Myst
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 24 adventure games by recommenders
Pioneering 1993 puzzle adventure that people still recommend for its atmosphere, music and sense of another world. Critics find it dated, thin and limited in actions by modern standards.
Pioneering 1993 puzzle adventure that people still recommend for its atmosphere, music and sense of another world. Critics find it dated, thin and limited in actions by modern standards.
38 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Immersive fantasy world and atmosphere
“Myst ruled because you felt like you were in another world back then”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” “nostalgia, the fantasy environments, the music”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” Nostalgia for a childhood favorite
“Which suggests that nostalgia probably is a big part of why I still enjoy Myst.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “The science of Monkey Island: can grog dissolve a metal mug that fast?” “I fondly remember Myst, Monkey Island and other puzzle games like that.”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates” “nostalgia, the fantasy environments, the music”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” - Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “The Riven Diffs – Seeing Riven (1997) Differently”
Strong story, graphics and music
“Myst was impressive on multiple fronts, the story line, the graphics, thr music.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” “nostalgia, the fantasy environments, the music”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” Puzzle discovery without dialogue
“No dialog. No text. Just ... clicking and discovering the rest of the story.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “Triple-A Minesweeper” “I fondly remember Myst, Monkey Island and other puzzle games like that.”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dated and thin by modern standards
“the game is extremely thin by modern standards”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” “woefully out of date in a world where most games are immersive”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” Overhyped and fails to live up
“Myst was one of those super-hyped-up titles that failed to live up to its reputation”
Comment from 11 Aug 2026 in “Mars Bar from 1991 found – and it's 20g bigger than today's” “I loathed Myst, so had avoided The Witness for the same reason you played it”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles” “I am not sure Myst actually is a great game”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore” Limited range of actions
“Myst is cool but is ultimately an adventure game, in comparison.”
Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “'500-hour' Order of the Sinking Star is as complex and exhausting as it sounds” “Much too limited range of actions.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “No One Can Afford to Make Myst Games Anymore”
Other adventure games people recommend
The four most recommended other adventure games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sid Meier's Pirates! | 61 | 11 | 85% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Grim Fandango | 41 | 8 | 84% | 3 | 20 yrs3 owners | — |
| MystThis page | 31 | 7 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Monkey Island | 29 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Doki Doki Literature Club | 25 | 6 | 81% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
34 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Myst is cool but is ultimately an adventure game, in comparison.”
“What Cyan were trying to do with Myst and Riven”
“No dialog. No text. Just ... clicking and discovering the rest of the story.”
“Which suggests that nostalgia probably is a big part of why I still enjoy Myst.”
“I really enjoyed replaying it from the original CD of the Mac release”
“I fondly remember Myst, Monkey Island and other puzzle games like that.”
“I remember being totally blown away.”
“Myst was impressive on multiple fronts, the story line, the graphics, thr music.”
“Myst was the CD-ROM killer game for me.”
“I haven't found anything on the level of Myst/Riven/Exile.”
“Myst was one of those super-hyped-up titles that failed to live up to its reputation”
“show me a modern video game that is better than Myst or Riven”
“nostalgia, the fantasy environments, the music”
“the original game was very playable and fun”
“The VR support/remake pales in capability versus what I've seen done with actual VR games”
“the game is extremely thin by modern standards”
“woefully out of date in a world where most games are immersive”
“It was lightning in a bottle”
“Myst ruled because you felt like you were in another world back then”
“the game play code was pretty simple”
“I am not sure Myst actually is a great game”
“Much too limited range of actions.”
“had better ones to play- Myst, X-Wing, etc.”
“now they are two of my all time favorite games”
“One might argue that Myst, or at least its predecessor The Manhole, also merits mention.”
“Myst with Sphinx is great.”
“I was surprised at how well it runs on an M1.”
“Not quite as compelling a setting/story (though that's praise of Myst far more than any put down on RHEM)”
“Loved Myst/Riven when I was a kid.”
“I loathed Myst, so had avoided The Witness for the same reason you played it”
“all amazing classic games that were Mac-first if not Mac-only”
“We are building around a shareable AST precisely because structure really matters.”
“It just doesn't have the unlearnable syntax of rST”
“you can probably can buy a cheap android tablet and Myst and still have enough left over”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.