Immersive, emotional, and fun.
Story:
Once again, the player returns help Atrus and Catherine in accomplishing some goal that they are unable to complete themselves. (Oh, my name is Atrus and I'm trapped in another dimension...please do the work for me?) The player is visiting the couple on their age of To'Mahna when all of a sudden a ragged figure (played by Brad Dourif) appears, and steals the special book that Atrus has been working on. He disappears into his own linking book, but not before setting fire to Atrus' study. The player chases after the thief just before the flames consume the book.
The player finds himself in a teaching world Atrus had designed for his sons many years ago. The thief, Saveedro, has altered the world and its neighbors to provide Atrus with a lesson of his own making. Instead of Atrus appearing, however, it's you, and whatever connection Saveedro had with Atrus' past is up to you to discover through the clues that he drops throughout the game.
Gameplay:
Jaw-dropping for its time, and even by modern standards a beautiful experience. Whereas Myst and Riven was essentially a massive collection of stationary pictures, Myst III is a collection of pictures one can look at in 360 degrees of vision. Standing from any point in the game, the player can look all around him, left, right, up, down, simply with a flick of the wrist. The result is a truly immersive gameplay experience, and the series which is famous for bringing its players into interactive world-poems again succeeds in making the experience a little better than before.
Puzzles:
Varied, and intricate, without being overtly complex or tacked on. Puzzles are organic, they fit in with their world. For example, on the tree world one is constantly wondering how to twist vines and shed sunlight to affect nature, in the stone world one is weighing rocks and balancing scales. The challenges of the game often require looking for hints in another place, so if you are stuck, leave the world entirely and come back to it later.
Acting:
Just enough of it to transmit plot well, not an overload as in the Myst games to come. Brad Dourif plays his part perfectly. Good man.
Graphics:
Breathtaking. The way these designers have carved out their levels is fascinating, haunting, liberating. One feels the existence of history in the worlds he enters even if one doesn't know it. Colors are bright, every facet is detailed. Stunning, truly stunning.
Closing thoughts:
With Myst III the designers mastered the formula in such a way that had not been achieved at that time and would not be obtained again. Further Myst games would overact, over story tell, over puzzle, and over think their way to mediocrity... Playing this instalment is like catching a wave at its crest.