Every once in a while, a game hits the App Store that contains such a bizarre concept that it only makes sense once you start playing it. And sometimes, that’s a good thing, but usually, it isn’t so much. Luckily, Grayout, a text-based game from developer Neven Mrgan, falls firmly into the first category.
The problem is that the mechanic that plays out across Grayout‘s 90-plus screens makes it incredibly difficult to describe. But we’re professionals here, so let’s give it a try.
Grayout, which is the followup to Blackbar, Mrgan’s previous game about censorship (read our review when you’re done with this one), has no graphics unless you count the differently colored backgrounds behind all of the words. You play as a patient in a hospital who awakens after an accident to discover that she is suffering from aphasia. Your job is to form correct responses in your conversations from the word soup it presents you.
The story takes some turns, but that’s basically the idea. And the idea of building a text-based game around a condition that creates a difficulty using and understanding language is exactly as crazy as it sounds, but it has some interesting benefits.
For one, at several points while playing Grayout, I experienced a unique level of frustration. It wasn’t the usual gaming difficulty that involves either not knowing what to do or not being able to do it; it was an altogether different feeling of helplessness and annoyance that words were failing me. I like words, and I use them every day. And suddenly having the ability to communicate removed was deeply unsettling. I’m not sure if it actually gave me insight into what actual aphasia sufferers experience or if it just made me think it did, but it was nonetheless powerful.
Grayout is available in the App Store for $2.99. The writer purchased his own copy for this review.
