9 Puzzle Adventure Games Like Myst

Are you looking for puzzle adventure games like Myst? The adventure genre has slowly been declining in recent years, but there are still some great titles available on different platforms.

Myst was a highly popular and critically acclaimed adventure series that spanned 1993-2005. The non-violent gameplay focused on players solving puzzles and attracted a massive casual audience (including myself). The Myst series offers challenging, complex puzzles, simple but beautiful graphics, and deep rewarding gameplay.

Myst was one of the first puzzle adventures I ever played, and still one of the best after all these years. I hope you enjoy this collection of similar experiences that I've put together. Please let me know in the comments section which alternative is your favourite, or share any games like Myst that you think I missed.

Which Myst Game Is Your Favourite?

Riven

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1: The Myst Series

The Myst series is a great place to start, if you haven't already played all six titles. They all offer a similar style of gameplay and polish. If you are yet to play them all, you are truly missing out on a wealth of puzzle adventures.

The majority of the series is available on Windows and Mac, making this platform your ideal option if you want to play them all. However, some are available for other platforms including Windows Phone, iOS, Xbox and PlayStation.

Please be careful if you decide to purchase some of the older titles in the Myst series in their physical boxes as the age of these titles opens up a number of potential system issues. If you are unsure, please make a digital purchase through Good Old Games (GOG.com) instead.

This will guarantee that the game will work on your computer system as all games in the GOG collection have been updated to work in current versions of Windows (and you won't ever lose your copy again).

Myst Game Summary

2: The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour

The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour are puzzle adventures developed by Trilobyte at around the same time as the original Myst. This pair was a great success on PC and Mac and has since been ported over to iOS devices.

Players find themselves wandering through a mansion as they solve a variety of logical puzzles and unlock the story behind themselves, the mansion and their amnesia. Both of these games were the reason I got hooked on puzzle adventures such as Myst. These experiences are ones that many older gamers will remember and accordingly I cannot recommend them enough.

Similar to the Myst titles I strongly recommend purchasing these options through GOG.com to ensure complete compatibility with new computer systems and versions of Windows.

7th Guest Gameplay

1 / 5

The 7th Guest Review

3. Machinarium

Machinarium is a puzzle adventure designed around a point-and-click interface. The gameplay and feel of Machinarium are very similar to that of Myst, despite Machinarium being point-and-click. The game was originally available on Windows, Mac and Linux but has since been added to iOS devices and Android.

In Machinarium you solve various brain teasers and puzzles that are linked together through an overworld. Machinarium is a unique adventure story that contains no dialogue (spoken or written), and apart from a few early tutorial prompts, the game does not use any form of understandable language, instead relying on animated thought bubbles.

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To aid players, Machinarium offers a hint system involving two tiers. In each level, the player may receive one hint (although these become vaguer the further you advance through the story). Alternatively a walkthrough can be accessed at any time by completing a mini-game.

The word free world of Machinarium makes it a curiously fascinating adventure and appropriate for those seeking something less intense than Myst in the puzzle department (thanks to the help systems in place).

Machinarium Gameplay

1 / 8

Machinarium Trailer

4. The Secret of Grisly Manor

The Secret of Grisly Manor has you exploring your uncle's mansion, solving puzzles and looking for clues to find out what has happened to him.

It offers a great puzzle adventure experience and is available on your portable devices (Android and iOS). In my opinion it is one of the best in the mobile space with very few titles offering the level of depth that you'll find within the game.

The Secret of Grisly Manor is slightly on the easy side when it comes to puzzle games though, making it perfect for younger children or novice puzzle adventurers, and a great way to break into the genre.

The Secret of Grisly Manor - App Store
The Secret of Grisly Manor - Google Play (Android)

The Secret of Grisly Manor Gameplay

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The Secret of Grisly Manor Trailer

5. Axel & Pixel

Axel & Pixel is a point-and-click puzzle adventure that was released in 2009 on the Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360. In 2010, it was also released on Steam for Windows.

The game follows a painter named Axel and his dog Pixel, who wake up in a dream world that is both unique, memorising and frightening. Together they must solve the various mysteries and puzzles and ultimately escape while fulfilling Axel's dream.

Axel & Pixel is your traditional point-and-click-style adventure and features many logic-based puzzles and riddles while presenting them in a unique way. The game contains four different chapters based on the four seasons and also features three different mini-games that are played several times throughout the adventure.

Axel & Pixel Gameplay

1 / 7

Axel & Pixel Gameplay

6: Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Amnesia is a survival/horror/puzzle blend, while it doesn't have a large puzzle focus like Myst, the game offers great (and scary) gameplay with some puzzles thrown in.

The title follows the journey of Daniel as he explores a dark castle while avoiding monsters and solving puzzles. The game includes physical object interaction, physics-based puzzles, and a insanity bar mechanic.

Uniquely, there are no weapons in Amnesia, which forces the player to rely on stealth and hiding to avoid the monsters that are present in the castle. Players must also manage their sanity, which decreases the longer the player is in darkness or when they witness a scary event.

To counter insanity, players must rely on the few light sources available in the world. Another unique feature of Amnesia is the lack of toggles on objects that you can interact with; for example, players must actually push or pull doors open with their mouse.

If you find that you enjoy Amnesia, I recommend also looking at Penumbra which has very similar gameplay elements.

Amnesia Gameplay

1 / 5

Amnesia: The Dark Descent Trailer

7. Drawn Series

The Drawn series is a casual adventure collection with a focus on puzzle solving. If you prefer the hardcore puzzles then Drawn is best skipped for the more difficult experiences featured above.

Each title within the series offers an impressively unique art style, compelling storyline and amazing worlds that can be explored thoroughly. It's an absolute must play in order though as each game is intimately connected through the story and setting. You'll find that characters and game references also overlap so playing the titles in order does ensure the full experience.

There are three games available in the Drawn series; The Painted Tower, Dark Flight and Trail of Shadows (the games are available on Windows, Mac and iOS devices).

Drawn: The Painted Tower (Big Fish Games)

Drawn Gameplay

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Drawn: The Painted Tower

8. Gray Matter

Gray Matter is an adventure point-and-click available for Windows and the Xbox 360 with a slightly darker storyline to those previously featured here.

The majority of the game takes place in Oxford and follows the story of a street performer and magician named Samantha and a strange neurobiologist known as Professor David Styles.

The puzzles in Gray Matter have great variety and include word games, riddles, magic tricks and mazes, all of which have a balanced difficultly level to keep you progressing forward at a consistent pace.

Even though the game is entirely controlled with a point-and-click interface it still has a very Myst feel to it due to the story unfolds and the general puzzle designs.

Gray Matter Gameplay

1 / 7

Gray Matter Intro

9. Portal Series

The puzzle-focused games in the Portal series may lack the clue-collecting and variety of puzzles that Myst offers, but still deserves inclusion on this list simply for its amazing physics-based puzzles and dark humour. Both titles are very enjoyable and if you are a fan of solving puzzles you won't be disappointed.

In the Portal games, players are armed with the portal gun, which creates two connected wormholes between any two flat surfaces. The titles also has many other puzzle mechanics, including bridges, turrets, lasers and companion cubes.

The Portal series has had critical success and offer a great puzzle-based experience with Portal 2 introducing co-operative play to the series with great success.

I recommend picking up both titles at once in the handy Portal bundle which provides access to both games for one convenient price, while the games aren't directly related playing them in order will let you get a better grasp of the mechanics and any running jokes in the series.

Portal Bundle [Portal 1 & 2] (Kinguin)

Portal Gameplay

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Portal 2 Gameplay

Share Your Memories of Myst Below or Recommend Another Game

grimsikk on September 17, 2016:

I'm surprised neither Kings Quest or Antichamber were listed. Kings Quest is an older point and click series, and Antichamber is a more recently released bizarre optical illusion of a game, both are amazing puzzle games/series. I was just playing Kings Quest 6 earlier today ^_^

Anthony on September 01, 2016:

Riven is legend

Amber on May 13, 2016:

Thanks a million! Myst is my all time fav, Kings quest were also really good but might be too outdated now, def gonna try the rest out if I can find them!

Andy on February 20, 2016:

Try Shivers. Just the best.

Curtisnielsen on April 02, 2015:

We just released a new iPad adventure game called Puzzle House: Mystery Rising. which is similar in many ways to Myst and The Room series. It has the 3D control like the room, but adds a 3D journal, and a robot visitor who helps you solve some of the puzzles. It is the first game of three planned games.

Rick Kenton on November 22, 2014:

Check out the new puzzle/adventure game "Tall Tails" just released on IOS for free…don`t let the cuteness fool you…this game will Break Your Brain (in a good way)

De.H on November 07, 2014:

the black mirror series is also a great choice for adventure gamers especially the first and the second parts

Wutaz-Zawwop on July 15, 2014:

I never understood why they call these "adventure" games. Isn't every game supposed to involve some kind of adventure? I always thought of them as being puzzle games.

Anyway, it's just too bad that most of these aren't available for my system, which runs Linux.

Meryl van der Merwe from USA on July 06, 2014:

Riddle of the Sphinx was fun too - set in Egypt of course.

reflux000 on June 09, 2014:

I'm amazed nobody mentioned sanitarium! Definitely one of the best and creepy bizarre puzzle games out there. Should be #4 for sure!

cold-memories on May 23, 2014:

I like them all, but Machinarium is the best. Thank you for the list :)

nonya222 on March 11, 2014:

I love adventure games but wasn't a huge fan of the maze style. You have some great games here like the Drawn series and some I will try. Great list thanks.

anonymous on September 06, 2013:

@anonymous: I also LOVED Shivers and didn't find Harvest nearly as good but Shivers is a great game that I never hear talked about!

anonymous on July 18, 2013:

@anonymous: LOVE Shivers to this day... I recently had to give it to my brother and his wife to re-play. It's a family favorite.

anonymous on June 24, 2013:

Rhem 1, 2,3 and 4

marvmac on June 14, 2013:

I think Portal 2 is the best choice out of all the other puzzle games listed on here.

anonymous on May 30, 2013:

No one has mentioned another Sierra game that was point and click and was just awesome at around the same time of Myst. Called Shivers there was also a sequel Shivers 2 Harvest of the Soul but although the puzzles were hard it just didn't have the coolness of wondering around an abandon Museum that had cool unique music in each room. Shivers 1 was my favorite next to Myst back in the mid 90's.

anonymous on May 29, 2013:

Buried in Time, Dust, Titanic

anonymous on May 02, 2013:

I just released a new iPad adventure game called Tipping Point which is similar in many ways to Myst.

anonymous on May 02, 2013:

@anonymous: Thank you AnnaB! We love Myst and Lost City and Grisly Manor and Zork .... so much that we decided to make one, it has taken a lot to make our first, hope to have the sequel out much faster, stay tuned! - Dave, SkyHorse Interactive

anonymous on April 29, 2013:

I just got Vanished: The Island, and so far it's great.

anonymous on April 18, 2013:

One of my favorite games like Myst was the Zork series. Zork Nemesis was fantastic and took my quite a while to play. I wish game makers would realize that not every game has to be about shooting and killing. Some of us older gamers still enjoy games like Myst and Zork.

anonymous on March 21, 2013:

Thanks for the list. I wish there were more games offered for the Mac OS. :/ Also, someone already mentioned these, but the Syberia games were definitely great fun!

anonymous on February 24, 2013:

you overlooked Nancy Drew games. Very puzzle oriented, click and move, games that require thinking! Quite a rare breed of computer games, but those are also fun.

anonymous on February 18, 2013:

Definatly i would try portal 2 and portal 1. best games i have EVER played. non violent and have hard puzzles to solve. give it a good try!

anonymous on February 04, 2013:

Try Aura and Aura 2. Also great Myst like games!

anonymous on February 01, 2013:

@johnsja: i totally agree with you and the kids times. we played lighthouse by sierra and it scared the pants off us, lol. great times

Lemming13 on January 26, 2013:

I always enjoyed the Syberia games; a bit less challenging than Myst, but fun; and Portal 1 & 2 are hilarious as well as challenging (or should I say testing?). Great lens.

anonymous on December 30, 2012:

@anonymous: The Room was awesome!

anonymous on December 27, 2012:

@anonymous: The Room is awesome! Great way to get hooked back into these types of games. I loved Myst and am really happy to find it available for iOS

Jo-Jackson on December 25, 2012:

Myst used to be one of my favorites.

Jo-Jackson on December 25, 2012:

Myst used to be one of my favorites.

johnsja on December 11, 2012:

I played Myst years ago and loved it. I then graduated to Riven but found it a lot harder and eventually I gave in. The kids used to sit with me and help me play. Now that I think about it I sure do miss those days. Might have to get it out again and have another go.

Eleanor Candy from Australia on December 09, 2012:

I have tried the drawn series and it is a great game to play for the whole family.

topgameslist lm on November 08, 2012:

Thanks! I must try some of them...

anonymous on October 20, 2012:

Myst was by far one of the best puzzle games I ever played.

Tom Fattes from Naperville, IL on October 12, 2012:

Love Myst the game. I think I still have the PC version. Great list of games.

anonymous on October 03, 2012:

Try "The Room" on iOS.

LuizAvila on September 20, 2012:

Myst itself!

anonymous on August 29, 2012:

schizm and schizm 2 on gamersgate.com

anonymous on August 04, 2012:

Lighthouse was by far my favorite game after myst. Very similar

Camden1 on July 14, 2012:

My husband used to play Myst before we had kids - he's trying to get my son to have a try now.

Auntie-M LM on June 30, 2012:

Looks like some great options here. Blessed.