Myst, Mimics & Mysteries
What's new on Savvy Gaming Network for the Month of July 2025
July was a pretty busy month, full of puzzlely Myst-style games. I got a lot to get through so I’ll get right to it.
Myst (2021)
Ah Myst, Everyone knows Myst. The first person puzzle exploration game that took the world by storm in the early 90s. It was before my time but because I’m reading its prequal novel for the SGN book club I decided now is as good a time as any. I had to choose which Myst to play because there are so many. I decided to do the latest version of the game that came out in 2021, its an updated version of realMyst that has a VR version.
I remember watching the GDC Myst postmortem, where Robyn Miller (one of the creators) stated that they tried to make a game for non-gamers. You can really see this in the puzzles, they may seem convoluted but they are actually pretty straightforward it just takes a little work. Never did I feel as though a puzzle was unfair. There was definitely ages that I struggled with in fact I almost dropped it after the Stoneship age but I pressed on and I ended up not having as much trouble in the other ages.
See full review on SGN.
The Mystery/Secrets of the Nautilus
The Mystery of the Nautilus is a first person adventure game that I decided to pick up because I have this obsession with the book Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea and also because this was my month of Myst and this was considered a Myst-clone.
The Mystery of the Nautilus was developed by Cryo Interactive in 2002. There isn’t that much out there about the game in fact if you wanna play it you’re gonna have to jump through some hoops. It’s currently on the GOG dream list so here’s hoping that in the future it’s easily accessible.
Full article about this game is on SGN.
Blue Prince
Don’t know If I would call this a Myst-like but it is a puzzle game I found out about because of a Myst Youtuber I was watching at the time. He was doing a run of Blue Prince in this Summer’s GDQ. After watching the run I decided to check it out and it was crazy addicting. I though I would just play it for an afternoon and it turned into a whole week. I blame it for my current rougelike phase. Either that or too many games are adding rougelike elements.
Blue Prince is a puzzle game involving drafting different rooms in Mt.Holly in order to make a path to room 46. Your uncle has left you this estate but he’s not going to make it easy for you. Every time you click on a door you get three random rooms from a deck to draft, some have items that can help others are dead ends. After a certain number of steps have been reached the day ends and the manor resets.
Check out the full article on SGN.
Dungeon Raid First Impressions
Speaking of rougelikes, Dungeon Raid is a roguelike card game where you dive deeper into a dungeon trying to reach floor 30 to defeat the final boss. You have five cards in your hand and a random amount of cards set face down in front of you. Clicking on the cards flips them over revealing an enemy, item, trap, upgrade, gold, key or door. You need to find the key in order to use the door to exit.
The demo was incredibly fun and fast paced, you can even play the demo in browser if you go to the developer 4cats itch.io page on the game. I recommend you check it out if you’re a fan of roguelike or simple yet strategic card games.
Check out the SGN article for more info.
Minami Lane
Another little indie game I played was Minami Lane. It was on my list for while and its a fun way to spend a Sunday. Minami Lane is a street management sim. A tanuki needs your help managing Minami Lane, throughout 4 missions you will build shops & beautify the streets. It’s a sorta strategic game but the stakes are pretty low, no pressure. Overall its a cute game if you wanna kill 2-3 hours, reasonably priced as well. I only wish there was more missions.
Check out my article on SGN for the full review
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic
Five Nights at Freddy’s Secret of the Mimic is an interesting entry in the Fnaf series. You play as an overworked Fazbear Entertainment, Inc technician named Arnold who is assigned to go to Murray’s Costume Manor to retrieve company property (blueprints). Once inside you find the place abandoned with the only sign of movement being an Endoskeleton out to get you. This Endoskeleton (Mimic) is unique due to the fact that it can take over any of the mascot costumes around the facility at any time, keeping you on your toes.
I like the general concept of the Mimic being able to take over but knowing when and where it was going to attack me took the mystery and horror away. I wish the chase sequences were a little more loose with errors. It would be nice to be able to look back and see the terrifying thing chasing me. There were some genuinely scary moments (especially with that white tiger). It had some interesting secret areas you could explore if you remembered where to look. It reminds me a little bit of a Resident Evil style game but with one enemy pursuing you the whole time. I only wish that enemy was a little less predictable.
Savvy’s Top Ten SGDQ Runs for 2025
Summer Games Done Quick 2025 has wrapped with over $2,436,885 raised for Doctors Without Borders. There were so many amazing runs but since this is a week long 24 hour event I couldn’t catch them all so here is a list of the best runs (in my option) that I managed to catch at this years Summer Games Done Quick. This list isn’t in any particular order. If you wanna know the reason I liked that run in particular check out the article on SGN. Sadly they took down the concert :(
L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories
Finally for this months book club episode, the short stories from the game L.A. Noire. This e-book exclusive short story collection from noted crime authors, is a prequel of sorts to the in game events of L.A. Noire. Some of the stories are about the past lives of in game characters such as June Ballard from “The Fallen Idol” and William Shelton from “Marriage Made in Heaven” and “Accident Prone”.
These novels are actually in the game itself as collectable items found exclusively in the remastered edition of L.A. Noire. There are 8 short stories to collect, the in game covers are similar to the actual books covers only the authors name are omitted. They also have brighter backgrounds perhaps to make them easier to find throughout the levels.
The actual novels we read for the Video Game Book Club podcast and its one of our very first 1 star read. Each story is as nasty and upsetting as the next. I wouldn’t recommend this book at all, it will add absolutely nothing to your L.A. Noire experience and I think you should let it rot in the e-book store.
For full discussion check out the VGBCs Youtube or Spotify. For what we are currently reading check out GoodReads. If you wanna join in the conversion we can talk chapter to chapter on Fable.
I normally don’t get to do these because my newsletters are so long but I want to thank you so much for reading and subscribing to my newsletter, I really appreciate each and every one of you <3
-Savvy