P.Y.S.T.

No one was chosen. Yet everyone came. Journey to PYST island, a place that has become a tourist trap for 4 million PC junkies. Only your attitude and sense of humor will help you discover the secret... that there is no secret. Shh! Don't tell!

What can you do when you get PYST?

• Explore hilarious hot spots in every illustrious scene.
• Enter the private PYST web site straight from this CD-ROM to send electronic postcards and hear more from your favorite PYST characters.
• Play the comedy CD single I'M PYST in your audio CD player or right from your computer.
• Go behind the scenes with The Making of Pyst video.
• John Goodman as King Mattruss in this original spoof created by Peter Bergman, a co-founder of the award-winning comedy ensemble, The Firesign Theatre.

~ from the back of the box

Parroty Interactive have their formula. Take a known, popular IP and take the piss out it. Badly. They have four "games" under their belt, three of which I've already covered. Now it's time to look at the last on the list; their first - PYST. In case you can't guess it's a piss-take on Cryo's classic adventure, Myst.

Releasing in 1996, three years after Myst had become the best-selling game of all time, you'd think it might have been too late to cash in on the name. Surely people had moved on. Well, if you were an avid PC gamer back then, you'd know they weren't. In a similar way to every FPS being called a Doom clone in gaming mags, first-person point-and-click adventures with an emphasis on puzzles were called Myst clones. Rumours around its sequel were slowly being confirmed or debunked as the long-gestating sequel to be known as Riven was gearing up for release the next year. The timing couldn't be more perfect for a parody.

If you've played their "humourous" take on The X-Files, Star Wars or Microsoft's newest operating system, then you know you'll be in for a groan-worthy time. It is simply not funny being too wordy with obvious puns that'll make your dad groan and little in the way of depth or bite. The premise would've been ripe for that kind of satire too. PYST island has been trashed by the millions of careless tourists visiting the place each year and its ruler King Mattruss (played by John Goodman of all people) is too lazy or just plain mad to care.

This leads you into a few interactive screens based on the original game. They are presented as post-cards complete with a holiday maker's hastily written note on the back. By hasty, I mean the dull first draft of a joke that is yet to land. Or find a punchline. Or the actual joke. Instead we just get seagulls pooping 'cos that's the level of funny we're dealing with here.

That's it; eight uneventful screens with a number of unfunny skits to find in each of them. No mini-games, no puzzles and no discernible talent either. Well, that's not entirely true. John Goodman and his natural comedic capabilities can elevate any part, even when he's doggedly sticking to such a sorry excuse for a script such as this. He also lends his vocal chords to a twangy comedy song to test your eardrums too. It's mildly entertaining.

If you think a game such as this can be enjoyed in a so-bad-it's-good kinda way, you're wrong. Some rando out there might say otherwise but I find all four Parroty games hurts to play. Or that could be the hangover talking. I did get pyst the night before...

~

* Disclaimer: As terrible a pun as that last line was, it is still far better than anything found in the game. Continue at your own risk.
 

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to get the game working on modern systems. Manual included. "I'm Pyst" comedy song included as a separate download. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 244 Mb.  Install Size: 339 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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P.Y.S.T. is © Parroty Interactive
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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