Myst V: End of Ages

 PC
  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Release Date: Sep 19, 2005
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 61
  3. Negative: 11 out of 61
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Gharren
    Aug 9, 2013
    10
    A great game, maybe the best one of the Myst series so far. Beautiful graphics, intelligent, sophisticated puzzles and an awesome storyline. If you are an Adventure- or Puzzle-fan, this is a must-have!
  2. davidm
    Jan 11, 2010
    10
    Best yet by Cyan - heartbroken to learn this is their last. Has inspired me to build my own game in realtime 3d(using 3dgs) Hard work but it's the only way i can get what I want and share with like minded others.
  3. KevinM.
    Sep 18, 2005
    10
    Incredible Game and an incredible finale!
  4. I_Am_Turok
    Aug 8, 2012
    1
    I've not played the other Myst games, but gave this a go out of curiousity for the series (it was cheap). And after 4 hours of play, decided I'm not that curious anymore, to the extent that I could not be bothered even to use a walkthrough to finish it. It is beautiful, though it's not exactly interactive beauty, as you seem to glide over everything, as opposed to feeling a part of it.I've not played the other Myst games, but gave this a go out of curiousity for the series (it was cheap). And after 4 hours of play, decided I'm not that curious anymore, to the extent that I could not be bothered even to use a walkthrough to finish it. It is beautiful, though it's not exactly interactive beauty, as you seem to glide over everything, as opposed to feeling a part of it. Also, there's mysterious dialogue and then there's just plain annoying dialogue, and it was mostly the latter. For the puzzles I did do, they involved looking in some very specific places for clues, for no other reason seemingly than to look there. If you've not played Myst at all like me, I would buy this with caution. (At first I gave this a 4 for its beauty and feel mainly, but then thought afterwards, I didn't finish it, thought it was annoying what I did play, and it's 4 hours I'll never get back, so it gets a 1).… Expand
  5. choopy
    Aug 18, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i never thought the day would come that i would bad-mouth a mist game, but, im sorry, but this game is just a let down. i am a fan of all the other Myst games, but this one just wasn't as good your good friend atris is dead, the lovable child yeasha is now a 60-or-so-year-old and almost all puzzles now revolve around some stupid tablet, the game is no longer a real challenge, and it was not a good resolution to the myst series. in my opinion, myst's final game was myst IV, this game is now dead to me… Expand
  6. VelthurC.
    Dec 7, 2007
    3
    A mediocre game, failing to measure up to Myst IV in visuals, sound, characters, or plotline. Not as immersive as any other game in the franchise; also very short, since the puzzles are easy, and glitches let you skip a couple of the worlds. Unsatisfying; I expected something better to conclude what I consider to be, otherwise, the greatest series of all time.
  7. ThePhantasm
    Apr 8, 2012
    2
    Not even worth playing. The graphics are shoddy, failing to look a fraction as good as Myst 2 (Riven). Movement in classic mode is awful - constantly directing you exactly where you don't want to go. Puzzles are simplistic and boring. The most difficult part of the game is figuring out what is a puzzle and what isn't. You are frequently distracted by various characters pacing around,Not even worth playing. The graphics are shoddy, failing to look a fraction as good as Myst 2 (Riven). Movement in classic mode is awful - constantly directing you exactly where you don't want to go. Puzzles are simplistic and boring. The most difficult part of the game is figuring out what is a puzzle and what isn't. You are frequently distracted by various characters pacing around, spouting mostly useless "I'm crazy" stuff. The game just isn't fun.… Expand
  8. tobori
    Jul 14, 2015
    2
    I am a diehard Myst series fan. I own everything Myst. I have rarely finished any of the games other than Myst and Riven. Sometimes I just find them way beyond me but I love the intricacy and prefer difficult but logical games. Months or years later, I'll try again, and this is what I did with End of Ages. Since I never finished it, I started it with pretty much a clean slate (punI am a diehard Myst series fan. I own everything Myst. I have rarely finished any of the games other than Myst and Riven. Sometimes I just find them way beyond me but I love the intricacy and prefer difficult but logical games. Months or years later, I'll try again, and this is what I did with End of Ages. Since I never finished it, I started it with pretty much a clean slate (pun intended). What happened next absolutely destroyed this game for me.
    (small spoiler). I was learning to use the slate; drawing designs I had seen to see what would happen. TWICE I was able to finish an age by accident because of an error in my drawing. TWICE!!!! I didn't even know what happened until I realized I had achieved my goal before even exploring those ages. That's just plain awful. At that point, what good would it do to explore that age when it's already been completed? I don't know how this game made it to the shelves with such awful bugs.    … Expand
  9. JohnB.
    Dec 4, 2005
    7
    Myst V leads you down a given path that leaves you half expecting what is to come. Puzzles are built more off obscurity and slight of view than logic and intuition. Some puzzles might better be compared to cliffs than to hills in terms of solving them. Lack of depth and background to the otherwise interesting plot make it seem bland. While these points may hinder the game, enough of Myst Myst V leads you down a given path that leaves you half expecting what is to come. Puzzles are built more off obscurity and slight of view than logic and intuition. Some puzzles might better be compared to cliffs than to hills in terms of solving them. Lack of depth and background to the otherwise interesting plot make it seem bland. While these points may hinder the game, enough of Myst V remains loyal to what the series was originally based on and that combined with stellar graphics make the game worth the money.… Expand
  10. StephenC.
    Sep 17, 2005
    10
    A stunning world and gripping story, with puzzle to suit people of all abilities and enough to see to keep explorers happy for months
  11. NeejitS.
    Sep 17, 2005
    10
    Beautiful graphics, really good sound and music, gripping story and interesting characters. This game is really, really good, it's an amazing conclusion to the series, and a great experience even for those new to the series.
  12. JohnW.
    Sep 17, 2005
    10
    this game is awesome.
  13. ChrisNotgonnagetit!
    Dec 22, 2005
    7
    Myst V.... Long awaited! A player of every MYST game (except REAL Myst... the fully 3d version of Myst), I waited for the day that it arrived on my doorstep!

    Alas, the final chapter! I was saying to myself "How great this will be!!" Boy, was I wrong. Compared to non myst games, Myst V blows every other game out of the water. But put it up to the other games in the Myst series, and I    Myst V.... Long awaited! A player of every MYST game (except REAL Myst... the fully 3d version of Myst), I waited for the day that it arrived on my doorstep!

    Alas, the final chapter! I was saying to myself "How great this will be!!"
    Boy, was I wrong. Compared to non myst games, Myst V blows every other game out of the water. But put it up to the other games in the Myst series, and I was severly disapointed.

    It wasn't just because of graphics, or lack of sounds, or even straying away from the Myst series (in all honesty, I thought I was playing URU through out most of the game). No. It was the whole package.

    Every game has a hole or two. But this thing is swiss cheese!!

    For example, you do a LOT of walking in water, especially on the 'last' age of the game (though you can play any age at any time, I went with when the age appeared. And they seem to get much more involved as they go on). Walking in water is good. Esp when seeing such amazing water graphics. But what was lacking? The splash (audio AND video) of water as you walked.
    I thought maybe it was a glitch. Tried another age in the game after a reboot. Same thing! No splashes!
    Ok, we'll forgive them on that one thing.

    But the Bahro? Esher? I mean, really. There isn't any hint to Bahro from Atrus. And in the books I've read, there isn't any mention of the Bahro in them! Ok, so a new element. I can deal with it. I even welcomed it! But you know nothing (and wont learn anything) about the Bahro.
    That was a little insulting to include a new species, then tell us nothing of them.

    Then Esher. Atrus was always portrayed as the true last of the D'ni. Though Yeesha is part D'ni, she isn't full D'ni (Cathrine was born and raised on Riven, then fled with Atrus to Myst, the age that Ti'Ana, Atrus' grandmother wrote). Now we are hit with another full blooded D'ni? The problem? He is younger than Atrus! So the Shouldn't even be there if Atrus is the last full blooded D'ni, as everything else in the Myst series supports.

    The 3-d gameplay was acutually kind of fun, though it meant 3-d rendering of people and places. No photo-realistic pictures such as Riven, Exile, or Revelation. Not a big deal at all. The graphics were actually quite good. And yes, they look JUST like the pictures you see one the websites.
    I must admit, the worlds are truly amazing in detail and design. Including going to a former prison age of the D'ni.

    Ah, but here is one of my real complaints against the game: The endings.

    There are 5 endings possible (though the game is only programmed to respond to three. ANOTHER strike against them).
    WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!

    Myst comes into play here. Ah, Myst. So good to know that we can go back to the island that started it all! The lush trees, the sun, the amazing puzzles.

    No such luck.

    Myst, if you return, you find to be a bombed-out-shell of an island. No more sun. Everything is falling down. And don't look up when you first link to Myst, because you could poke your eye out on the broken boat mast that is just above your head!! Hmm. Not much to explore. No lushness. No puzzles. Just an empty shell. But Ehser (in the 3 cases that you return to myst... one with the stone and give it to him, one where you return, but don't give him the stone, and when you link without the stone. the game responds ONLY to when you give him the stone and when you link without the stone) tells you Myst is now your island. Your own prision. No way out. You're just stuck there.
    Not too bad if we could link to the other ages! But alas, you just sit on a poor, broken down, raining island.
    The other two scenarios:
    You give the stone to Yeesha (oops. She takes it and runs!). you can then return to Myst without the stone and get chewed out by Esher, or just stay there in K'veer.

    Or, the least likely, you can drop the stone on the floor (this is actually how you beat the game). The Bahro! They come and take the stone away.

    NOW you learn that they were slaves, and that if they hold the stone, they are freed from slavery. NOW Yeesha tells you that.
    Whats worse? You can't drop the final Bahro stone like you can the others. There is only a small corner of the stone that you can click on to drop it, unlike the edge of all of the other Bahro stones.

    Ok, so the Bahro are freed, they take you and Yeesha to Releshan (alright! we can explore the age we saved in Exile! NOPE!! You just stand in the same place!!) to see a dying Atrus. Long, boring story short: Bahro freed, Esher tortured by Bahro for enslaving them, Yeesha and Atrus are reunited.... and the Atrus says they are rebuilding D'ni there!

    What that...? How the....? Didn't they try that in URU, TWICE! And didn't they fail, TWICE?! Yep. But now, they want to rebuild it again. Ok, thats wierd.
    AND WHAT ABOUT GETTING ME HOME TO WHERE I CAME FROM? Nope. You're stuck there as the endless credits roll, and you get a scene from an ugly spire in the distance.

    THAT is Myst V.

    Good compared to other adventure games... but by far the WORST Myst game yet!

    Good to play if you don't know the Myst line, or anything about D'ni. But if you know about the Myst line, and D'ni.... you WILL be confused and disapointed.
    Alas.. Myst died without firing a final stand.    … Expand
  14. De2nis
    Aug 8, 2016
    9
    A beautiful and satisfying that falls just short of greatness. The puzzles are challenging, solid, and logical. The world's are beautiful and immersive. The tablet system (at least how its implemented) was a terrible idea, nearly causing me to quit the game prematurely at one point. Some of the impediments the game puts in your way, requiring you to solve puzzles to get past them (sayA beautiful and satisfying that falls just short of greatness. The puzzles are challenging, solid, and logical. The world's are beautiful and immersive. The tablet system (at least how its implemented) was a terrible idea, nearly causing me to quit the game prematurely at one point. Some of the impediments the game puts in your way, requiring you to solve puzzles to get past them (say a short ledge, or a easy to climb over gate) are a bit silly. But where it really counts (good puzzles and beautiful, immersive worlds), this game succeeds.… Expand
  15. zkonedog
    Mar 4, 2017
    4
    After the great success of Myst IV: Revelation, I had very high hopes for "End of Ages". Plus, it is billed as the "final Myst game ever", so how could it not be utterly epic, right?!

    Well, I'll start with the positive: Some of the puzzles in this game are pretty fun and interesting. I remember having an intriguing time figuring many of them out. Even here, however, cracks began to    After the great success of Myst IV: Revelation, I had very high hopes for "End of Ages". Plus, it is billed as the "final Myst game ever", so how could it not be utterly epic, right?!

    Well, I'll start with the positive: Some of the puzzles in this game are pretty fun and interesting. I remember having an intriguing time figuring many of them out. Even here, however, cracks began to form, as one world can be entirely beaten based on a logical guess, cheating the player out of a great planet-based challenge.

    That is about where the positives end for this game. The graphics no longer employ actors or interactive still shots, instead improving upon the URU 3D-rendered approach. While it is a definite improvement over URU, I always felt that the "old way" of approaching the graphic interface was part of what made Myst, well, Myst! It felt real, not fake. "End of Ages" feels kind of fake.

    To top things off, the storyline is an absolute mess, especially when trying to wrap up the series. For fans of the Atrus-based Myst canon, this installment does absolutely nothing towards providing even a hint of finality to the series.

    I'm pretty sure that Cyan went belly-up after this game was released, effectively killing the Myst franchise, but the sheer inability of "End of Ages" to wrap up any of the true Myst mythology leaves the door open at least a crack for a true ending (or perhaps even more stories!). It seems unlikely at this point, to be sure, but I think I can speak for most (if not all) of Myst fans when I say that we would relish another chance to end this thing right. "End of Ages" (despite a few decent puzzling experiences) really doesn't come close to doing that.    … Expand
  16. gold
    Apr 5, 2021
    9
    Просто и со вкусом. интересные нововведения.
    Итог:9.888/10
  17. bergcamp101
    Aug 7, 2020
    9
    One day it should have happened, and Myst goes fully 3D, which is controversial, maybe, but the spirit of the Myst is here, and it's beautiful, and puzzles are challenging, and all, that should be in the Myst, is here.
  18. bergcamp1001
    Oct 1, 2022
    9
    One of the best puzzles games of all times. The legend of the Myst series will always live in our hearts.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best PC Game of 2005
65
#65 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005
33
#33 Most Shared PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. GameSpot
    79
    Myst V concludes this landmark series with dignity and style, delivering a challenging and sophisticated adventure that contains a number of satisfying moments.
    Read full review
  2. IGN
    88
    Every change to the Myst formula, from the tablets to the varied control schemes, make End of Ages one of the best entries in the series. And the visuals and sound rank among the series' best as well. Highly recommended to Myst fans and plain adventure fans alike.
    Read full review
  3. Cheat Code Central
    80
    I don't want to ruin things for you but just let me say that I was expecting a better conclusion to wrap up such a memorable series. But as with most puzzle-oriented game it's the journey and not the destination that makes it all worthwhile. And it's been one hell of a good ride.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »