Just as I have been able to be, Francois Roussel was very strongly inspired by Myst and sought to recreate a game bringing the same style of feeling. Twenty years later, after a phenomenal amount of work, the young developer has managed to bring his project to fruition with Harbor Moon. But I'll let you read his own words instead:
We start our adventure by disembarking on a mysterious island with strange buildings.
I open a box, and find a note there.
The controls are entirely with the mouse. The left click allows you to move forward, activate or increment while the right click allows you to go back or decrement. There is nothing else to remember, no inventory or complicated interface. When an item can be activated, the cursor turns green.
As in Myst, I try to put the electricity first. Because yes, impossible to set in motion all these mechanisms without current. This wheel seems perfect to me for that.
I go there, activate a lever to lower the wheel, then I turn the platform to be in line. The streetlights come on: the power is back! As I explore, I will walk on the strange secrets of the creator of these places. He placed notes here and there, explaining how his inventions worked. You have to read everything carefully to understand what to do to get out of it.
I'm not going to tell you more about the story and what you'll find out. But be careful because each clue is loaded with meaning. Remember each cross switch, because you are also going to have to retrace your steps several times to reactivate things as the switches may impact another location. And you will have an important choice to make at the end, so don't choose just any old way. A lot of things depend on you ...
All stages
Translated from the English Steam post by rpgomez246
Turn on the current
- Read the note and collect the key from the pedestal cover
- Go left towards the water and turn right towards the power station.
- Turn the handle to the left to rotate the platform 90 degrees.
- Go to the other side of the powerhouse and turn the handle to lower the propeller into the water (can be done the other way around).
- Open a box in the column facing the finish line, pull the lever inside
Laboratory Island
- Go up to the first floor of the telescope
- Read the notes on the table, including how the door code works.
- Go to the airship room and put the left lever on the lab.
- Enter the airship and pull the lever hanging in the middle of the ceiling.
- Go out to the lamppost and activate the switch. It will blink twice at the very top (like a lighthouse).
- Return to the main island and go up to the second floor of the telescope.
- Use the switch to open the telescope door.
- Move the telescope until you can see the light from the previously activated lamppost / headlight. This gives the coordinates 000-000 (optional).
- Head back to Laboratory Island and enter code 2000 on the locked door.
- Go straight to the dome then collect the key on the right side of the stairs.
- Go upstairs and read the notes
- Go back to the base.
Teleport power
- Set the airship lever for the cannon island and go to that island.
- Open both doors, identify the power gauge (currently at 0) and access the gateway system.
- Thanks to the 4 switches, move the gateways to access all the switches. Activate them all by aligning the lever with the line on the base of the element.
- Turn off the first switch.
- Normally the power gauge is stable (if it is not stable, you have not turned off the first switch), activate the lever.
- Go back to the base.
Home island
- Go back to the start area and go to the middle to enter the coordinates at 000-067.
- Go back to the airship and put the lever on the lab. Travel.
- Go straight down to the right, then to the left, passing under the bridge. Use the teleporter (back to base).
- Return to the Airship House. Put one lever on the lab, and the other on the house.
- Use the ladder that allows you to go down to where the airship is.
- A riddle asks to recompose the emblem (which is visible in several other places). The solution, starting from the top, is:, /, /,, /, |
- Get the key
- Go back to the teleporter and push the button.
- Take the airship, which will take you to the island of the house.
Home Island Puzzle
- Get off the airship and descend to the water level.
- Notice the 3-position valve. Position 1 being the start, turn the valve to position 2.
- Move around the base until you hear a hissing sound (sort of a burst of air).
- Identify the second bolt at the top. It is a different color and can be used.
- Go back and place the valve in position 3.
- Go inside and go to the bedroom.
- Activate one of the balls at the foot of the bed.
- Enter the elevator that has just arrived.
- In the office, read the note and turn the two valves on the wall.
- Return to the lab and teleport to the base.
Home Island Teleporter
- From the base, find the coordinates of Home Island using the telescope, 028-055.
- Use the lever to activate the second row of the teleporter and enter the coordinates.
- Find another three position valve at the base of the teleporter.
- Turn the lever up.
- Return to the island of the house, taking back the airship.
- Place the key in the office location on the top floor.
- Take the elevator to the top floor and go to the dome with lots of gold.
- Go up to the top and read the note where the last code is for Cannon Island.
- Go back to base
Bring the cannon online
- Enter the last set of coordinates in the teleporter and travel to Cannon Island.
- Continue forward and take the elevator to the top.
- Go forward and open the locked door.
- Go right and open the door to reveal the cannon power switch.
- Set the bridge as such: | , | , | -
- Go forward then, then turn the first left. Turn off the first switch.
- Return to the building to activate the cannon.
- Take the elevator to go up
End
- Go to the cannon control booth.
- For a sad ending, dial the house code: 028-055
- For a happy ending, dial the laboratory code: 000-067
- Go to the chosen island then place the key in the base then activate the push button.
Without any missteps, Haven Moon offers a beautiful adventure in a world à la Jules Verne, where the inspiration of Myst is present at all times, whether in the magnificent sets, the classical music and the styles of puzzles. There is no doubt as to the inspiration of its developer, and I took great pleasure in traveling this universe, I who am an early fan of the entire Myst series. Of course, Haven Moon suffers from the same negative aspect as its illustrious predecessor: we often go around in circles looking for the damn button we missed to activate a cross mechanism long ago and already forgotten. On the side of the lifespan, hard to say. You can certainly finish the game in about 10 minutes if you know exactly what to do, or take XNUMX hours if you get lost! Above all, if you want to play fair without using a solution, take the time to write everything down, capture everything, and read the notes carefully. You should save yourself a lot of back and forth.
In conclusion, a little video:
The game is available on Steam, but also on the Humble Store.
