Firmament

This game is really cool along with being mechanically and visually great. I did find myself looking up more solutions as I progressed through the game as I was kind of eager to finish it and move on. I think that's mostly due to not wanting to spend significant periods of time stuck trying to figure out how to proceed and possibly not being able to without help! It's much more focused on understanding and manipulating your physical environment and figuring out through trial and error, which I am not the biggest fan of as a gameplay mechanic and from a time management perspective. I'm not sure how long it would take me to figure this game out fully without assistance if ever I would be able to do that. For people who enjoy that challenge and struggle and for the young minds out there this could be a great game.

I'm playing in June and July 2026 (maybe August if I can't figure these puzzles out). I'm using VR - a Quest 3 connected to my desktop PC via Virtual Desktop. I'm ancient as far as video game players go, but I'm relatively new to puzzle games. I used to play the Sierra adventure games in the mid to late 1980s and early 90s, and I was always excited when a new one was released. I had to use a hint guide or call the 1-900 number for most of the games. I remember there being a lot of "moon logic," (you know, like rub cheese grater on satellite dish), and you could easily get soft locked out of finishing the game if you didn't pick up something near the start of the game. I played MYST in 1993. I loved the graphics and the immersion but couldn't figure out one puzzle. Hell, I'm not even sure I knew where the puzzles began. Then I stopped playing puzzle games for over 30 years. Recently, I've become a VR enthusiast and have over 165 games installed that are either native VR or can be modded to work in VR. I love that it's brought new life to my gaming. Among those titles are puzzle games. So I figured why not try puzzle games? I finished Ghost Town and loved it, and Red Matter 1 & 2 which were great. I've also gotten into survival horror games in the past couple of years and there's certainly puzzles in them. Next was Firmament. The environments are gorgeous and you really get a sense of scale and verticality. I'm in love with the uncredited narrator. She (he?) delivers their lines with a sort of wistful sadness, hope, and resignation, all wrapped up together. They sometimes sound as distant as the stars, and sometimes as personal as an embrace. The puzzles are a step up from Ghost Town and a step sideways from the Red Matter series. I've read some of the reviews here, and there was some disappointment about the puzzles and overall world not being at the levels of MYST or Riven. I'm finding them to be suitably interesting and challenging for a newish puzzle gamer. Veteran puzzle gamers will probably find less to like about them. Firmament seems to be one of Cyan's minor efforts. But, what an effort it is! The lonely landscape and the haunted quality of machinery long asleep is really compelling. I see this is on sale now for like $20. It's definitely worth that. I'm really enjoying my time with puzzle games. And, I figure if I play enough of them, I may eventually be able to return to MYST VR and at least make a dent in it.

Amazing puzzle game and a masterpiece from Cyan. Amazing story, great puzzles and incredible enviromental design! Dont play it in VR though, the game was very clearly not designed for it and they did not put a lot of effort into adapting it for VR.

It was okey, some fun and clever puzzles, some more tedious. I was more disappointed in the soulless performance of the voice actress, not matching the performance of previous Cyan titles. From the beginning to the end it sounds (to me) like placeholder voice lines that never got replaced. I was also a little disappointed in the minimalistic writing of the voicelines - it feels like 20% of the voice lines are spaced out in 90% of the game, and in the final act of the game, is the other 80% of voice lines and lore. Did I enjoy the game? Yes. Cyan can be a little hit- or miss with their puzzles at times, but it was fun solving them without looking up any guides (though some puzzles felt very unclear/untested - I got stuck on the electrodes part for what felt like an hour, until I randomly solved it). I did not enjoy the writing/story - at least not the way it was performed. I was actually surprised by the grand reveal at the final act, but I was already expecting the plot twist that came 5 minutes later. I believe the pacing of the story could have been woven into the game better, as it felt like a puzzle game with some heavy storytelling at the end. The ending felt too abrupt, and never gave me the satisfaction I hoped for - my final though "...was that it?". I would still recommend the game if you like puzzles, but be prepared for a very short, thin story with soulless voice acting.

Great story line with a unexpected twist.

game is glitchy, just fell through the floor in the st. andrews area...

A classic Myst-style game with complicated but solvable puzzles. Plenty of places to explore, and every puzzle solution gives you more to explore. As complex as it is, it seems designed so that you can't undo anything you needed to move further, and you can't get yourself in a situation you can't get out of. Very smooth operation on a MacBook Air M5.