Myha: Return to the Lost Island

Histoire originale, mais la résolution des énigmes n'est pas évidente. On ne comprend pas bien certaines manipulations.

Myha is the third main game in the Black Cube series; a sci-fi puzzle adventure franchise that draws heavy inspiration from Myst. This was my first introduction to the series, which was so good that it inspired me to buy and play the rest of the series. You can find my reviews of ASA and Catyph (first and second games respectively) on Steam as well. You discover a black cube in space, which transports you to an island on an alien solar system and you need to figure out a way to get back to your world. Although Myha is a stand alone game and can be played without playing the first two games, the plot, the background and one of the characters makes much more sense if you know the story of the first two games. Positive: - 3D real-time movement is implemented really well. At first I was skeptical of this change, since I much prefer the point and click style of ASA and Catyph. However, your character can travel real swiftly and the graphics were good enough to make this an interesting visual experience. This change also solves all the navigational problems the previous two games had. - Puzzle design is top notch, as expected from Simon Mesnard. Fans of Myst-like games will really like this one. Difficulty is just right, I really enjoyed taking notes and solving puzzles in this game. I was a big fan of Catyph’s puzzle design, but there were a few weak puzzles in that game. Myha doesn’t have any bad puzzles at all, it is pure joy from start to finish. Some nice accessibility features are added as well, such as automatic color annotation for puzzles where the color discirimiation is important. Negative: - Day and night cycles move too quickly, and unfortunately it is very difficult to see during the night. You are given a flashlight, but it is really not that effective. Sometimes I had to wait patiently so that night would turn into day and I could continue solving puzzles. I really wish there was an option to disable the cycle or a fast forward button to move the time faster. - The game is much shorter compared to Catyph. Just as the puzzles and story gets more interesting the game ends. Myha could have used at least 20-30% more content. Overall, Myha is one of the best Myst-like games I have played in recent years and definitely a great entry for the Black Cube series. I would have rated it even higher than Catyph (which I love) if only it was a bit longer. Rating: 8.5/10

The mood and setting are very Myst-like - a big positive for me. The puzzle architecture is more like Rhem with a lot of switches, valves, etc. that have to be in the correct settings. There are clues for sure, but no obvious logic as to why things would be done that way. All the same, a very enjoyable game, could have wished for it to be longer as there were areas left unexplored.

awesome!

I enjoyed this game.

Excellent game. Solid, very rewarding, good sci-fi, excellent graphics.

Interesting and absorbing game. Some really hard puzzles and calculations. I learned a new set of mathematical symbols . Lots of head scratching involved as parts were very difficult but very satisfying when solved.

It's full of very challenging, not very intuitive puzzles which the graphics do little to help with. If what you're looking for is a good dose of getting stumped, this game is for you!

On the positive: This game was beautiful. The graphics, the sounds, the movement, the environment, and the general 'feel' of the game was fantastic. Just roaming around was a pleasure within itself. It doesn't take too long to become completely familiar with the environment and know your way around and that part of the game was first class to say the least. It also goes through night and day as if you were there and that was just another plus. In the beginning, you have a general knowledge of what you should do. I'm not saying that it is easy, it's not, but you know what you have to accomplish to, let's say, move on. And that brings me to the negative: You receive some audio communications that were so bad I couldn't understand what was being said. And there is A LOT of backtracking and I hate that. But on the plus side, as long as you held your little finger on SHIFT key, you could run. It doesn't have an AutoSave feature so you Have To Remember to save it each time (I lost 4 hours of play the first time I played:) As the game progresses, the direction starts to become lost and knowing what to do next starts to become misty. Or you know what the puzzle is but the clues to solving it are a tad on the vague side. At one point I actually knew what I was supposed to do but it seemed SO complicated that I just consulted a walk-through for the answer. The puzzles are HARD...but that isn't what bothered me. My irritation came from the fact that the CLUES needed to solve some of the puzzles were sometimes So Vague that you were just left feeling lost and had No Clue what to do next. I had to consult a walk-through several times and I HATE having to do that..why? Because it means that my enjoyment of the game stopped and my awareness pulled back into reality and I lost that feeling of 'being there'. Even after getting the answer from a walk-through a few times I found myself saying: "You've Got To BE Kidding Me!" And, believe me, I Know that it is a balancing act from being too easy or too hard and that Great Games find that elusive 'sweet spot'. I just think that this game, in places, was just Too Hard to keep your consciousness locked into the game to enjoy the experience. No different than good or bad novels. But I will say: "If you love Really Hard story solving than you will love this game". Have pad and pencils at the ready! I just found it a little too vague to keep me involved. But even with the negatives that I pointed out, I'd Still say try it out. As long as you can get if for around or close to $10 it is well worth the ride.

Un vrai myst-like : Cela faisait longtemps... Jeu parfait à tous points de vue.