Those crazy developers at Bethesda weren't joking. What was thought to be a parody video showing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim played entirely through voice commands on the Amazon Alexa is actually a real thing. The best part: it's available to play right now. According to the product description, the Skyrim Alexa app is capable of the following: ● Quest and explore the dungeons of Skyrim ● Master your weapons, spells and shouts ● Encounter people who constantly need your help ● Guard your knees against arrows ● Fatally harm mudcrabs ● Fight dragons ● Die ● Fight another dragon ● Eat sweet rolls ● Fus Ro Dah ● Chase butterflies ● Burn spiders ● Walk straight up a mountain instead of going around ● Vanquish malevolent evils ● There's probably mead somewhere in there ● No goblins, though ● Soul trap woodland creatures ● Victory or Sovngarde, whichever one you prefer ● Also cheese wheels and a fork ● Fail to collect all stones of Barenziah for like the 5th time ● Talk with guards ● Unleash the power of your Thu'um ● Open wooden doors ● Open iron doors ● Other epic things ● And more! That all sounds like an authentic Skyrim experience to me. If you don't have an Alexa device, you can still play on any smartphone. Download the Amazon Alexa app on iOS or Android and press the circle button under the shopping cart. Say "Alexa, play Skyrim" and you're good to go. The reviews so far have been overwhelmingly positive, and many are laugh-out-loud funny. Even if you don't have an Alexa, it's worth reading through some of the impressions from those who have (or haven't) played the game themselves. Not all of them are positive, such as this helpful review from user "the captain": "Todd Howard crawled out of my Alexa to arrest me for stealing an apple in skyrim a month ago and then Alexa clipped through the table, through the floor, then the basement, and now is lost to eternity" Thanks, the captain! So what do you think? Are you ready to talk your way through Skyrim? What other games would you like to try in this speech-only gameplay style? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.<doc-sep>CNET screenshot Bethesda has brought its wildly-successful RPG The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to basically every platform, from the PS3, PS4 and PC to the Nintendo Switch. It's been ported and remastered so many times it's become a joke that where there's an opportunity, there's a port of Skyrim. At its E3 2018 press conference Sunday, Bethesda laughed at its own success with a trailer for Skyrim on Amazon Alexa. Featuring comedian, actor (and CNET magazine cover star!) Keegan-Michael Key, the ad runs through the obvious jokes about performing dragon shouts via voice command, vocalized combat with crabs and eating the endless cheese a player has stocked up on. But here's the craziest part: the game actually exists. CNET screenshot "Bethesda Game Studios is proud to present Skyrim... for Alexa. Yes, that's right, the version of Skyrim you never saw coming has finally arrived on the platform you never asked for," the Alexa Skill listing says. What does Skyrim on Alexa include? Don't expect any dynamic combat or world-changing decisions. Instead, it's more of a text adventure that you can control with your voice. And it's actually pretty cool! When you tell Alexa to play Skyrim, you're dropped at a crossroads, deciding where to go. I ended up quickly getting a fetch quest from a bee keeper to recover her beloved silver candlesticks, which is about the most Skyrim quest you can imagine. That quest led me to a dungeon, in which I entered combat for the first time. Staring down a menacing mudcrab, Alexa gave me my combat options: Attack with weapon, perform magic, shout or flee. Obviously, I yelled at the crab. At first, it was ineffective, but upon the second shout the crab was launched into the air and defeated. I didn't get any loot, but my dragon shouts did hit level 2. Bethesda After the crab battle, Alexa presented another crossroad: Would I go toward a mushroom tunnel, a creaking door or a spooky path? Obviously, I picked the spooky path. Along that path, I ran into a Draugr (because after all, this is Skyrim) and continued with my proven tactic of telling Alexa to shout at things. There's plenty more, after playing for about 15 minutes I had obtained loot, turned in quests and chased every spooky path that was presented. What does the rest of Skyrim on Alexa have in store? You'll have to find out yourself! Bethesda also joked about Skyrim is also coming to other platforms, but as far as we know, none of these more ridiculous examples of Skyrim ports have yet to materialize. Watch the full trailer below. E3 2018: Everything you need to know E3 2018 coverage at CNET: All of our E3 2018 coverage in one place. Now playing: Watch this: E3 2018 preview E3 2018 coverage at GameSpot: Wall-to-wall coverage of the show from our sister site, GameSpot. E3 2018 coverage at Giant Bomb: Still more commentary and news from E3, from our colleagues at Giant Bomb. First published, June 10 at 7:43 p.m. PT. Update, 9:53 p.m. PT: Adds that Bethesda might have actually made this thing.<doc-sep>Screenshot : David Murphy ( Skyrim: Very Special Edition trailer Oh Bethesda, you trolls, you. I say that lovingly, as the trailer the company showed off during its E3 press conference Sunday was a nod to its wildly successful Elder Scrolls franchise. The joke, if you didn’t get it, was that Bethesda has dumped Skyrim, the series’ most recent installment, onto nearly every modern platform it can—minus your TI-83 calculator and your car (sort of). So why not have a version of Skyrim for Amazon’s Echo devices, too? Here’s the fun part, though. You actually can play Skyrim: Very Special Edition on your Echo. And if you don’t own any Amazon devices, that’s fine—you can also play it on any iOS or Android device with a little extra creativity. Advertisement How to play Skyrim: Very Special Edition on an Amazon Echo If you have any of the devices in Amazon’s Echo family, including its larger flagship speaker, the tinier Dot, or the more-expensive Echo Plus, getting a Skyrim-ish game going is simple. First, visit the “Skyrim Very Special Edition” skill on Amazon and enable it for your Echo device (assuming you’ve connected your Echo to the Amazon account you’re using when browsing that skill. You have, I’m sure of it, but I just wanted to be thorough.) Up next: the Skyrim Super-Special Deluxe Edition Screenshot : David Murphy Once you’ve done that, wander up to your Echo device and (Dragon) shout “Alexa, Open Skyrim.” The “game” might begin by asking you whether you want to explore an isolated shack or ancient standing stone, for example, and off you’ll go on your adventure. We won’t spoil the rest, including some of the silly Easter eggs you’ll stumble across while exploring, but it’s a pretty fun experience—as if someone was reading a text-based RPG out loud instead of displaying your narration on a monochromatic computer screen. And, like the real Skyrim, you can save your place in your adventure simply by telling Alexa to “stop.” When you reload Skyrim: Very Special Edition, you’ll jump right back to wherever it is you left off—on page 34 of The Lusty Argonian Maid, no doubt. Advertisement How to play Skyrim: Very Special Edition if you don’t own an Echo Worry not, lesser-equipped adventurers. If you haven’t yet crafted an Echo during your travels, you can still play Skyrim: Very Special Edition. Just install the Amazon app on your iOS or Android device (if you haven’t already). Tap on the speech-bubble-circle icon to summon Alexa. It looks like this: That little speech bubble in your Amazon app launches Alexa and, a few words later, your spoken Skyrim game. Screenshot : David Murphy Advertisement From there, ask your app-based Alexa to “Open Skyrim.” You won’t have to enable the skill beforehand, as you’ll be asked to do so if you haven’t already. Within a few seconds, your adventures in text-based Tamriel will begin. Good luck, living room adventurer.<doc-sep>
Tonight during its pre-E3 press conference Bethesda showed off a very special port of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Called Skyrim: Very Special Edition, it’s an audio version that can be played on any Amazon Alexa smart device. Initially, everyone thought it was just an elaborate goof featuring a cameo by Keegan-Michael Key. But it’s actually a real app, referred to as an Alexa “skill,” that you can activate and play right now — on Amazon Echo or the Amazon (shopping) app. The Amazon Echo is the flagship Alexa-enabled smart device; it runs for around $100. The Dot is its smaller cousin, which retails for $49.99. There’s also a new children’s version. But all of these devices are merely the endpoints for the intelligent, cloud-based digital assistant. As it turns out, you don’t actually need an Amazon smart device to play. You can use virtually any iOS or Android device, so long as you have the Amazon app installed. Here’s how to get started. Download and install the Amazon shopping app for your iOS device or the Amazon Alexa app for your Android device. Tap the circular Alexa icon. For the Alexa app on Android, it’s located on the bottom of the screen. For the shopping app on iOS, you’ll find it in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, to the right of the search line and the camera icon, directly below the shopping cart. 3. Say, “Alexa, open Skyrim.” That’s it. You’re off the the races in a Zork-like adventure through the land of the Nords.