Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is a 3rd person adventure game developed by Cyan Worlds and published by Ubisoft. Uru marks Cyan Worlds' second game to use the real-time 3D Plasma engine (the first game was RealMyst) and the first game to introduce a multiplayer component, called Uru Live. Uru is a departure from the previous games in the franchise, taking place in the modern era and allowing players to customize their onscreen avatars. 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. Uri was initially conceived as a multiplayer game; the single-player portion was released, but the multiplayer component, Uru Live, was delayed and cancelled, leaving it to be briefly picked up by GameTap in February, 2007, before it was cancelled again. The future of Uru Live is uncertain.

After Uru Live was first cancelled, addition ages were released through expansion packs titles Uru: To D'ni and Uru: The Path of the Shell. Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and both of these expansions were later released in a collection called Uru Complete Chronicles.

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. Uru sold poorly, while the first three games had sold millions of copies each. The game was a critical and commercial disappointment for Cyan, causing the company financial troubles; nevertheless, it has attracted a cult following.

Plot

Unlike previous games in the series, Uru's story mixes fictional plot elements with real-world events. According to the game's fictional history, archeologists found an entrance to a vast underground cavern in the 1980s near a volcano in New Mexico. The caves led to an ancient abandoned city built by the enigmatic D'ni civilization. The D'ni practiced an ancient ability known as the Art. By writing a description of another world, the D'ni created "linking books" which served as portals to the worlds described, known as Ages. Soon after making contact with a single human, the entire civilization suddenly disappeared two hundred years ago. In Uru's story, the video game Myst was created when the archeological leaders approached a development studio Cyan asked them to create a game to educate the public about the D'ni. Myst sold millions of copies, and Cyan continued to produce games based on D'ni findings. In the present day, a group known as the D'ni Restoration Council or DRC reopens the passages to the D'ni caverns and begins to rebuild the abandoned cities

Players begin Uru's story in New Mexico near the Cleft, a deep fissure in the ground that leads to the D'ni caverns. A man who introduces himself as Zandi sits in front of his trailer by the Cleft, encouraging the player to discover the environment and join the exploration. The player stumbles across a hologram of a woman, Yeesha, who tells him or her the story of the D'ni and requests for help to rebuild the civilization. The player must solve puzzles in and around the Cleft to find seven journey cloths, which enable a path to the Age of Relto. The plot is unresolved at the end of the single-player game; later expansions and online content continue the game's story.

Soundtrack

Cyan Worlds self-published the soundtrack, titled Uru Music, by Tim Larkin on December 18, 2003.