Myst | PS5 Review

Remember the movie Psycho? The 1960 original is an undisputed classic of cinema, a masterpiece of tension and atmosphere. Then, in 1998, a shot-for-shot remake was released that left audiences wondering if changing the visuals of a perfect formula was truly necessary. Playing Cyan Worlds’ recent remake of Myst on the PS5 left me with a very similar feeling. It is an absolutely gorgeous, modernized upgrade that is incredibly fun to revisit, even if it doesn’t improve upon the classic’s foundation. 

Blast From the Past

Myst was originally released on the Macintosh in 1993. A few months later in 1994, it arrived on the PC. Rand and Robin Miller, brothers from Washington, had an independent game studio where they had made some successful children’s games under their Cyan, Inc. company. Inspired by the classic storytellers of the past, they decided to make a game for an older audience; one without the limitations of turns or time limits. Myst was the answer.

The setup is simple enough. I, the main character, fall into a fissure where I find the book of Myst. Touching the image on the first page, I mystically travel (see what I did there?) to a mysterious island and find myself on the dock. A sunken ship to my right, a bunker entrance to my left. Ahead is a giant gear on the top of a small hill. I find a message that was meant for Catherine, the message-writer’s wife. That’s all is needed to understand that there are secrets and clues everywhere on the island…and on the connected worlds.

In the library are a red book and a blue book. It would appear that the husband has trapped his sons within these books. They implore you to bring more of their colored pages while ignoring the pleas of the other brother. Don’t worry, you can bring the found pages to both of them. It helps progress the story.

From here, let me leave it at this: Myst is a game of the most insanely obtuse and/or nonsensical puzzles I have ever witnessed in a game. The only reason I “beat” Myst is because of online walkthroughs. And that I loved every minute of it.

The Island Unchained

I originally played Myst on my Packard Bell Windows 95 machine. That bad boy had a 75 mhz processor, 2 MB of RAM, and a 200 MB hard drive. I played it again on the Sega Saturn sometime in the late 90s. When I saw it was released on the Nintendo DS in 2007, sure enough I bought a copy there too. Here we are almost 20 years later and over 30 years since I first played the game. The PS5 version is here! I wanted to play it again.

On a purely technical level, the graphics and sound design have received wonderful, modern upgrades. The iconic island looks stunning, featuring stellar water effects and a crystal-clear view of items stretching far into the distance. Performance on the PS5 is utterly perfect. The biggest gameplay improvement is the transition to a modern, free-roaming movement system. Being able to walk freely around the island instead of being restricted to the original’s rigid, on-the-rails path makes exploration feel seamless and natural. 

The Five Minute Trick

Once I look past the fresh coat of paint, I realize that absolutely nothing else has changed. The puzzles are exactly the same as they were over thirty years ago. Every single clue, hidden switch, and missing book page is located in the exact same place. While the developers did include a modern toggle to completely randomize the puzzle solutions, I chose to stick strictly to the classic mode. I had no desire to beat my head against a wall of frustration with puzzle solutions I didn’t already know and couldn’t solve with the internet’s assistance; I just wanted to bask in a massive hit of nostalgia.

I wish that this remake provided a modern in-game note-taking or camera system. I started wondering if I would have to go purchase a wide ruled notepad to log clues and redraw images. Thankfully, we live in an era where cell phones have immense storage, so I took pictures of the clues, drawings, and pages with my phone instead of using a real-world pen and paper.

Some of the puzzles I was able to get through from memory. Others? Yep, I still needed the internet to remind me. A fun surprise was that they left in the famous trick that allows you to beat the entire game in under five minutes. If you remember how to get to the switch by the lighthouse clock and memorized (or internet searched) the pattern inside the fireplace, you can do it, too!

But the Soundtrack

The soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time. Working in technology, there have been times when I have donned my headphones, thrown on the Myst soundtrack, and whittled away at a coding problem for hours. In the 90s, it was a great soundtrack somewhat reminiscent of The X-Files. Through my adult life, it has brought me back to simpler times with its synthy mysterious sci-fi aesthetic. The soundtrack is intact and still glorious here.

A Loss of Ambiance

The most disappointing changes lie in how the game handles its story presentation. In the original, the video segments you encountered, like the distorted messages when placing a red or blue page into their respective books, were static-y, grainy, and mysterious. It was a perfect aesthetic choice that added to the game’s eerie ambiance. In this remake, those live-action actors have been completely replaced by stiffly animated 3D character models, all while utilizing the original, vintage audio files. The contrast is incredibly jarring, and I found the change both weird and sad.

I could only wonder if the quality of the original videos couldn’t be remastered in a way to make them fit the modern improvements on the PS5. For me, the animation is more disappointing than any raised eyebrow I might have had about the poor video resolution.

Final Verdict

Ultimately, this version of Myst is a beautiful retread, even if it isn’t a tidal wave of greatness. Admittedly, the updated character animations wouldn’t have annoyed me so much if I didn’t have my fond memories of the original live-action footage to compare them to. Furthermore, regardless of whether you are a brand-new player stepping onto the island for the first time or a veteran on your tenth playthrough, it has to be said: these classic puzzles are still absolutely ridiculous.

Yet, if you are a fan of the original, you will still find everything you loved about it right here. The developers didn’t reinvent the wheel, but when you combine the timeless foundation with modern graphical upgrades, you get a gorgeous, intriguing experience. Returning to the island to hear one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time alongside these stellar visual improvements is easily worth the price of admission.

To hear me talk more about Myst, be sure to listen to the May 29th, 2026 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast.

This review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy of Myst provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox and PC.