What Mystgame would be a good starting point to get into the series? (I'm not into MMOs and cannot play them right now anyways, so that one is unfortunately not possible).
I started with Myst III Exile which to my opinion is splendid, it marks a new chapter of the whole story and looks stunning. But Myst II: Riven is good as well, which completes the story that you began in Myst I (but nonetheless throws up more questions). Myst IV is amazingly cinematic, very well created and a treat for the eye, but story-wise it lacks. Some Myst fans deny parts of its existance
. Myst V was done in a rush. It is 3D, nothing cinematic, and sometimes very ugly. But it completes the story about the stranger you play in the games.
The novels are a different story-thread in the Myst universe. They tell the story about the ancient race, the fall of their empire and the few that survived. The stranger you play in the games gets involved a 30 years later after the last novel ends.
So if you want a visual appealing game, play Myst III and IV (though II doesn't lack fascinating shots and movies either), if you want to know the whole story, start reading the novels, then replay Myst I to V, and then start with Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. When you get the chance after that (where we're a year further then ^^), play Uru Live and emerge in fan-made stories and ages (visually they can look even better than what Cyan Worlds made).
Still, with that said, you cannot deny that there are only a few companies out there to create these kind of games. Since both companies went bankrupt, it's easy to see why, of course. Still, I really like these games, and it's a shame when one of the very, very few developers still creating that kind of experience dies.
Yeah, I can't deny (sadly :P). I wish too games were much more focussed on stories. The companies are few, but perhaps that makes each of their games all the more brilliant gems.
I want to note down another game which has quite the story, without really having a main story... it's probably the whole mood it sets with its simplicity.
Niffla's Knytt Stories
