Myst IV: Revelation
The fourth Myst game, concluding the brothers' story.
Myst IV: Revelation is a 2004 adventure video game and the fourth installment in the Myst series, developed and published by Ubisoft. It combines pre-rendered graphics with digital video and real-time 3D effects, continuing the story of Atrus and his family from the original Myst. The game follows the player as they investigate the imprisonment of Atrus' sons and the disappearance of his daughter Yeesha.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Publisher
- Ubisoft (physical); Cyan Worlds (digital)
- Director
- Patrick Fortier; Michel Poulette
- Producer
- Catherine Roy; Genevieve Lord
- Designer
- Patrick Fortier
- Programmer
- Nicolas Beaudette
- Artist
- Pascal Blanché
- Writer
- Mary DeMarle
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Myst IV: Revelation is an adventure game with puzzle elements. Players explore interactive worlds called Ages using the mouse or keyboard, solving puzzles and uncovering the narrative. Movement is node-based: players click set locations to travel, rotating their view in any direction at each node. A "Zip" mode allows rapid traversal across explored areas by skipping intermediate nodes, with thumbnail representations for instant travel. The mouse cursor changes to provide visual cues: it points in the intended direction for movement, or shows a hand holding a magnifying glass when an item can be examined in detail. Clicking and dragging performs actions like pushing, pulling, and tapping. Gameplay enhancements include a camera for taking screenshots of clues, an on-screen journal for notes, and an amulet that triggers flashbacks by relaying memories attached to objects. These tools are accessed via a menu at the bottom of the screen.
Plot
Atrus summons the player to his home in Tomahna to request assistance. Atrus writes special books that link to worlds called Ages. Twenty years earlier, his sons Sirrus and Achenar destroyed his library on Myst and trapped their parents to plunder the Ages. The player saved Atrus, who imprisoned his sons. Atrus' wife Catherine hopes the sons have repented, but Atrus is unsure and asks the player to act as an impartial judge. After an explosion knocks the player unconscious, they realize Atrus' daughter Yeesha has disappeared. The player travels to the prison Ages of Spire and Haven. On Spire, Sirrus has used scientific knowledge to craft explosives, escape his chamber, and free Achenar; his journals show no remorse. On Haven, Achenar has begun living in harmony with nature and regrets his crimes. The player then journeys to the Age of Serenia and meets Achenar, who holds a "Life Stone." Achenar says Sirrus is mad and has captured Yeesha, reveals a hidden journal from twenty years earlier, and warns the player not to let Atrus come. The journal details a plan to trap their mother Catherine on Riven and use a "Memory Chamber"—a giant flower-like structure preserving memories of the dead—to take control of Atrus' body and steal his knowledge of the Art of Writing. The Life Stone powers the Memory Chambers, and the current one is in danger of collapse. The player finds Sirrus in an underwater harvester collecting memory globes; he blows it up and flees to an older, decrepit Memory Chamber. There, Sirrus claims Achenar is guilty and asks the player to bring Atrus to Serenia.
Development
Development of Myst IV: Revelation lasted over three years and involved more than eighty employees at Ubisoft. Originally, Mattel Interactive had contracted DreamForge Intertainment to develop a Myst IV using real-time graphics; that project was two years in and twenty percent complete when Ubisoft acquired the series rights and canceled it, restarting development internally. According to producer Geneviève Lord, concluding the story of the two brothers had been intended for Myst III but was dropped due to time constraints and to avoid interfering with DreamForge's game. The story was redeveloped when Ubisoft began work on Myst IV. Cyan, the developer of Myst and Riven, set rules for Ubisoft to follow, but the team was otherwise free to develop new ideas in the spirit of Myst lore. The team decided to use pre-rendered graphics to match previous Myst games, which was challenging because the studio had never made a pre-rendered game before; over fifty new employees with relevant experience were hired. Full production began before artistic direction and engine tools were fully established, leading to a lack of focus and communication and a poor working relationship among designers, programmers, and modelers for most of production.
Reception
Reception for Myst IV: Revelation was generally positive, with aggregate scores of 82/100 on Metacritic and 82% on GameRankings for the computer version; the Xbox version scored lower. The computer version debuted sixth on the NPD Group's sales chart for October 3–9, dropping to tenth in its second week. It ranked 92nd for September and 12th for October, selling between 100,000 and 400,000 copies in the United States by August 2006. Combined sales of all Myst games released in the 2000s reached 1.6 million units in the country. Reviewers praised the visuals and interactivity, especially subtle animations that made scenes feel like real places. Jack Wall's score and the sound design were consistently praised, and the in-game camera and notes system were well received. PC Zone called it one of the most polished games the reviewer had encountered. Criticisms included the need to hunt for small hotspots, tiresome node-to-node travel, and slow cursor animations. The game required a DVD-ROM drive and over 7 gigabytes of installed space. Charles Herold of The New York Times dismissed the score as "tediously literal." Revelation was the last Myst game to use pre-rendered graphics and full-motion video; the next installment, Myst V: End of Ages, used real-time rendering and was announced as the final game in the series.
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