Are you a fan of lifeless still images? Do you like vague mysteries that never get resolved? Are you the kind of person who can't get enough of poorly-acted full-motion video scenes? If you answered yes, then I've got some good news – Myst and Riven are coming to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this month. Those are definitely two point and click adventure games that you've probably heard of, but are either of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Next Generation and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. Immerse yourself in another obtuse episode of Review Crew.


In a year when violent fighting games and fast-paced shooters were all the rage on home consoles, PC owners were buying up a quiet puzzle game set on a small island full of mysteries. Coming out of nowhere, Myst was a genuine phenomenon. In a year when both the media and the government was going after violent video games, a lot of press went to a simple point and click video game with no blood or gore. They trumpeted the fact that Myst was the best-selling CD-ROM of all time. It was a hit. Or was it? “Not really,” pushed back Next Generation. “It's technical simplicity meant it was one of the first CD products that reliably worked. Many early ‘multimedia' PCs had it packed in, and early buyers, few of whom were gamers, had little else to show off with. Myst got lucky.” It was one thing to convince a bunch early CD-ROM adopters that Myst was the hottest game of 1993, but everybody knew that it would be a tougher sell for console gamers. Let's see what the critics thought of the 3DO, Saturn and PlayStation ports of Myst.

Now, it's worth mentioning at the top that I'm specifically looking at the reviews for the home consoles, since we're getting a new PlayStation and Xbox port later this month. Up first is Electronic Gaming Monthly, who gave the 3DO version of Myst a very middle-of-the-road score of 5.75 out of 10. Despite the mid score, the reviews were pretty mixed. Al gave the game a 4.5 out of 10, praising the game for being nearly identical to its PC counterpart: “One problem: Even thought this has a very interesting story line, I had a difficult time trying to maintain any attention to this game. Most of the game consists of just still pictures of various spots on a rendered island. It kinda makes me wish for more full-motion video, which is very few and far between in this game. Sorry, this game just bored me.” Dano liked it enough to give Myst a 7: “This game was all the rage when it debuted on the PC, and that excitement should follow through on the 3DO. While the game is really nothing more than nicely rendered screens with some full-motion thrown in here and there, the story alone is what made this game so hot. One minor gripe is that it's very difficult to read papers and books because of the weird script font. It's a worthy purchase and a game you'll have no trouble getting into.”

As is often the case, EGM's average sits right in the middle of the scale. Game Players gave it a score of 57%, which is basically tied. However, it's the bottom two scores that I want to talk about. First is Next Generation, which gave the 3DO port a low 2 out of 5. “You could like Myst anyway, just for being so luscious in appearance – this wouldn't be the first game where you're willing to put up with frustration just to marvel at what you get to see and hear next. However, the retro-zen approach wants to lead you to believe, at the same time, that it's all very mystical and deep, as if you were making a spiritual journey instead of just playing a game. But, in the end, the game's total nonconclusion, really little more than a cynical set-up for an inevitable sequel, betrays that at Myst's core, the game is simply being obtuse to hide what little lies beneath its glittering surface.”

While that's bad, the worst review belongs to Intelligent Gamer, who gave it a D+ grade. They didn't even bother giving it a full review, reducing their write-up to a short paragraph: “Myst was a great game in its time, but now, the game has aged horribly and just doesn't possess the same magic that it used to. Only consider this game if you are satisfied with a great port of an outdated adventure game.” Mind you, the “in its time” that he is talking about was three years ago.

Of course, there were critics who actually liked the game. Or, at the very least, were willing to give it a more respectable grade. Sega Power, for example, gave the Saturn version a solid 78%, while Mean Machines Sega went up to an 82%. And then there's Hyper, who ranked Myst as one of the very best games of 1995. Giving it a 95%, that's right, a 95%, they concluded that “if you need a good mental workout and have never played Myst before, then get up and down to the game store, because you're missing out on one of the best games ever made.”

Believe it or not, that wasn't the highest score, as GamePro gave it a perfect 5 out of 5. They absolutely bought into the hype, arguing that “if you have the opportunity to play Myst on a PC, that may be the way to go because of the slightly better graphics. On the other hand, a large-screen TV, a pair of headphones and Myst 3DO make for a memorable adventure. Either way, don't Myst out.”

While there were a couple of magazines that gushed over these console ports, there wasn't a whole lot of agreement when it came to Myst. With scores all over the place, the overall average ended up settling at 68%, which is either too low or too high, depending on how you look at it. It's a polarizing game. But at this point, I have to imagine that most of us know where we land on Myst.

After the surprise success of the first game, it took Cyan Productions four years to develop a sequel. Clunkily titled Riven: The Sequel to Myst, is a larger, better-looking follow-up that tries to expand on the lore from the first game, all while setting up enough new mysteries to keep the franchise alive for decades to come. The good news is that the developers listened to the criticism and improved on the puzzles and storytelling. Unfortunately, the bad news is that a lot had changed in the gaming space in the last four years, and what may have been ground-breaking in 1993 could be seen as outdated in 1997. Let's see what side of the divide the critics landed on.

Although we're mostly going to focus on the reviews of the console port, I do want to check in with Next Generation to see what they said about this long-awaited sequel. After all, they were the ones leading the charge against the first game, so did they like this sequel any better? Actually, they did. They gave it a 3 out of 5. “The success of Myst and (presumably) Riven doesn't surprise us at all. Games are the best form of entertainment, and when someone presents people who have never played video games with one that they can actually play, even if it's only a fair game, they're going to like it. A starving man would love McDonald's, but it's not for gourmets, and it's much the same with Riven. Your aunt who just bought a Packard-Bell will no doubt be enthralled, but anyone with a mature palate has surely see it all before.”

Now, when it comes to the actual console ports, the reviews were about what you would expect. PSM agreed with Next Generation, giving Riven a 3 out of 5. After complaining about the constant disc-swapping and bad interface, they called Riven “a pretty decent game. It certainly won't win any awards for innovation, but it does improve upon its predecessor in almost every area, particularly with graphics and sound. The puzzles are still a bit too hard and don't really integrate into the story very well, but you can get used to that. Regardless, Riven does what it was supposed to do – provide a game that anyone can play. And in that purpose, it succeeds quite well.”

Much like Next Generation, Electronic Gaming Monthly liked this Myst sequel more than the original. They gave the game an average of 6.9 out of 10, up more than a full point over the first game. Kraig gave it the lowest score, explaining that “Riven delivers what Myst fans want: More of the same. If you don't mind thumbing through five CDs of still shots to solve some challenging puzzles, then this game is for you. One of Riven's biggest improvements over Myst is that there is more video and moving parts when you click on things on screen. This isn't my sort of game, but those who like Myst will definitely enjoy it.” Sushi-X liked it even more than that, giving it a 7.5: “By far this month's longest game to complete, Riven takes a massive amount of patience to finish. You'll be entranced by the wonderful backdrops as you are disgusted by the poor acting. I'm sure you'll find yourself totally immersed or totally frustrated.”

If you're looking for the highest score, then we're once again turning to GamePro. Yet again giving the game a perfect score of 5 out of 5, Dr. Zombie concluded that “trigger-twitchers and action junkies will be bored stiff by the intricate plot and immense time commitment required to solve the puzzles and explore all the worlds. Those more patient, however, will be completely engrossed by this well-crafted gaming experience. Riven's riveting.”

Not to go off on a rand here, but I hate when the critics say that Myst and Riven are “games that anyone can play.” I get what they are going for, but let's not pretend like simple games haven't existed for decades. The industry was literally created off of the backs of games that anyone can play, like Pong or Pac-Man. That was their whole appeal. Myst is far more complicated than Pong. The puzzles are a nightmare and you still have to use video game logic to beat the game. Quit pretending like Myst is Tetris. It's not. Anyway, Riven earned an overall average of 73%. That's an improvement. I guess.