The basic premise depicts Myst Island, referred to in-game as "Pyst Island", in a state of disarray after being visited and subsequently "vandalized" by millions of tourists - garbage littering the place, buildings left to neglect, and graffiti everywhere (also revealing hints to puzzles which frustrated players in the original Myst).
Gameplay is a simplified version of the exploration mechanic as used in Myst, being little more than a series of "postcards" with interactive objects strewn around the scene. Players merely interact with the setting at his/her own leisure, though there are extras like a Live-Action Cutscene featuring John Goodman as "King Mattruss", the ruler of Pyst Island.
While it has become something of a collector's item for dedicated Myst fans, the game was critically panned for its half-hearted attempt at cashing in on Myst's popularity and its lack of interactivity and gameplay other than being a mere novelty application, with one reviewer likening it to a Seltzer and Friedberg production.
This game provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Meta-example: While Parroty Interactive did put up a prominent disclaimer advising buyers that the game is a parody and not the real deal, Cyan Inc., particularly Myst co-creator Rand Miller, was ecstatic about their game being the subject of parodies, and they even had a copy of Pyst on their archives.
- Adipose Rex: King Mattruss.
- Copycat Cover: Being it's intended to directly parody the original and all. The developers did include a disclaimer to those who somehow missed the joke and mistook it for the real thing, and also perhaps as something of a legal move should the Myst developers threaten them with a lawsuit (they didn't, to the point of Cyan having a copy of Pyst in their archives).
- Deconstruction Game: The main point being it portrays what Myst's main setting would look like after four million tourists (in reference to the number of copies Myst sold at the time) have roamed around the place.
- Large Ham: The actor playing "Prince Syrup" (a rather lame play on the name "Sirrus") really hams it up for his roughly 20 seconds of screentime.
- Trailer Park Tornado Magnet: A trailer park next to the planetarium has a tornado in the background.
