Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
| Uru: Ages Beyond Myst | |
|---|---|
The box art to the initial release of Uru shows the player's personal Age, Relto.
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| Developer(s) | Cyan Worlds |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Composer(s) | Tim Larkin |
| Series | Myst |
| Engine |
Plasma 2.0 Havok |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) |
(Steam)
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| Genre(s) | Adventure, puzzle, massively multiplayer online game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 76.19% |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Game Informer | 8.25/10 |
| GameSpot | 7.8/10 |
| GameSpy |   |
| IGN | 9.0/10 |
Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is an adventure video game developed by Cyan Worlds and published by Ubisoft. Released in 2003, the title is the fourth game in the Myst canon. Departing from previous games of the franchise, Uru takes place in the modern era and allows players to customize their onscreen avatars. Players use their avatars to explore the abandoned city of an ancient race known as the D'ni, uncover story clues and solve puzzles.
Cyan began developing Uru shortly after completing Riven in 1997, leaving future Myst sequels to be produced by third-party developers. Uru required five years and $12 million to complete. Uru was initially conceived as a multiplayer game; the single-player portion was released, but the multiplayer component, Uru Live, was delayed and eventually canceled. The online video game service GameTap released the multiplayer portion of Uru as Myst Online: Uru Live in February 2007, but the service was canceled again the following year due to a lack of subscribers. GameTap passed the rights to Uru Live back to Cyan, who re-launched the game for free in 2010.
Uru was not as well received as previous Myst titles. Critics admired the visuals and new features of the game but criticized the lack of multiplayer in the retail version and clunky controls. Compared to previous games in the series, which had sold millions of units, Uru's sales were considered disappointing. The game was a critical and commercial disappointment for Cyan, causing the company financial troubles; nevertheless, it has attracted a cult following.
Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is a puzzle-adventure game that takes place on worlds known as Ages. Gameplay can be viewed from first- and third-person perspectives, a departure from other Myst titles. Players navigate Ages from the third-person perspective, but can switch to the first-person view for closer inspection of clues and objects. Players in Uru can neither pick up objects nor carry an inventory of items; puzzle items must be pushed or kicked into place. The onscreen interface is minimal, having no health meters, maps, or compasses to distract from exploration.
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