Cyan, headquartered in Spokane, Wash., announced Tuesday that its latest remake of the original Myst is planned for release on Aug. 26.
This new Myst rebuilds the original 1993 PC game from the ground up with the Unreal Engine, adding new art, sound effects, interactive elements, more accessibility options, and an optional mode that randomizes the game’s puzzles. It was originally announced 11 months ago, and was planned then to be initially released for the Oculus Quest in late 2020.
In Myst, you play as an unnamed silent protagonist who finds a magical book, entitled Myst, which transports you to an island of the same name with no obvious way back. In order to find a way home, you have to explore the island, solve its various puzzles, and use other “linking books” to travel to even more distant worlds.
Like many of Cyan’s recent releases, Myst 2021 has been made with virtual reality in mind, and will initially be available on both the Oculus desktop app and the Quest headset. Customers who buy one Oculus version will also receive access to the other for no additional cost.
Alternatively, Myst will be available in 2D versions on release day for Windows, MacOS, and on the Xbox Game Pass, where it’ll be playable on both console and PC. Myst will be available on other platforms in the future, though Cyan has offered no details thereof.
Myst was the best-selling PC game of all time between 1993 and 2002, and is widely credited with encouraging the consumer adoption of the CD-ROM drive. Myst was also one of the 80 games chosen by the Smithsonian in 2012 to feature in its traveling exhibit “The Art of Videogames.” Myst was created by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller, who currently run Cyan.
Depending on how you count them, 2021’s Myst is either the third or fourth remake of the original game, following the 2000 update Masterpiece Edition, 2000’s realMyst, and 2014’s Unity-powered realMyst: Masterpiece Edition, which was originally made to celebrate Myst‘s 20th anniversary. Players who are interested in checking out the original Myst on modern computers are encouraged by Cyan to pick up the 2000 Masterpiece Edition on Steam or GOG.
The primary marquee feature for 2021’s Myst is its VR compatibility, which brings it in line with many of Cyan’s other recent projects, such as its VR-focused publishing imprint Cyan Ventures.
Myst‘s initial success led to the creation of a multimedia franchise, which includes four sequels, two spin-offs including the MMO Myst Online, a series of novels, and the annual fan convention Mysterium. You can also point to many recently-made first-person adventure games, such as Gone Home, Dear Esther, Tacoma, and What Remains of Edith Finch, as Myst‘s spiritual descendants.
Cyan announced in mid-2019 that it had sold the film and TV rights for Myst to Village Roadshow for further development, which proceeded to hire Ashley Edward Miller (Fringe, Andromeda, X-Men: First Class) in April 2020 to head the adaptation. There’s been no word on the project since, although Miller is reasonably active on social media, so he probably didn’t get trapped inside a linking book. Fingers crossed.
The next original game project from Cyan is its upcoming adventure game Firmament. Described by Cyan as a surrealist steampunk journey, Firmament was successfully crowd-funded via Kickstarter in mid-2019. It’s tentatively scheduled for release in 2022 for all current VR platforms, but will also be available in 2D for Windows, Mac, and the PlayStation 4.
