pathing. The second floor is basically a maze where you look for a lever. After that, all that's left in the age is a slightly creepy atmosphere, and hardly any music. It works for the story, but as an age... I don't dig it. I find Selenitic to be a more interesting age, and it suffers from much the same issue. One puzzle, and then a maze.
@@Raistlen007 I guess it's just a personal preference on whether puzzles or atmosphere/exploration matter more to you. Both are integral parts of these games.
@@zepps88 I agree. How much you enjoy an age is very subjective. When I compare ages, I look at several criteria. How it looks visually, the atmosphere, the puzzles and how well they fit into the age and how difficult they are, environmental storytelling, sound and music. I'll give Channelwood atmosphere and one puzzle, a bit of enviorenmental storytelling, but thats it.
You picked all the ages I would have picked! I'd also put Channelwood and Ahnonay as runner-ups. Channelwood is pretty sparse when you look at it now, but when I first played it as a kid it was so immersive and exciting. It was the closest I got to feeling like I was really in another world until Riven came along. As for Ahnonay... well, you can't really explain why Ahnonay's great without spoiling it, haha. Ahnonay did have the most dramatic turnaround for me in going from "wow this age sucks" to "holy crap this awesome!"
Don't worry about spoilers. It's been years since the game has come out. I actually don't enjoy the Ahnonay twist. It's not telegraphed well, and the early clues to it can be dismissed as the limited graphics of the URU engine. On the whole the age just isn't visually interesting to me. One of the most impressive sights on it is actually optional. (The statue.)
For me, the strongest runner up age is Voltaic. Beautiful but desolate. Atmospheric. Logical puzzles. It almost made the list.
@@Raistlen007 See, I liked the fact that it wasn't telegraphed because the surprise blew my mind. But yeah, the original state of the island is pretty visually uninteresting (hence why I didn't like it at first), and cycling through the different "eras" over and over again gets tedious, so I can see why the Truman Show twist wouldn't be enough to make up for those flaws for some people.
I think Voltaic & Edanna are both good runners up. All of Myst 3 is gorgeous, really. I also really liked Teledahn, though I remember wishing there was more to it when I first played it.
Totally agree with the list. Does anybody know if there is another game which is immersive and with no arbitrary puzzles (as you said very well), that is, puzzles that are perfectly blended in the world?
Obduction, for sure. Gone Home to some extent. Mission Critical if you're willing to go to some oldies but goodies.
@@Raistlen007 Thank you! I haven't played any of those. I have also seen around a game called Quern. Perhaps you know this game?
@@Jasonfranko1 Sure. Played it and finished it. It has some environmental puzzles but it also has quite a few mini game puzzles which are not very immersive, but otherwise it's a rather good looking game.
Obsidian. It came out in 1997, and was on multiple discs, as Riven was. I find that the puzzles mostly fit into the world very well, and the graphics were top-notch for their era.
Amateria is fine, but for me the crowning jewel of Myst 3 is Edenia. Sure the puzzles are a bit contrived, but the organic feeling of this vertical ecosystem is spectacularly cool IMO; if I could only go back and play one age from the whole series, well I'd pick Riven since that's an entire game in one age, but ignoring that obvious cheat-pick, Edenia would be the obvious choice.
Wouldn't be my list, but you were spot on about RiVen
05:04 - Tasha Koontz, soprano
Absolutely beautiful
@@Raistlen007 You know it! :)
Where can I buy all the updated games for play on current PC?
They are all available on GOG. Many of them are available on Steam.
Funny enough, it was till the marbles that I actually did fine at Riven without having the need to find out how to solve it. Twas just too hard to solve for me.
Other than that, great video.
Personally I adored the age in the first Myst where you were up in the trees.
The marble puzzle is a massive culmination of information, requiring a very wide understanding of the game. It's both its strength and its weakness.
Channelwood is an age I'm conflicted about. The age kind of has two parts to it. The ground(erm, water) level where you have to deal with routing the water through pipes, and the upper section which is essentially a maze. I like the lower part, and not the upper part.
@@Raistlen007 For me it mostly weakness 😜
Btw, which of the Myst games did you enjoy best?
@@yair1010 For me it's pretty much a tie between Exile and Riven. Riven wins on atmosphere and immersiveness, and Exile wins on beauty, music, and exploration.
@@Raistlen007 Cool!
And are there any Mystlike games that you recommend to check out as well? :)
@@yair1010 Obduction, Mission Critical, Naissance, Julia Among the Stars, Gone Home, Homesick, Prominence, Haven Moon.
absolutely my top 5, except i didn't like any of Myst 5 worlds, so i'd pick probably Myst Island from the 1st game instead ;) i really loved it and all its puzzles and the general concept of it.
So far my most favorite ages from myst is
Myst: channel wood, stoneship
Riven: riven because it's the only age in myst but some are others I can't remember what the name of the ages. There was some ages that was limited you cant fully visit them.
Myst3: voltaic, enddna, and atmeria
Myst4: spire, serina, thomana
Uru: fortress age, d'ni caverns, there is some ages I like but it's hard to named them a few.
The reason why I like the gharneese age because it feels like a unreal tournament vibe.
I like thomana because it feels like a player home just relax look at the night sky relax at the kitchen room.
Les énigmes de Riven sont organiques, cohérentes et logiques : on apprend à lire pour déchiffrer, on fait fonctionner des machines u quotidien. L'exploration est libre mais simplifiée par des véhicules. L'usage d'une carte détaillé pour notifier les indices et raccourcis relève permet de s'approprier les lieux.
J'ai vite décrocher de Myst pour absence de cohérences dans ses énigmes.
I was kind of disappointed that Ahnonay didn't get an honorable mention.
Because that Age is one hell of a mind bender.
Tedious, yes, but a mind bender.
Or really, the fact that the entire D'ni city was one entire puzzle to find Null Zero.
I mentioned Ahnonay in one of my other comments. My issue with it is that the hints to the main puzzle are nearly non existent. When you figure it out... you don't understand WHY it works until after you've solved it.
I don't know if I consider the D'ni great zero to be a puzzle... it's more like a glorified scavenger hunt.
@@Raistlen007 Yeah, I see your point.
I think I was comparing Ahnonay to The Room series, where one puzzle solved leads to another puzzle's key.
However, Uru: Path of the Shell was released before The Room series, so I guess it was the first of its' kind to have puzzles solving other puzzles.
Heh, maybe I was wrong with the Great Zero being fulfilling after having solved it.
Maybe I just forgot the entire glorified scavenger hunt in the process.
good job. I may need to go buy the 25th anniversary edition but that marble puzzle still haunts me. LOL.
It's brilliant because it's really several puzzles combined
@@Raistlen007 lol. And I needed several "brains" combined to solve it. I"ll have to give it another go. Just turned 59 and still love games...big Star Citizen fan currently.And I played Skyrim remastered. Just found your channel. You have any Skyrim videos ?
@@coina-dig-tion6322 Nah. I still never finished Skyrim. I keep starting it and for one reason or another stop midway through.
@@Raistlen007 I'm not sure there ever truly is a "finished" with that game. It has so many options in it; you can play thru all the "missions" given by NPCs or you can just wander. You can play as a certain character type and join this side then play it again taking the other side then play both all over again as a different character type! I got hooked on it after they remastered it because I was taking a break from No Man's Sky waiting on some imnprovements in that game. Shortly after Skyrim (or during) I got hooked on Star Citizen and am now a tester of the game (Evocati we're called). Maybe some day I'll grow up, huh?
Best music is Hall of Spirits from Revelation
5. Myst
4. Amateria
3. Kadish Tolesa
2. Ahnonay
1. Riven
Literally came to the comments just to yell that Ahnonay should be included somewhere on the list
Yeah, I'm with you. Though Kadish Tolesa beats Ahnonay for me. Also, D'ni is technically part of an age, so I'm including that as #2.