When Myst was first released, it was critically acclaimed. Computers weren’t very powerful back then so it consisted on a series of pre-rendered images.

realMyst (iPad: $6.99) 

“This is not your father’s Myst. Experience Myst in a way that’s closer to real than you’ve ever imagined – in realtime 3D and up close and personal on your iPad 2 or newer. You’ve got to experience it to believe it!”

Presentation

While that worked out well then (and even on the remastered version for the iPhone), Cyan Worlds  released realMyst, an updated port with new 3D graphics. And you can appreciate that more than ever on the iPad. You can now truly free-roam around the 3D world.

So where does the bad start? It starts with the text. If you’ve ever played Myst you know theres a lot of text in the game, mostly throughout various books in the way. Quite frankly, all the the text looks like crap. That being said, the game does look gorgeous, and remains faithful to the original. The dynamic environments stand out, you’ll notice rippling water, waving trees, etc. It even supports the retina display resolution. The bad side? The framerate isn’t as smooth as I’d like it to be, it made me a bit nauseous at times.

Controls

One thing the game has going for it are the controls. Sliding around the screen will allow for turning, while simply tapping with one finger puts you in motion (you can also double tap to move faster). Two fingers and you’ll be moving backwards. Some of the puzzles, like the piano one, were a bit hard to control on the touchscreen, but overall the touch controls work well for this game.

Gameplay

We already went over the gameplay in our original Myst review, and realMyst maintains all that, but we’ll go over it again. You play as the Stranger, who finds his way onto the island of Myst using a binding book. There you find the story of the game, which includes Atrus, his wife Catherine, and their two greed filled sons, Sirius and Achenar.

The main thing about the game is that you’ll be using a library full of “linking” books that Atrus wrote, to transport to different ages. If no one has ever told you this, I’ll tell you now: Myst is a hard game. As you uncover the mysteries of Myst Island you’ll have to solve many unusual puzzles. In the end, remember realMyst is the Myst you played, but fully immersive. It’s all about the presentation.

Conclusion

While I love Myst, and enjoyed my time with realMyst for that reason, if you’ve never played Myst before I would recommend you try that first before trying out this 3D version. That being said, Cyan Worlds did an awesome job bringing this to the iPad. Minor bugs aside, it’s a great experience on the touchscreen. 5/10.