Myst
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3DS
| Myst

Myst on 3DS is nothing new. It's already arrived on both the Nintendo DS and the PSP, and we've seen countless remakes on the PC since the game's 1993 release.

And it seems that publisher Funbox Media hasn't really changed a whole lot over the years.

In fact, despite having perhaps the longest time for polishing in the history of video games it's actually managed to corrupt an already poor handheld experience.

Clearing away the fog

Myst is, as its name implies, a mysterious game. Boiled down to its simplest elements - and trust me, you don't want the long version - the story involves finding and gathering the lost pages of books on a strange island that you've unceremoniously been whisked away to.

To do this, you have to solve logic puzzles that really will test your mental capacity. They may just be a matter of flicking switches, turning wheels, combining items, and memorising codes.

Solutions aren't immediately obvious, and this is the allure of Myst: it's a point-and-click exploration game that can't be solved by clicking on everything under the sun.

You have to think, explore, and experiment with the information you already know. If something doesn't seem right, you probably haven't discovered everything you need to discover.

Mysty eyed

Having been a big fan of the Myst series from a young age, it's a shame to see it fail so spectacularly on the 3DS - a format perfect for a point-and-click adventure game.

It's not just one problem. In fact, there are so many issues that you could probably use them to build an metaphorical raft and sail off the damn island instead of trying to deal with the fudged control system.

Perplexingly, Funbox Media decided that it would be a good use of the 3DS to keep the exploration and clicky bits - i.e. the entire game - off the touchscreen.

Navigation is done via the 3DS's Circle Pad, which moves a cursor about on the screen.

Not only is this fussy to do, especially as it pings back into the centre when you let go of the pad. But it also makes selecting anything - especially when there are multiple things to click on nearby - an arduous task that quickly drains the fun out of every puzzle.

It's also visually inferior to what you'd expect of a 3DS title. It's a lazy port of what came out on the DS, and as such has completely destroyed any semblance of Myst’s audio and visual fluidity.

To put it bluntly, this is a missed opportunity that only damages the Myst name.

Myst

Funbox Media takes what was once a wonderful experience and makes so many development mistakes that even Myst's wonderful story and puzzles can't fix it. Not even the Myst faithful should pick this up
Score
Vaughn Highfield
Vaughn Highfield
Quite possibly the tallest man in games, Vaughn has been enamoured with video games from a young age. However, it wasn't until he spent some time writing for the student newspaper that he realised he had a knack for talking people's ears off about his favourite pastime. Since then, he's been forging a path to the career he loves... even if it doesn't love him back.