The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto 5, and The Last of Us; while great games, have been memed to hell and back for their multiple remasters and ports. All three of those games have survived three platform generations, so far. And I’ll admit, it’s fun to poke fun at the way we buy a game multiple times, but remakes and remasters aren’t a new concept.

Cyan World’s, “Myst”, is an adventure puzzle game released in 1993. The game was developed by Rand and Robyn Miller at their company Cyan, now known as Cyan Worlds. Myst has had multiple remakes. It has even more ports. Myst has been ported to platforms like the Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, 3DO, iOS, Android and many more. Yet, Myst seems to have escaped the same scrutiny that remasters like The Last of Us, Skyrim, and GTA 5 have received. I have a theory about this that I like to call the “Tetris Effect”. Allow me to explain.

When Tetris released in 1989, it single handedly helped the Nintendo Gameboy rise to the top. Tetris found an audience among people who did not and do not consider themselves, gamers. Tetris’s addictive gameplay gave it massive staying power and spawned ports to virtually every platform. Tetris now holds the record for the most remakes and ports. 

While Myst and Tetris are very different games, they do share one thing. They are both puzzle games. Myst, like Tetris, was played by adults and children alike. In fact, there were plenty of people who played along with their parents.

In 1993, Myst had become the best selling computer game of all time and held the title until 2002 when it was surpassed by The Sims. That’s quite the achievement for an adventure puzzle game that uses slide show mechanics (Hyper Card) for movement. 

The game performed well enough for Cyan to release the first remake, “Myst Masterpiece Edition” in 1999. This version still used hyper card technology, but contained updated visuals. Myst Masterpiece Edition was followed by “RealMyst”, the first fully interactive 3D version of the game, released in 2002. In 2014 Cyan released “Real Myst Masterpiece Edition”. This version was built using the Unity engine. 

The most recent remake, simply titled, “Myst”, was released in 2021. This version uses Unreal Engine and is what I consider the best way to play Myst. The Myst sequel, “Riven”, also received the same treatment and was released in 2024. My fingers are crossed for a Myst III Exile Remake, though I doubt it’ll happen.

It’s tough to nail down why Myst has managed to stay relevant this long. It’s not repetitive like Tetris. It’s complex and even features overly complicated puzzles. I’m looking at you Selentic Age. Yet people like myself, keep coming back to play Myst even after all of these years.

What I do know is that somehow, Myst has the same staying power as Tetris. It created a new genre that now has multiple Myst-like games. You may know them as, “Walking Simulators”. Cyan Worlds created something truly unique that has Myst fans buying the game again and again. I’m sure when Myst receives another remake or remaster, we’ll be there to buy that one too.

Tell me, have you played Myst? Have you played through it multiple times or are you normal? Thanks for reading and don’t forget to create an account here on the site so you can share your experience with Myst, the game that keeps on giving.