Timecrest

Category

Description of App

*** Best iOS Game & Developer of the Year, AppleVis Golden Apples 2016 ***

*** Apple Watch Best of 2015 ***

“An interesting story... Simple fun.” - The New York Times

“Worth a look–even if you’re not a fan of interactive fiction–as this is the best one so far.” - RNIB Connect Radio

“The meteors will obliterate everything, and all I can do is watch.

You don't know how glad I am you can see my messages.

It means, in this moment, I don't have to die alone.”

In Timecrest, where epic fantasy meets interactive fiction, author Lisa J. Skye introduces you to Ash Elden, where together you both must scramble to solve the puzzle of who unfroze the meteors to destroy Ash’s world of Alyncia. You discover that you have access to a forbidden magic–the ability to turn back time.

Every choice you make matters, and will change the outcome of this massive 225,000-word interactive story, leading to one of multiple endings. Immersive yourself within the emotional soundtrack and explore the non-linear maps.

With your new incredible powers, who will you choose to live and let die?

- EXPERIENCE AN EPIC STORY with over 225,000 words and multiple endings.

- DECIDE who lives and who dies. Your decisions change the story, so choose wisely.

- EXPLORE ALYNCIA at your own pace with our new non-linear maps.

- IMMERSE YOURSELF in a world of fantasy and magic, with 24 musical tracks to set the scene.

- BUILD A TEAM and make friends. Unlock secret storylines by building your relationship with other characters.

Timecrest is a nonlinear story based game with multiple endings where every choice you make matters. The story progresses in realtime. Ash will be notifying you on what is happening in Alyncia and awaits your guidance throughout the day.

What would you do with the power to turn back time?

Praise for Timecrest:

“Timecrest stands out from many of the other interactive fiction games I've played.” - AFB, AccessWorld Magazine

“The characters really do draw you in.” - Jamie Pauls

“It's not just a survival, yes/no–binary choice thing. It's like you're watching actual characters, actual people, living actual lives.” - Alex Hall

“With its developer actively engaging with the AppleVis community to learn how to improve the accessibility of the app and then acting on this feedback, it is no surprise that Timecrest has become a firm favorite with many blind gamers.” - AppleVis

Version

3.5.0

Free or Paid

Free With In-App Purchase

Apple Watch Support

Yes

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

16.4

Accessibility Comments

This app is very accessible.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

Other Comments

I find this app to be quite awesome. It will keep me busy for a while. Hope you will enjoy it too.

Developer's Twitter Username

@Timecrest

Recommendations

44 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Jen 1 month 1 week ago

Options

Comments

Lol. Don't spoil it. I'm on chapter 5 and ash is exploring a cavers he got teleported into. We'll see what happens. I accidently killed him on chapter 4 so had to redoo it. Good luck all.

By KE7ZUM on Thursday, January 5, 2017 - 16:00

Doesanyone notice the map of alencia crashes the game when you click view? I'm just letting people know about this. Also sometimes the game willfreze and I have to wait until it scrols. I can't really explain this second problem much. But I'm really loving the game and music.

By cowbunny on Thursday, January 5, 2017 - 16:00

Dear @KE7ZUM, the map crash bug is a known issue and will be fixed in an update early next week.

In the meantime, you can open the map by using a Magic Tap. When you select the item in the pouch, use a double tap with two fingers, and it will open the map. Please use this workaround until the bug fix goes out.

By KE7ZUM on Thursday, January 5, 2017 - 16:00

Thanks, Yeah I forgot about that. Lol! Oops? Thanks again for that.

By Kimbowen on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

What exactly is irillium? How do you get it and converted to time crystals? I really want that TOD generator! thank you so much for your help and keep up the awesome work! this is one of the best, not to mention most accessible, games I've ever played on my iPhone! Oh, I love how you can tell Ash what you're using to play the game, either an iPad, phone, or watch, totally brilliant! when Ash saw that Chronos was using an Apple laptop, it cracked me up! excellent touch.

By KE7ZUM on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

You play through the game again. You will get irilium in I think chapter 4 or 5 when ash meets someone unexpected at the end. You need to get it from the critters he sees though.

By Remy on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

This was a nice little game. I've played it twice, so that says something. The nature of the app makes progress very jerky however. I get that it is supposed to simulate someone actually sending you messages, but having to wait while Ash laboriously types to you is frustrating. Especially as messages will only load when the app is open. There are times when the wait timer is just a little too frequent, and the amount of microtransactions are a bit intrusive. I don't mind paying for something someone has put their time and talents into making, but this game suffers from the same downfall plaguing a lot of mobile games. This has been helped considerably by the new quick messages option, which allows you to receive messages in a rapid stream. The story itself is pretty decent, if a little awkward at times due to the manner in which it is told. Still, I'll certainly play the third when it is released.

By KE7ZUM on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

I think though it is better then any of the COG series. I gave up on them the second day I played them. I've been at time crest now for about a month and am at my second play through. The story changes a bit by the way.

By cowbunny on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

@kimbowen Irillium is a rare and valuable substance in Alyncia. If you are having trouble finding it, you could ask the community on Twittter. http://www.twitter.com/Timecrest

Later in the game (near the end of chapter 8) the Timecrest Merchant will allow you to trade Irillium for Time Crystals.

Thank you so much for your feedback. We really are happy that you are enjoying the game. Please continue to ask us questions and tell us what you think.

@Remy C, thank you so much for your feedback. We tried hard to make the game feel realistic, which means typing times and delays. We understand that this can be annoying or frustrating at times. But when we playtested the game without any pauses or delays, Ash just didn't feel like a real person to us. So I hope you can at least understand why we made this choice.

We also hope the microtransactions will help to fund Timecrest 3. We're just a small 2-person game studio, so we're hoping this game can give you enough value that you and enough other people can enjoy it, so we can keep working on this game.

Thank you for your honest feedback! And please keep telling us what you think.

@KE7ZUM Thanks! Have you had a chance to read any of the Memory Oracle? There are some really good stories in there and some big reveals in the mysteries of Timecrest!

By KE7ZUM on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

I did unlock all of riley, one of roger and I think one of AC. Those stories are good!

By cowbunny on Sunday, February 5, 2017 - 16:00

@KE7ZUM

Really glad to hear you are enjoying the stories. I can't wait until you read Ezra and Elise. Some of our biggest reveals are in those stories!

By Kimbowen on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

what if Ash could dig up gold or bars of irilium in Old Valdor? Wouldn't that be awesome? Maybe even some new artifact that could be used to purchase items from the merchants shop. what do you guys think? thank you so much to my friends on Vorail for helping me figure out how to get irilium in the first place. I'm definitely looking forward to time pressed three!

By cowbunny on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

@Kimbowen
That would certainly be cool! Irillium is a very rare and valuable substance, however. I'm sure if any Irillium was left in the remains of Old Valdor, scavengers would have stolen all of it by the time Ash got there.

By Kimbowen on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

i'm on chapter 10 of my first Playthru of this totally awesome game, however, when I was listening to the history of what I've already done in the story, there were small missing sections. For example, in Chapter 2, Ash decides to go see Riley in the gardens, you say "gods speed, Speed Demon." suddenly Ash is telling you that Guild master Petora is coming closer, "I'm running," and comments on the color of her hair. did I miss her phasing in or something? One other time in the same chapter is when Ash asks you whether to ask Riley directly what's going on or to subtly hint at your situation to see if she remembers anything, you say " " try subtly hinting. It's best not to shock her." Riley suddenly says "Ash…" And you say "Ash, we're trying to get Riley to help us, remember?" keep in mind that this is all before Riley's amulet shatters due to Chronos' attack, so what happened? Is that text supposed to be gone? thank you so much for your help and keep up the excellent work! by the way, I finally got some Irillium in chapter 10 and I love that you can get more void crystals and memory remnants in subsequent play Throughs of the game!

By cowbunny on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

@kimbowen, thanks for your feedback! There have been some small errors in our history feature that we've been working to try to fix. If you want to help out, please Contact Support in the Settings Menu of Timecrest, describing the problem (or just referring back to this post). When you Contact Support, it gives us your exact game data so we can see exactly what happened there.

Congratulations on getting the irillium! Good luck collecting Void Crystals and Memory Remnants!

By Lysette Chaproniere on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

I've just started playing this for the 2nd time. Bearing in mind that I'm new to interactive fiction, here are my comments:
Good points: I like the premise of the story, the worldbuilding and the mysteries to explore, the characterisation is better than in many novels I've read (Ash's character, in particular, really comes to life). I'm enjoying trying out different choices on my 2nd play, and I like that it's about telling a story more than being a conventional game as such, where you can win or lose. The music adds to the emotional effect of the story. There are some very nice little touches to make it more personal, like Ash asking what device you're using, or whether it's day or night where you are.

Suggested things to improve: I agree with Remy_C about the timers. For me, they made it less immersive, especially towards the end where you play for a few minutes and then there's a timer for a few hours. I actually felt more involved, and cared about it more, when I skipped the timers. I get what you're saying about typing delays making it more realistic, but I don't think it works, for a couple of reasons: firstly, some parts of the story seem to suggest that Ash is talking, not typing, like telling the merchant "I like repeating things to myself" or something like that, so is Ash speaking or typing? Secondly, when the app isn't open, message notifications don't come in real time anyway. I completely understand that you need to earn an income from this, so perhaps you want to keep it that way to encourage people to pay.

Also, I think there are a few too many things that can be converted from one thing to another: time crystals, gold, irillium, and all the things that come with the memory oracle: void crystals, memory remnants, essences... I'm still confused about how the memories work, and I think there's quite a lot of room to simplify.

Still, I've enjoyed playing and it's been a good place to start exploring the world of interactive fiction.

By LordLuceus on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

So, after having played through the game twice, here's what I think.
I really like the game, the story is interesting, the characters are mostly well-developed, and the writing is certainly not bad. I need to bring up one little issue I had with the story, which is perfectly summed up with a quote from Ash herself: "With every answer, there seems to be two new questions raised." Which wouldn't be a problem at all, except for my second point, and this is a big one.
Timers. The obnoxious, stupidly long timers.
Hell, I wouldn't even have a problem with those, if they were reasonable. Which they are most definitely not. For instance: "Ash, there is something you need to know." *wait for 7 hours* That is never explained. Or the ridiculous 24 hour timer at the end of chapter 5. Or countless others. Also, the amount of time crystals needed to skip timers steadily increases. At the beginning, the rate is approximately 1 crystal per minute, but by the end, it climbs up to 2.5 to 3 crystals per minute.
Now, I understand all of that, even if I don't like it. It's the classic freemium business model. So I have a suggestion that I sincerely hope you'll consider. Implement an in-app purchase that would get rid of timers, and make it available after the first playthrough of the game. I, personally, would pay up to $5 for something like that, maybe even a little more. I think this is a great idea. The player gets rid of the most annoying part of the experience, and you get the money. Everybody wins.
I get the waiting if you're playing for the first time. It does make the experience feel more realistic. But on subsequent playthroughs, it's just incredibly annoying. I don't want to seem all negative, I really don't. As I've already said, I think the game is great. And if the timers were removed, it would become even better. So please, please at least consider my suggestion.

By cowbunny on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

I want to thank everyone for their feedback, and the timers are a controversial feature. Some people do actually like them, and in one particular case, one of our customers asked if he could donate money to us without buying Time Crystals because he didn't want to skip the timers. I'm not saying this to discount your feedback, but just to show we want to find a balance between what everyone in the community wants for this game.

We have some ideas on how playing through the game multiple times can reduce the amount of time you have to spend waiting in the game, but these are features that we probably won't have time to work on until closer to either Timecrest 3's release, or potentially later after that.

But just know that we hear your feedback and are always thinking of ways to improve. But we do want to make a game that fits everyone, and it's challenging when sometimes someone likes a feature, and someone else hates that same features, because it's hard to make a choice that satisfies everyone.

By Kimbowen on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

I agree with Franjo Lučić and would definitely pay five dollars to permanently skip timers from my second play through of the game on. The most frustrating part is near the end of chapter 10 when Ash sends a few messages and then is totally silent for three hours. This happens at least three times in a row before the cliffhanger of the chapter. Franjo Lučić is right about the exponentially increasing time crystals, which I'd rather use to purchase more gold. Thanks for making Timecrest the most replayable of all the games on the App Store! One more thing, is there a way to fix Ash's charred pocket watch? When I replay the game, should I dunk both the watch and Riley's amulet into Irillium? Poor Ash, you learn the truth about his childhood hero in the worst way possible! Anyway, I'm looking forward to Luther's story, especially since I'm starting to like him A little more after Riley's death. Are you sure Ezra can't be pushed off The peak of Mount Ashra near the middle of chapter 9? I really hate that jerk, especially because he killed Riley for no reason!

By Roxann Pollard on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

If there were an option to eliminate the timers as an in-app purchase, then everyone would be satisfied. For those who really like the timer, they just wouldn't take advantage of the time elimination option.

By Kimbowen on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

I think the Timecrest Merchant should invent one. I can't count how many times I've needed and or a potion to bring Ash back to life. A daily aura potion generator would be awesome! I wouldn't mind using time crystals to pay for it. What do you guys think?

By Rafaela Freundt on Sunday, March 5, 2017 - 16:00

Hello, I think that the timers would be less annoying if the notifications you get outside the game would be in real time. For example sometimes ash is talking to you and the phone gives you a notification, then for the next bit of text the notification comes proximately an hour later. Also, when you return to the app to continue with the game even though you've gotten the notifications you still have to wait for Ash to type all those messages again. I think it would be even more immersive if when you got those notifications and you went back into the app the messages were already there. This should include the timers, like when you get a message from ash and then he just tells you to wait without you having to make a decision. When you go back into the app it could be that already some time on the timer has passed, depending on how long you have been away.
Sorry if my suggestion is long and hard to understand. I really enjoy the game and the dedication you have given to voiceover.
Keep up the good work!

By MikeFont on Monday, June 5, 2017 - 16:00

Hi Cowbunny, I wanted to say I just recently, (within the last day or two) downloaded and have been playing Timecrest. I'm nearly at the end of chapter three I believe, and I'm really enjoying it! I was more than slightly shocked when Ash was put into a 12 hour trance! lol
In any event, and even though some of the timer waits are being a little over done in certain areas and or activities, I'm still having a lot of fun with it! Just for the hell of it, and I'm not planning on using time crystals to advance the game too much, I went and bought a 3000 plus crystal pack last night to help and thank Sneaky Crab. I really appreciate the attention to detail to accessibility, and listening to all of the communities suggestions here. Awesome job! A very well deserved golden apple!
Oh and yes, I definitely saved my game! :)
One question I had was, maybe because I'm still so new to the world of timecrest, might I assume I'm playing part 1 of the game at this point? And after chapter ten perhaps is part two of Timecrest? Little confuzzled on all that.
Thanks again.

By Joel on Monday, June 5, 2017 - 16:00

I have an idea for the spells what if whenever you complete a game you keep all the spells you learned?
Whenever I learn powerful spells I don't want to lose them so could you add a feature that lets you keep spells after you complete a game?
I would appreciate it if you did that as I like the spells and do not want to lose them when I complete a game .

By DrummerGuy on Monday, June 5, 2017 - 16:00

In reply to by Joel

I think it is enough that we get to keep objects. I would keep it as it is. Then again, it is just my personal opinion.

By Minionslayer on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - 16:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm so excited for Timecrest 3!

By Jimmy V on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - 16:00

can't stop playing i'm hooked

By Queenofeagles07 on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 - 16:00

Ash is using something like griffin transport and Really, I don't want to wait for 8 hours. Even my school is 6 hours a day, why should I? eight, e i g h t..

By Karok on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

hi all, i have just acquired an apple watch series 3. should i be playing time crest, do people think, on the watch, phone, or both? assume the watch will not stay awake long enough even if set to 70 seconds to read all of the incoming info?what are people's thoughts. want to really get stuck in to playing this title, and just discovered it was available for my watch.

By That Blind Canuck on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

Hi, it doesn't really matter. I personally play it on my phone, but in those moments where you don't feel like pulling out your phone, you can always play off of your watch.

By That Blind Canuck on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

Hi Will, in order to have the app on your watch, you have to open the Watch app on your phone and near the bottom, you will have a list of installed apps and then another list of apps you can install. If you go through the list of apps you can install, you will find TimeCrest, then press the Install button to install it on your watch. Give it a few minutes to install and once it's complete, you can then go to your watch and you should find it. HTH!

By DrummerGuy on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

Is it coming? Does anybody know if there will be new chapters anytime soon?

By cowbunny on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

Hi @DrummerGuy. While we haven't yet announced a release date for Timecrest 3, we're still hard at work on it. Chapters 11-15 will be amazing, we can't wait to tell everyone more about it when we get closer to being done. Thanks for asking!

By DrummerGuy on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

It is good to know that the story continues. I am glad to know that it is happening and will be coming soon.

By Christel john on Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 16:00

Great news.
I can’t wait

By Ekaj on Saturday, January 5, 2019 - 16:00

My brother texted me a link to this game earlier in the week, and I downloaded and installed it. So far so good on my end. I haven't played much yet, but I like the plot. The music is very good. I actually won several time crystals by helping Ash out. Can't remember exactly what I did but ah well. I want to thank the developer(s) for an excellent game though. Looking forward to forging ahead whenever I can. That's another thing I like about this game: you don't have to play it all in one sitting.

By JennyM on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 - 16:00

Absolutely love this game. I am on my second go round, and trying different things.

Is there any news on Timecrest 3? I know this has been asked, but not since last March.

By dezzi on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 16:00

First, I absolutely love this game! I think I might be addicted LOL i’m waiting for Timecrest three. I feel like a child who’s waiting for Santa Claus! LOL This is one of my favorite games of all times! Absolutely amazing. There’s many things I could say, but there’s just not enough room for me to write it all down

By cowbunny on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 16:00

Thanks @JennyM and @dezzi for your feedback! We're still working hard on Timecrest 3. We know it's been a long time but it will be well worth the wait. Chapters 11 through 15 are shaping up to be wonderful, but we're taking the time to edit them and rewrite them and make them a step above Timecrest 1 and 2. When we get closer to release we'll post here telling everyone about it, but for now all we can say is that we're still working hard on this and nothing has slowed behind the scenes.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 16:00

I'm here wondering if there is a way for us to get the teleport spell, or find some of those shadow flower roots I have been hearing about. I'm wondering if Ash will gain a water based spell or if there are other quests to do rather than trying to put out the forest fire.
My main goal is to collect 50 pieces of Irillium in order to purchase the teleport orb generator in the future.

By Boxer1 on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 16:00

Does anyone know if time crest three is still on the horizon? Any updates?

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 16:00

According to the developers of the game, they are working on part three, but they haven't said a release date as yet. They really haven't been all that active on Twitter this year. I miss when we have the weekly questions to answer and the interaction from the developers

By Laura on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 16:00

Has anyone wondered why the dispell ring was only a one-time purchase, but we still need to buy the ignis amulet every time?
I really want to get irillium from more muffies in Part 3, and Ash makes them seem so cute.

By Joel on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 16:00

I don’t think part 3 will be about ash. I think it will be about Chronos Aka Luthor Timecrest