,
The only fate worse than hate is being ignored completely
Before continuing, I should note that I didn’t check if any of the other games are older, or what their responses are like, or anything else. I did try to try playing this one, but I’ll get back to that.
It’s clear that this game is & probably always was a total failure. IMHO, the explanation for how this happened begins and ends with its core premise. Making something fully voice controlled is a demanding proposition. The inherent accessibility it grants to the vision impaired comes at the expense of being able to play silently, which greatly reduces the environments in which playing is possible. While headphones allow audio output, mandatory audio input makes playing in almost any social setting awkward at best. During a flight, train, bus or rideshare trip, for example, who wants to be the obnoxious person talking to their game? So right from the start, you’re at a severe disadvantage employing an interface that by nature reduces practical playability for all. I don’t mean to disparage or condemn the idea, just to honestly state its inherent downside.
Given the significant limitations, it is vital for such a game to excel at what it does. The writing, of course must be first rate, with the same added importance as any non graphical game. But when using speech, the best script will then depend upon delivery.
It follows that if voice is a game’s primary focus, it ought be the foremost priority. This seems so obvious as to need no mention. Yet it’s here that this game fails before it begins, bringing me back to my attempt to try playing it.
Would it ever be acceptable for voice acting in a traditional game to be supplied not by the game itself, but rather through a device’s own AI voices? Of course not, so how magnified is the offense in a game that makes its entire nature speech-based? That’s what this does, and I’ll wager most if not all the others like it do too. Classic monetize piggybacked iOS device features as an original product scheme.
Right at the start, after mic and voice recognition permission, it strongly suggests downloading the enhanced premium version of several iOS provided voices, which would require a storage footprint of multiple gigabytes. After seeing that, it became clear that its interactive functionality was also entirely enabled by using iOS capabilities. Just pure sham in my book.
Now rewind 9 years, recall the state of voice recognition and range/quality of Siri voices provided a decade ago. On the best devices, maybe a clunky interface and obviously artificial speech. Most would find the experience cheap and unappealing. The piggyback scheme tried to exploit prematurely, before its basis was fully developed.
Meanwhile, iOS accessibility has improved dramatically, allowing traditional games to perform better than this would anyway. Back then or now, whatever the piggyback game did was already possible.
Response from developer
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and honest critique. I appreciate your perspective, even if we disagree on the conclusion. You are absolutely correct that a voice-controlled game requires a specific environment. As mentioned in the description, this is designed as a 'fireplace' experience—something to be played in a quiet, private space where one can close their eyes and imagine, rather than on a busy train or bus. We believe there is still value in games that require a quiet moment in a noisy world. Regarding the use of iOS native voices: This was a deliberate design choice, not a shortcut. Using system Text-to-Speech allows us to keep the app size manageable while offering a vast amount of dynamic story content that would be impossible for an indie studio to record with voice actors. Furthermore, for our primary audience—the visually impaired community—using familiar system voices often provides a more consistent and accessible experience than recorded audio files. I understand that this specific genre and technical approach weren't for you, but I am grateful that you gave it a try.
Nagyszerű játék.
Viharos
budapest
köszöni a gazdám is hogy gondolsz ránk!
utó üdvözlettel:
márton a a macska!
