Myst is one game that has popped in and out of notice due to its cult like influence on the gaming community. It is an open world adventure puzzler where you need to explore the world and solve the various puzzles within it to progress through the game. It is extremely well received by critics mainly due to the absence of a sugar coating around its core gameplay. This reflects in the campaign of the game, which is extremely well detailed and makes for an immersive experience. It has also managed to inspire a lot of games due to its popularity, which brings us to the focus of this article. Here’s the list of video games similar to Myst that are our recommendations. You can play these games like Myst on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, iPhone, Android, mac or even online.
11. XON Episode One (2015)
‘Xon’ is a game that is highly influenced by games like ‘Myst’ and ‘Riven’. The developers have even stated publicly that the production team of the game were highly influenced by ‘Myst’ and its various puzzling mechanics. These factors will also become exceedingly apparent to you as you play through the game. The music and the background score also add to the experience and we recommend that you play with your headphones on if you totally want to immerse yourself into the game. You will find yourself in a world that is heavily influenced by fantasy elements like that of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Going down the rabbit hole is simply the premise of the game and once you delve in o the puzzles, there are various mechanics that will manage to catch you off guard. The ability to portray elements as part of a real world puzzle is the beauty of the game and we highly recommend you try it out if you like playing games like ‘Myst’. It was developed and published by imagoFX for android and iOS devices in the year 2015 and has been a staple in the interactive puzzle genre for some time now.
10. Timelapse (1996)
‘Timelapse’ is a graphic adventure video game developed and published by GTE Interactive Media in the year 1996 for Windows PC and macOS devices. It is heavily influenced by ‘Myst’ and requires players to explore the world and solve various puzzles in order to progress through the game effectively. An archaeologist is stuck in another dimension as a result of a rift and you need to access time portals scattered throughout the region in order to bring him back. When the professor finds a mysterious link to the legendary city of Atlantis, he calls you and asks you to meet him at the Easter Islands. However, once you reach the island, you find the camp abandoned and the professor missing. As you search for further clues, you happen to come across his camera and his journal which contains some clues about his disappearance. This is where your adventure begins!
Throughout the course of the game, you will visit various legendary cities like the Atlantis and those of the Maya Civilizations. The puzzles range from medium to hard difficulty and will require considerable amount of tinkering in order to figure them out completely. If you liked the world design and atmospheric setting of ‘Myst’, then you will definitely love playing through this one. However, keep in mind that the graphics for the game have not aged well, so if that’s not an issue for you, go for it!
9. Ether One (2014)
The human mind can get quite complex at times and no game portrays that better than ‘Ether One’. Developed and published by White Paper Games in the year 2014 for Microsoft Windows and PS4 devices, the game has managed to reach out to a lot of fans of the ‘Myst’ and ‘Riven’ series. You play the role of a ‘restorer’ who is tasked with navigating through the mind of Jean Thompson, a patient suffering from Dementia. Jean is fast losing her senses and you must traverse through the twisting and turning arenas within her mind trying to reconstruct her memories. Once you complete a level in the game, you are able to replay the particular memory that is relevant to that level.
‘Ether One’ takes place in the land of Pinwheel, a sprawling open world inhabited by people suffering from mental illnesses. However, as you solve the puzzles in the game, you relieve the people of their suffering, so there’s a sort of relief in that aspect. The aim of the game is to traverse through the world and rid the people off their suffering and collect red ribbons in the process. Some of the tasks are rather mundane, like settling a shipment of cider, but there are others that challenge your logical skills considerably.
8. Xing: The Land Beyond (2017)
‘Xing: The Land Beyond’ is a game that is so heavily influenced by ‘Myst’ that it can be called a ‘Myst’ clone. It is developed with VR devices in mind and the entire campaign for the game is adopted for immersive gameplay experiences. Roaming around the open world trying to figure out the small nuances in order to unveil its secrets is satisfying in its own right; however, understanding that there is a bigger picture altogether that is beyond your control is the beauty of the game.
We really liked the world design of the game and the various interactions with it, especially because of the VR support. The developers of the game always maintained that the puzzles within it would be open ended and that players could approach them as they pleased. The storyline is quite developed and the ending of the game is highly appreciated by players and critics alike. The in-depth gameplay mechanics, the developed storyline and the overall immersive experience, all juxtapose in a breathtaking climax that you really need to experience for yourself.
7. Grim Fandango (1998)
‘Grim Fandango’ is an adventure video game developed and published by LucasArts in the year 1998 for Windows PC devices. Created by Tim Schafer, one of the biggest names in the industry, ‘Grim Fandango’ is often cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. However, the real truth behind the game is one of failure and quite sad, to be honest. Even though the gameplay mechanics and the storyline aspects of the game were among the best and most polished for its time, it did miserably in terms of sales and also led to the decision of LucasArts shutting down their division responsible for producing adventure games. This is one of the biggest losses for the gaming industry as LucasArts is responsible for developing some of the best adventure games like ‘The Secrets of Monkey Island’ and ‘Maniac Mansion’.
To add to the misery, ‘Grim Fandango’ was also ported to modern devices such as PlayStation 4, android, iOS and Nintendo Switch, and they all did poorly in terms of sales. The mobile handheld versions are laden with bugs and glitches and are no longer updated or supported by the developers. I feel a certain sense of loss when it comes to this particular title and I urge you to check it out if you haven’t already. It puts you in the shoes of Manny Calavera as he struggles to safely escort Mercedes through a series of challenges in the land of the dead. The art style and character design are influenced by the ‘calaca’ figurines that are used for decoration during the Mexican Day of the Dead festival and fits perfectly into the storyline of the game.
6. The Witness (2016)
‘The Witness’ is a puzzle adventure video game developed and published by Thekla, Inc. in the year 2016 for Windows PC, Xbox One, PS4, the Nvidia Shield, macOS and iOS devices. It has one of the lengthiest development cycles of all games with its development starting way back in the year of 2009 and being released in 2016. The lead designer of the game, Jonathan Blow, was able to hire a proper game development team after the financial success of ‘Braid’, another puzzle platformer. This allowed Jonathan to invest a lot of resources in to the development and fine tune the various mechanics according to his desires.
Heavily influenced by Myst, the game allows its players to traverse and explore an unnamed island with the end goal being entering the heart of the mountain that is situated in the middle of it. This is achieved through solving puzzles within the island and activating turrets at specific locations that indicate that the area is clear. There are roughly 11 locations within the island, each having its own set of puzzles and gameplay mechanics. Once the player manages to explore and activate all the turrets within all the 11 locations in the game, they are granted access to the inside of the mountain.
5. The Secret of Grisly Manor (2010)
Grandpa always liked hiding a lot of secrets for you! He is a firm believer that life is a gift and every small experience in life should not only be felt, but earned. Growing up with him, you always learnt to look into the heart of things, observing small details that others will probably miss. However, you have grown now and have experienced things of your own which has somewhat dissolved the pure lessons of the past; but when you return to Grisly Manor many years later, all those memories come flooding back.
You expect to find the loving outstretched arms of your grandpa with a loving smile on his wrinkled face holding all the emotions of the world, but you find the house curiously empty. Thunder rolls in the background and heavy rain lashes down on the empty house as you wriggle through rooms in attempt to piece together what has happened. Is this the doing of another unknown being or just your grandpa playing an old trick? The signs are hard to miss as familiar objects in the building have been cleverly re-engineered in the form of puzzles. This surely is the doing of your grandpa. Or is it? Developed and published by Fire Maple Games for mobile handheld devices, the game is very popular among fans of the adventure puzzle genre and we highly recommend it to you if you like playing games like ‘Myst’.
4. Riven (1997)
‘Riven’ is the direct sequel to ‘Myst’ and similar to the original title, the game is widely praised by its fans and critics for its wide open world and non linear gameplay mechanics. The main aim and objective of the game is not clearly mentioned and hence you need to explore the world and uncover clues in order to understand your immediate objective. You are free to explore the world according to your wishes and there is a fast travel mechanic that allows you to instantly teleport to a location you have previously explored but at the cost of losing potential clues that you may have discovered on the way.
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3. Quern – Undying Thoughts (2016)
‘Quern’ is a graphic adventure video game released in the year 2016 for Windows PC, macOS, Linux and Oculus Rift devices by Zadbox Entertainment. The game places the player in an unknown island with a huge doorway leading into it but as soon as the player enters through the same, it self-destructs and traps the player inside. The only aim of the game is to explore the island and solve the various puzzles within it in order to escape from it and reach safety. There are no combat mechanics in the game nor are there any survival elements, so don’t expect any fast paced action here. The only skills you require in this game are your logical ones, so fans of ‘Myst’ will definitely feel right at home with this one.
2. Obduction (2016)
‘Obduction’ is another point and click first person adventure video game by Cyan Worlds, the company responsible for titles such as ‘Myst’ and ‘Riven’. The game is somewhat considered to be a modern spiritual successor to that of the above mentioned titles and is completely adapted for VR devices. If you feel a lack of immersion in games like ‘Myst’ and want to completely immerse yourself in the outlandish worlds of adventure games, then we highly recommend that you play this title on one of the virtual reality consoles. The controls are quite polished and allow you to traverse through the weirdly alienated world of ‘Obduction’ freely, making the experience much more personal.
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1. Dear Esther (2012)
‘Dear Esther’ is a game that will always hold a special place in my heart mostly due to the heartbreaking story. You are required to explore a solemn, lonely island in the middle of the ocean and as you start making your way in shore, you come across various letters addressed to Esther from her estranged husband. The letters reveal the story behind the lovers, the hardships they faced while living on the desolate island and how they were separated from each other. ‘Dear Esther’ is not only a game; it is an incredibly beautiful story of love and separation and of human suffering that stands true for all of us.
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