Myst IV: Revelation (2004 Video Game) User Reviews

Great lively game to consume hours and hours of your life.

[hicksjustin · 9/10 · 9 December 2006]

Warning, to finish this game takes much time, skill, and maybe even help .

Myst IV is the most realistic game I've ever played. With green screen acting, actors are made to realistically fit onto fantasy background world.

Without spoiling it, I can say that this game revolves around the same story line as in Original Myst game. So if you've played original Myst and enjoyed it, you are bound to love this game. This game includes original D'ni civilization writing and Books that Link a person to other worlds.

Music by Jack Wall and Peter Gabriel in a 360 degree view keeps the game nice and playable for many hours. If you are like me, you'll get tired of some of the puzzles and either take a break for a while or use help system.

There is a camera to use in game so you don't have to take many notes. Just take photos of what you think will be useful.

Yeesha, or Juliette is the main character other than the player and boy is she a great actress. She is the one who keeps you glued to this game for so many hours. Although she didn't write the story line, she makes the story.

Rand Miller plays Atrus, Yeesha's father.

If you like puzzles, this game is for you. This game is mostly puzzles.

Here is hoping another game with living beautiful actors and actresses happens some time in the next ten years.

The ending made me cry. I guess it was the ending plus Peter Gaibriel's song, Curtains.

stunning graphics - tough puzzles -mediocre acting.

[martin-randle · 9/10 · 13 February 2007]

I guess you don't have to be a great actor to star in a computer game, but I'd still rather see mediocre acting with real people, than 3D modelled cartoon characters in a game like this. So this is the last of the traditional Myst series that includes real people composited into phenomenally realistic 3D rendered environments.

Myst IV does break the mould a little as there is much more character interaction than before - especially if you include the weird and wonderful life forms that inhabit these worlds. This is one of the most immersive adventure games ever.

It is the last of the classic Myst series before they switched from pre-rendered to fully interactive. And when they changed to fully interactive I really think the Myst series really lost the way. What a shame it was also the last as not everyone wants to shoot aliens or pick up medipacks by running over them.

The game is slooowwwwwww. You have to stop and think, you have to go back over your tracks - and if you are a bit thick like me, you have to refer to hints once in a while (some of which are handily included in the game). The feeling I get when playing this and the previous myst games is that I am really there.

You begin your journey on a cable car accompanied by 10 year old Yeesha, daughter of the main character Atrus. After abandoning you, you get a little while to look around Atrus's study before he turns up and makes you tune his radio thingy. After that things go bang and of course it is up to you to relocate the power grid, charge the generator, empty the bedpans and reroute the power to the doobrie that makes it all go.

But things go from bad to worse as Atrus and Katherine's (the ever absent mother) 2 older sons escape their prison worlds and plan to do naughty things. Yeesha is kidnapped and it is left to you to find out what has happened.

So of course you have to be investigator, electrician and mechanic and general wanderer.

The think most Myst fans dislike about Revelations is the rather hippy level you end your chase on, which involves taking a "dream" with your "elemental" companion - think magic mushrooms with a cloud of steam.

But I never had a problem with it.

So if your perfect game is Doom III with extra gore, or solitaire then this isn't for you. If you fancy a journey to some pretty exotic locations, which will stay in your mind forever - then have a go at either this OR Myst III Exile - which features even more ham acting by non other than Brad Dourif (Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers.)

Fantastic

[andersb_the_swede · 9/10 · 21 February 2007]

Until a few months ago, I never heard of any of the MYST games. By coincidence, I stumbled across, MYST V, end of ages, and was immediately amazed by the beauty of the graphics, music, sounds and great story and thrilled and excited by the best puzzles I had yet ever come across in a computer game.

After successfully finishing End of Ages, I needed more challenges, so I bought MYST 4, Revelation, and what a revelation it was to me! Even more beautiful graphics, sound and music, this time topped with live sequences with great actors (with one exception, I will return to that)..and with at least as entertaining and mind challenging puzzles as for "end of ages".

This game is beautiful in any possible sense. Most adventure games out there are either too easy or contain poor story or lame illogical puzzles. Myst is a lovely and logical challenge.

To my opinion, in order to appreciate the MYST games, you need to have an IQ, well above average, a good eye for details, and lots and lots of patience. If you are equipped with these abilities, the MYST games will give you many hours of excitement and thrill.

Now, in MYST 4, as mentioned, there are several scenes with live actors. The two villain brothers, Sirrus and Achenar, are brilliantly played by Brian Wrench and Guy Sprung. I really could not help being fascinated by especially the Sirrus character, despite his evil intentions. Great great acting by Brian Wrench.

Atrus is played by game creator Rand Miller, he does a fine job, but is only present in a few scenes in the beginning and very end of the game. However, the game story evolves around Atrus and Catherine's daughter, Yeesha, which leads me to the only acting problem of the game. Unfortutely, the young actress playing Yeesha, to me, was extremely annoying. I realize, that she is young and unexperienced, but she plays the part completely without emotions. I could not care less about saving her life, and in fact in the end, I felt more sorry for Sirrus and Achenar than I would have if Yeesha had died.

Nevermind, the game is brilliant and highly recommended!!

Simply Amazing!

[estrellitapharm06 · 22 December 2004]

I was blown away by this game. For one thing, you get to interact with lots of other people, far more than in any other Myst game. Also, the plot seems to unfold around you. Your objective by the end of the game gives your objective at the beginning of the game a WHOLE new perspective. Your initial objectives are to turn the power back on, help Atrus figure out whether or not to release his sons from their 20-year imprisonment, and keep an eye on Yeesha.

Okay, so...turning the power back on was the first puzzle you had to try to figure out, but once you do that, there's an explosion (NOT your fault!), and you're knocked out. When you come to, it's now nighttime, Yeesha is nowhere to be found, and when you find her necklace (given to her by the people of Serenia, it has a special ability: it stores memories), you see that she's in trouble. Someone was trying to kidnap her. When you do find the Linking Chamber, where Sirrus and Achenar's books are set up, it's been blown open...from the inside! This kinda narrows the suspect list down to 2: Sirrus and Achenar. You've got to figure out if either one of them has repented or if they're in this together, and to do so, you've got to go to each of their Prison Ages and see just what they've been up to these past 20 years. Your objective has now changed to finding out what exactly the brothers are up to and figuring out what they want with Yeesha. Kinda puts a whole new twist on your initial objectives, doesn't it?

One of the first things I noticed about this game, besides the absolutely stunning, immersive graphics and equally immersive sounds, is that you have new toys to play with! You actually have a camera this time, and a journal for you to store your pictures and write things down in! So now, when you see what could be a potential clue to solving a puzzle, all you have to do is take a picture of it. They're easy to use, the pictures store in the journal automatically, though you can delete a picture if you so choose, and they're ALWAYS easily accessible at the bottom of the screen. Another thing that I found extremely helpful is zip locations. If you're at one end of a forest and you want to get back to your starting point but you get easily lost in mazes, or it's just a long way and involves too much clicking to get there, you can just zip back to your starting point. You can literally go from one end of the Age to the other in the blink of an eye, once you've visited both locations. You don't control what zip locations are stored though, but it's still extremely helpful. Also, you get to keep Yeesha's handy little necklace. Sometimes, when you examine something, it allows you to see or at least hear a memory involving said object, which can sometimes provide clues or additional insight. After you get it, I find it fun to use the necklace on the journals. You get to hear the author of the journal reading whatever page you have open, which can be even more chilling than reading it by yourself, depending on which character wrote it.

One of the two prison ages is absolutely creepy, while the other one is actually, once you've explored a bit, quite beautiful. I love the little Mangrees (monkey-like creatures) in that Age, but there is one puzzle involving them and their predator that is absolutely frustrating! Your quest eventually takes you to the Age of Serenia, an Age whose beauty is unsurpassed by any other Age. It's breathtaking! This is the Age where you get to interact with people, which I really enjoyed. And there are no words to describe Dream. I have never, in any game I've ever played, seen graphics so incredible, so amazing, so beautiful...or a puzzle so initially frustrating! Make sure you have complete control of your mouse when you visit Dream. That's all I can say. A mouse that is out-of-control will make solving that puzzle MUCH more difficult. Of course, any cheat guide/walk-through will give you the answer to that puzzle. In that sense, you can get through the game without solving it, but Dream is DEFINITELY worth at least a visit!

I liked that there was much more physical interaction in this game as well. You actually used your mouse to turn the pages of the journals, push things, pull things, open things...it was not just "click this object and watch what it does." Also, the sound effects when you interacted with things was perfect! You heard yourself turning pages, sliding down tunnels, your hand jumps back and you hear the sound when you receive an electrical shock, and even the background stuff, stuff you can't interact with, can at least be tapped or grabbed at, and the sounds are always appropriate, whether you're touching paper, wood, metal, etc. In Serenia, you actually get to hold certain objects in your hand and carry them.

There are 3 different endings to this game that I know of, but I also know of 2 other things that could've been made into alternate endings, but for some reason they were not. Too bad. I would've liked to see them.

Okay, okay, enough rambling for now. Go out and buy the game and experience it for yourself, especially if you've played the other Myst games, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Finally The Graphics To Match The Gameplay

[zkonedog · 10/10 · 6 March 2017]

The Myst franchise was always known for its engrossing environments and complex, mind- bending puzzles. As the graphic engines of personal computers got better and better, though, the "screenshot" method of the series (where each mouse click essentially advanced you to another screen of interactive images) started to seem a bit dated. With "Revelation", however, the graphics were ushered into a new era and able to match up with the previously established greatness.

Though the puzzles of "Revelation" are definitely intriguing, what I always remember about the game was just how incredible everything looked. It was as if the worlds were truly coming to life around me. There was a 360-degree range of motion, and the objects within the worlds looked as pristine as any other game of that time. For example, the "Spire" age in this game to this day remains perhaps the most incredible world I've ever experienced in the Myst universe.

Story-wise, the franchise did well to bring back the Sirius and Achenar characters (this time again plotting against father Atrus by kidnapping sister Yeesha), as Myst fans deserved a bit more about those two individuals and the type of worlds they created/destroyed. After branching the story out quite a bit in "Exile", "Revelation" brings things back to its roots once again.

Overall, then, "Revelation" could easily be viewed as the top game in the entire Myst franchise simply for the way it combined state-of-the-art graphics with the typical compelling Myst story lines and logic-based puzzles.

The best game in the Myst franchise

[unitythroughterror · 10/10 · 14 April 2014]

I remember the agonizing years it took (middle school to the end of freshman year in high school) for me to beat this beautiful, richly compelling game. Over the years I have had the drive - and really just pure luck - to beat all five of the Myst games. By far, this is the most compelling one out of all of them. Myst was good, Riven was great, Exile was ambitious, and this is just the top of the cherry. I like that they made it dark, that it had significantly more disturbing elements and violence, and I loved the real life themes of spirituality and shamanism seamlessly woven into the game play. Peter Gabriel as the spirit guide who in the end plays a key role in the climactic events is a soothing and vibrant character amidst all the chaos. But this one really keeps you going. Juliette Gosselin, who plays the mcguffin, is charming and genuine enough so you really want to see her to safety. The reluctant actor, Rand Miller, is iconic as ever as the timeless Atrus. But I have to hand it down to Guy Sprung and Brian Welch. They did a wonderful job giving humanity to the otherwise faceless characters of Sirrus and Achenar. This is a very character-driven game, and really an experience unto itself apart from the Myst universe while still being a part of it. It's currently out of date for the updated Mac OSX which is a real shame. I hope Ubisoft follows Cyan Worlds and ends up posting it and Exile online. I give it a solid 10/10, probably the best game in the entire Myst series, and excellent because all the other games built up to it and with it here it's all the more special. If the opportunity arises for you to play it, follow my advice. Just play it. Bring a cheat guide just in case, though. As it is the most stimulating it also features some of the most difficult puzzles I have ever encountered, makes Riven look like tic-tack-toe.

Great music!

[abrafocus · 14 April 2006]

I just finished this game yesterday. The music is absolutely stunning.

I really like Yeesha. Just remember, don't let her beetles go. She'll get pretty ticked off.

There is no need to go the Haven if you've already played the game. However, if you're playing for the first time, you must go there. There's a something you do in Haven that you need to know in Serynia.

Befoe you go to Dream, be sure to get a spirit guide. You can be wind or water. In every game it's different, so don't assume you're wind when you can be water, or vise versa.

*Spoiler below* Just remember, things are not always as they seem. Near the end, you go inside the old harvester. There you see Yeesha locked in a chair. You're given a choice of pulling a silver or a bronze lever. I won't say which one to pull; that will be up to you.

When you first start the game, listen to Atrus talking when he's writing his letter to you. The music is very dramatic, and it is done well.