RYFT: A Timely Manor opens up free on mobile devices

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Debut of three-part voice-activated audio mystery available now on the App Store and Google Play

Text adventures used to spur player imagination and offer way more freedom to experiment than the much more streamlined modern-day point-and-clicks, but the genre largely moved on because staring at blank screens and typing in commands was far less appealing. Audio games, however, can offer the freedom of text games without the inconvenience of being tied to a screen and futzing with a keyboard. Case in point: RYFT: A Timely Manor, a new voice-activated adventure from brothers Alexander and Justin Lerman whose first of three planned installments is available free on mobile devices. 

The Nexus Manor is a place that "exists outside of time." When you awaken in this strange place, you have no memory of how you got here, but "in your pocket is a curious stone tablet covered in mysterious symbols." Your only choice is to begin exploring, and as you do you'll meet the manor's "eclectic staff" who all seemed to be trapped here as well, now "working in the service of 'The Master.'" Along the way you'll discover a series of tapes from a familiar voice – a "girl in trouble" who has "discovered that the Master has a sinister plan she needs to stop." If you're to help her in her quest, you'll first need to "puzzle your way out of the mansion and back through the doors of time."

That's a solid premise for any otherworldly mystery adventure, but the real hook of RYFT is that it's controlled entirely through speech commands. As you explore the world, pick up and combine items, solve puzzles, and interact with the fully voiced cast of characters, all accompanied by music and sound effects for deeper immersion, you can play entirely hands-free, even on the go as it supports CarPlay and Bluetooth functionality. And unlike visual novels and contemporary audio games, you won't just be making multiple choice selections here. Instead you must verbalize actual commands that the game interprets using built-in Android and iOS voice-to-text recognizers, selecting "the best transcriptions based on in-game context" to minimize potential frustration. Accents are accounted for by the user's localized English setting, and the parser has been painstakingly crafted for maximum flexibility to allow for any valid synonyms, turns of phrase, and creative suggestions players might try, often responding with custom replies even to "wrong" commands. 

The full RYFT experience will comprise three parts, only the first of which is available now on the App Store and Google Play. Yet Part 1 alone provides a substantial 4-6 hours of gameplay, and it comes completely free, though with an optional donation option available if you like what you see – or rather, hear.