# Grayout

> Aphasiac text adventure game in a medical dystopia exploring communication challenges. (iPhone/iPad app by Mrgan LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grayout/id1023152763 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Mrgan LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/320710721)
- Category: Games, Books, Puzzle, Word
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 61 App Store ratings · 62 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 11.4 · 37 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-12-16
- Data updated: 2026-09-08
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grayout/id1023152763/reviews.md

## What is Grayout?

“One of the most essential iOS games of the year. Proves just how interesting and vital gaming as a medium can be. 9/10” —Pocket Gamer

“Grayout is exceptional as a game, as a compelling narrative, as an experiment in communication. It is simple, poignant, and horrifying.” —Gamezebo

Grayout is an aphasiac text game set in a medical dystopia. It’s a prequel to the censorship game Blackbar.

In Grayout, you play Alaine, a rebelious resident of the totalitarian community called The Neighborhood, who wakes up in a hospital research lab following an accident… or so she is told. The game is a series of conversations with hospital staff, made challenging by Alaine’s post-traumatic aphasia—a disorder that affects one’s ability to process language.

Grayout simulates the experience of having a word on the tip of your tongue, the frustration of knowing what you mean but not how to say it, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the runaway thoughts inside your head and struggling to reign them in.

This is a game for fans of text adventures, interactive fiction, word puzzles, story-driven games, and emotional simulations.

“Marvelous.” —The Guardian, The best iPhone and iPad apps of 2015

“Liked Blackbar? This is harder but also cleverer. Lots more feels too. Prepare your brain.” —Sam Barlow of 'Her Story'

We hope your stay in the Neighborhood Hospital is pleasant and brief. Get well.

## Key features

- Aphasiac text game mechanics
- Narrative-driven gameplay
- Interactive conversations
- Word puzzle elements
- Emotional simulation
- Dystopian setting

## Chart rankings

- #100 in Top Paid · Word (US App Store)

## What do users think of Grayout?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 💡 Unique and innovative concept
- 📖 Engaging and well-written story
- 🎨 Creative wordplay and imagery
- ✨ Thoughtful narrative and storytelling
- 🧠 Challenging and thought-provoking puzzles
- 🎭 Empathetic character portrayal
- 🌟 Original and artistic game design

**Cons**

- ⏳ Very short gameplay duration
- 💰 High price for short experience
- 🤷 Arbitrary and illogical puzzle solutions
- 🧩 Frustrating guessing game mechanics
- 🚫 Restrictive input and lack of flexibility
- 🤔 Lack of clear instructions or hints
- 🎶 Annoying or unchangeable music
- 📱 UI issues on certain devices (e.g., iPhone X)

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Game-breaking bug preventing progression
- Text formatting errors on some screens
- Typo in dialogue
- Visual glitch after switching apps

**Most requested features**

- Add a hint system
- Improve sentence validation logic
- Allow for more flexible sentence input
- Add option to mute music
- Improve UI for larger screens
- Consider AI for language parsing

## Recent user reviews (10 of 62)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grayout/id1023152763/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Too short

*2022-07-12, version 1.0.3*

This game was intriguing, and it did start to grip me, but ultimately it’s way too short and low-tech for a paid-for experience. Had it been free, I would have rated it a four, maybe. Creative, and some lovely word play and imagery. But just nowhere near enough of it. The story had just got exciting and it ended. Waste of money, for me.

### 3/5 — Interesting concept but short and sometimes irritating

*2022-07-12*

I applaud the designers for this unique idea, but I found the “right” sentences were not always logical, or other possibilities that were equally valid — e.g. “Yeah sure” instead of “Yeah right”—were not accepted. And the game is very short for the money.

### 5/5 — AmaZinG ... hOurS oF FUn

*2021-06-08*

As a class we did Grayout over the course of 3 weeks. The kids say: creepy, fascinating disturbing... but in a good way. Exciting and full of twists. Make a new one! We already did Blackbar.

### 2/5 — Less than an hour of gameplay

*2020-01-03*

A very interesting concept, but the story is lazy, as it seems most of the effort went into the word play (which was often clever). Beyond that, it provided less than an hour of gameplay. To be fair, that may be because I had to look up instructions online. Not answers: instructions. The game provided none. Do I use all the words? Am I supposed to form grammatically correct sentences or just whatever gets my message across? Even with instructions, it was difficult to know what I was trying to say, what my response was supposed to be. Maybe I missed something, but this game was not worth the price it asks for. Bonus points for mentioning a polyamorous relationship though, I guess.

### 1/5 — Utter rubbish / maybe broken

*2019-12-29, version 1.0.3*

What a waste of time and money.

### 2/5 — Well written but broken

*2019-09-16*

Am interesting world and concept and I liked Blackbar- unfortunately there’s a game breaking bug that makes it impossible to progress past the (irritatingly obscure) “waiting for godot” reference. I checked a couple of walkthroughs, the “correct” answer doesn’t work, impossible to move forward...

### 1/5 — Avoid

*2018-09-27, version 1.0.2*

Starts out well. Until context starts to shift and you’re left with dozens of possibilities where only one is deemed correct. Goes from challenging to tedious surprisingly quickly.

### 1/5 — Not a recommendation of mine

*2018-03-21, version 1.0.2*

Logic isn’t great from clue to clue. No ability for hints, not really great leading. It ended up being mostly a waste of time and I’m deleting it without finishing because I’m so bored with it.

### 3/5 — Good story, not really a game.

*2018-03-03*

I loved Blackbar, so gave Grayout a whirl, too. 

The story is wonderful; it places you in a chilling dystopian scenario with sadistic keepers and little hope of escape. I enjoyed it. 

But as for gameplay, there’s not much here. The only “puzzle” comes from trying to figure out what the game designers thought my responses to other characters ought to be. And if the game designers thought, for example, that I ought to respond “That’s the right answer” then saying “That is correct” or “You’re right” or “That is right” or “You’re not wrong there” or even “That is the right answer” won’t be accepted by the game. 

I understand they wanted me to experience the frustration of helplessness and aphasia. But this is just the frustration of pure guessing, like randomly trying numbers on a bike lock until it opens. There’s never the delighted feeling you get when you finally figure out a puzzle based on cleverly hidden clues. There are barely any hidden / contextual clues to discover. The rest is just moving words around until you guess right.

### 2/5 — Bad Design

*2018-02-23, version 1.0.2*

The app still does not support the iPhone X and has very few design elements. Changing it to support it would be easy. Dev is either unskilled or lazy.

## Frequently asked questions about Grayout

### What kind of game is Grayout?

Grayout is an aphasiac text game set in a medical dystopia. It's a narrative-driven experience that simulates the challenges of communicating with aphasia, a disorder affecting language processing. The gameplay involves a series of conversations with hospital staff.

### What are the key features of Grayout?

Key features include its unique aphasiac text game mechanics, a compelling narrative, interactive conversations that are made challenging by the protagonist's condition, word puzzle elements, and an emotional simulation aspect. The game is set in a dystopian world.

### How much does Grayout cost?

Based on the provided information, Grayout is a paid application. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase model for the full game experience.

### What platforms is Grayout available on?

The description mentions "essential iOS games" and "best iPhone and iPad apps of 2015," indicating that Grayout is available on iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads.

### Who would enjoy playing Grayout?

Grayout is designed for fans of text adventures, interactive fiction, word puzzles, story-driven games, and emotional simulations. Players who appreciate unique gameplay mechanics and thought-provoking narratives are likely to enjoy this experience.

## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 1.0.3 — 2019-10-07

Thanks for playing Grayout! We're a small team, so we really appreciate your reviews of the game. Tell your friends!

Here's what's been fixed in 1.0.3:

• Updated to fix a crash in iOS 13
• Properly supports newer iPhones

### 1.0.2 — 2016-01-22

• Fixed a few typos
• Added a few solutions

### 1.0.1 — 2016-01-05

Thanks for playing Grayout! We're a small team, so we really appreciate your reviews of the game. Tell your friends!

Here's what's been fixed in 1.0.1:

• Added "Previous" button to the last screen, letting you back up a bit, or replay the whole game.
• Fixed three typpos.
• Fixed erroneous animation on some late pages.
• Changed the audio levels at our musician Pete's request. Thanks, Pete.
• Changed the app icon color to match the game's teal. This was very embarrassing for me, believe me. —Neven
• Fixed a rare crash-on-launch.

### 1.0 — 2015-12-16

No release notes.

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## More apps by Mrgan LLC

- [Blackbar](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blackbar/id672002602)

All apps by Mrgan LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/320710721

## Related topics

[graybar](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/graybar)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*