2: Exploration
The fifth instalment of the Myst saga feels in many ways like an attempt to get back to roots, and I think this is part of the problem. It includes no less than nine Ages (five fully expanded, three minor, and one epilogue)—in comparison, Myst IV: Revelation had only four. The original game had six (five fully expanded), and realMyst added another ‘bonus’ level. Nine levels: that’s a lot to explore, but unfortunately, exploration has come at the expense of the individual character of the Ages, and of the puzzles.The shift of focus from puzzle to exploration is one which Rand Miller consciously wanted, as anyone who has read the interview in the official Myst V guide will know. In general, I would be what he calls an ‘achiever’: someone interested in the puzzles, rather than simply exploring a Age—although I’m not exclusively interested in the puzzles, as I hope this review will show. The aim behind Myst V: End of Ages was to make it appeal to a wider audience than simply the ‘achievers’, and, given the complexity of, say, Sirrus’s Age of Spire in Myst IV: Revelation, it’s easy to sympathise. However, the end result is sometimes one of quantity, not quality.
And this is never more clear than in the case of the Age of Direbo.
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